How can you resist krapfen with pastry cream? These extraordinary, timeless pastries — with their golden, sugared and slightly crisp surface — are a true temptation. Their soft dough melts in the mouth and hides a delicious, delicate pastry cream inside. An extraordinary explosion of flavor! Whether fried, as tradition dictates, or baked for a lighter option, krapfen will always win everyone over. Perfect for parties, ideal for a decadent breakfast or snack, and a must-have during Carnival. Like many fried pastries, they are best enjoyed freshly made. However, they can be kept at room temperature for 1–2 days or frozen for a couple of months. Below, let’s see together what you need to make these wonderful krapfen with pastry cream:

Recipes to use leftover egg whites:

Krapfen with pastry cream - perfect recipe by I Pasticcini di Nina

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Budget
Rest time: 4 Hours 30 Minutes
Portions: 8
Cooking methods: Frying

Ingredients

500 g flour (half Type 00 and half Manitoba)
3 egg yolks
50 g sugar (+ more as needed for dusting)
250 ml milk
50 g butter
12 g fresh brewer's yeast
10 g salt
vanilla extract
zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
as needed vegetable oil (for frying)
500 ml milk
4 egg yolks
100 g sugar
40 g cornstarch
1 bean vanilla bean
zest of one lemon

Steps

Start by preparing the pastry cream. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the whole lemon zest and the vanilla bean. Bring almost to a boil, then remove from heat.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale and frothy. Sift the cornstarch directly over the mixture and mix well to avoid lumps.
When the milk has reached the right temperature, strain it and pour it slowly over the yolk mixture. Return everything to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the cream thickens (this will take about 5–10 minutes).
Once the cream is ready, transfer it to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface. Let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
Meanwhile, prepare the krapfen dough. Dissolve the fresh yeast in the lukewarm milk together with one teaspoon of sugar taken from the total.
In a bowl, sift the two flours and arrange them in a well. Make a well in the center and pour in the lukewarm milk with the dissolved yeast and the rest of the sugar. Add the egg yolks, vanilla extract, the grated zests of half a lemon and half an orange, and mix well.
Then incorporate the softened butter and, finally, the salt. Work the dough for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. If it is too sticky, cover and let rest for 15–20 minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Let the dough rise for at least 2–3 hours or until doubled in volume. When ready, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 3/4 inch.
With a glass or a round cutter, cut out discs about 3 1/8 inches in diameter (or the desired size) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise again for an hour and a half in a warm place.
Proceed to cooking. Heat a generous amount of oil in a deep pan, bringing the temperature to 338°F. Fry the krapfen a few at a time, letting them puff up and turning them occasionally until golden on both sides.
Drain them on paper towels to remove excess oil. Then roll each one in granulated sugar and fill them using a piping bag filled with the previously prepared pastry cream.
For oven baking: preheat the oven to 356°F and bake the krapfen for about 15–20 minutes, or until golden. Fill them and dust with powdered sugar before serving. Alternatively, brush them while still warm with a little melted butter and coat them in granulated sugar.
The krapfen with pastry cream are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon appétit and… see you next recipe!