Cooking School - Ich bin ein Pfannkuchen!

Today I take you on a detour to the VagabondBohemian cooking school.

The subject is the "Berliner Pfannkuchen" - the most prominent doughnut in Berlin (and maybe the rest of Germany too). Most typically these are jam filled spherical doughnuts, no hole, covered in powdered sugar.

Immediately the name causes confusion, observe; 

• "Pfannkuchen" literally means Pancake.
• Everywhere but the Berlin areas calls these doughnuts "Berliners", because Pfannkuchen means Pancakes!
• People from Berlin call them "Pfannkuchen" and pancakes are called "Eierkuchen" (egg cakes)
• No wonder JFK got confused in 1963 and proclaimed "Ich bin ein Berliner" - I am a jelly doughnut. (However according to grammaticists, this use of the phrase is considered correct in JFK's use as himself as a Berliner but not an actual resident of Berlin).

We have had a number of these doughnuts over the past few months and like every other doughnut, you have to get them fresh. We are never up early enough to get fresh doughnuts so ours have always been a bit stale. 

Time for some cooking VagabondBohemain style.

TUNA FILLED PFANNKUCHEN

This is a savoury adaptation of the traditional sweet Pfannkuchen. The sweetness of the Pfannkuchen combined with the warmth, textures and saltiness of the filling makes for a unique combination that is surprisingly delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 Pfannkuchen (39 cents from Kaisers supermarket)
• 1/2 small tin of Tuna (99 cents from Lidl supermarket)
• 2 tablespoons of mayonaise
• 1 large slice of young cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Step 1 - 

Clean and create a cavity for the filling. By following the original hole for the jam filling, cut a larger opening with a knife and scrape out jam.

Step 2 - 

Gently warm the Pfannkuchen. It is important not to toast the Pfannkuchen, just to gently warm it up. The method I use is a water bath, a kettle full of boiling water in a saucepan, a bowl to sit in the water, Pfannkuchen in the bowl, and saucepan lid on top. Leave in bowl until ready to fill. A short burst in a microwave on low setting would also be okay.

Step 3 - 

Gently warm the tuna in a pan over a very low stove top. The aim is to warm the tuna and not cook it. Leaving some of the juices from the tin assists this process.

Step 4 - 

Once the tuna is warm throughout, place slice of cheese on top. Mayonnaise can also be added at this point. Keep everything in the pan until cheese starts to melt. Season to taste at this point.

Step 5 - 

Once the filling mixture is ready (when the tuna is warm and cheese has begun to melt), take the Pfannkuchen from its water bath and spoon the filling in - as much as it can take!

Step 6 - 

Stand back for a moment and appreciate what you have just created. A savoury Pfannkuchen. Then eat it while everything is still warm. Enjoy!