At the Oberursel Christmas market I discovered something new today – Hessenbollen.

The stand selling them had a big vat of hot fat, and they were bobbing up and down in it, much like fresh doughnuts.

As it turns out, the mixture is not that much different, but rather than being formed and baked, the Hessenbollen are scooped out with an ice-cream scooped and then turned over and over again until they are golden brown.

Once out of the fat, they are filled with a mixture of cream and apple juice (or even apple wine).

They taste very much like filled doughnuts, but there is much more filling that you would get in a Berliner. In fact, the doughnut-type casing is not as think as Berliners are, leaving much more space inside for the filling.