Rheinische Mutzen

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3 to 4 liter pot or deep fryer
• •Frying thermometer
• •Slotted spoon or spider
• •Mutzenmandel cutter or small sharp knife
• •Fine sieve for draining quark

Instructions

1. 1

   Drain the quark

   Set the quark in a fine sieve for 15 minutes while you weigh the rest. Quark carries water, and that water has to leave now; if it goes into the dough, you'll add more flour to chase it, and the Mutzen turn tough instead of tender.

2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Beat the drained quark with the eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and cooled butter until smooth. Stir the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt together, then fold them into the quark mixture just until a soft dough forms. Stop when the flour disappears, because overworking wakes up the gluten and gives you chewy fritters. If the dough is dry and crumbly, add milk one spoon at a time; if it's only a little sticky, leave it alone.

3. 3

   Rest and shape

   Cover the dough and let it rest 15 minutes. The flour and almonds need that time to drink the moisture, so you can shape the pieces without burying the dough in extra flour. Roll it on a lightly floured board to about 1.5cm thick, then cut small almond shapes with a Mutzenmandel cutter or cut short diamonds with a knife. Keep them small; a fat piece browns outside before the middle cooks.

4. 4

   Heat the fat

   Heat the oil or clarified butter in a heavy pot to 170C. Use enough fat that the Mutzen float freely, because pieces sitting on the bottom scorch before they puff. Drop in one test piece first. It should rise, bubble steadily, and turn golden in about 3 minutes. If it races dark in one minute, runter mit der Temperatur, down with the temperature. If it sits pale and greasy, bring the heat back up.

5. 5

   Fry in batches

   Fry the Mutzen in small batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and cooked through. Crowding drops the fat temperature, and cold fat is how a good dough becomes oily. Lift them with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on paper, just long enough for the surface to stop dripping.

6. 6

   Sugar while hot

   Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, then roll the Mutzen while they're still hot. The thin film of fat catches the sugar now; once they cool, it slides off. Serve the same day, with coffee, after the parade, before the sensible people start counting how many are gone.

Chef Tips

• •Drain the quark properly. If yours is very wet, leave it in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for 30 minutes; water in the quark becomes flour in the dough, and too much flour makes dull Mutzen.
• •Use a thermometer if you have one. Carnival kitchens cooked by eye because they had done it a hundred times; your first batch deserves the number.
• •Ground almonds belong here if you want the Köln bakery taste. They add a quiet nuttiness and help shorten the dough, so the bite stays tender instead of bready.
• •Don't save old frying fat for this. Mutzen are small and sweet, and tired fat announces itself before the cinnamon can do any work.
• •Eat them the day they're fried. The edge is best in the first few hours, and the sugar stays lively. The next day they're still edible, but the party has left.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed, covered, and refrigerated up to 8 hours ahead. Let it stand 20 minutes at room temperature before rolling, because cold dough cracks and takes longer to cook through.
• •The cinnamon sugar can be mixed days ahead and kept dry in a jar. Nicht aus dem Glas does not mean you can't use a jar to hold sugar.
• •Do not fry them far ahead for a celebration if you can avoid it. Fry within 3 hours of serving, then keep them uncovered at room temperature so the sugar does not dampen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 25g)