Schneeballen — Rothenburg's fried pastry snowballs

i. Origin & history

Schneeballen are a traditional pastry of Franconia and the neighbouring Hohenlohe region, the hilly country where northern Bavaria meets Baden-Württemberg. They have been made there for at least three centuries, and in the past they were a festive food rather than an everyday one: fried pastries made with eggs, butter and cream were expensive, and Schneeballen were baked for weddings, christenings, church fairs (Kirchweih) and the Carnival season, much like the fried 'angel wings' made across Central Europe.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a remarkably preserved medieval walled town on the Romantic Road, is where Schneeballen became famous. As the town turned into one of Germany's best-known tourist destinations in the twentieth century, its bakeries and confectioners made the snowball their signature product, and today dozens of shops in the old town sell them in every size and coating, from the plain icing-sugar original to chocolate, marzipan, nougat and coconut. For most visitors, Schneeballen are the souvenir of Rothenburg.

The name is simple description. A Schneeball is a snowball, and the pale, round, sugar-dusted pastry looks like one. In Rothenburg they are often called Rothenburger Schneeballen, and in the Hohenlohe area there are local names for the same pastry.

Schneeballen are not to be confused with other European 'snowballs', such as the Scottish snowball, a coconut-coated marshmallow cake, or the Italian-American snowball cookie. The German pastry is closer to Polish faworki, Danish klejner and Norwegian fattigmann — thin, rich fried doughs — shaped into a ball.

ii. How the strips become a ball

The dough is a short, unleavened pastry, rich with egg yolks, butter and cream and flavoured with a little schnapps. It is rolled very thin — about 2 mm — and cut into squares or rectangles. Then comes the part that defines Schneeballen: the dough is cut into parallel strips with a fluted pastry wheel, but the strips are left attached at both ends, like a ladder.

To shape it, a wooden spoon handle is threaded under alternate strips, and the dough is lifted and loosely gathered into a rough ball. This is placed in a Schneeballeisen, a hinged, spherical iron cage with holes, that holds the shape while the pastry fries. Because the strips are loose and full of gaps, the hot fat penetrates the whole ball and cooks it evenly, from the outside in, leaving it airy and crisp all the way through.

Alcohol in the dough is not just flavour. Like the brandy in many European fried pastries, it evaporates rapidly in the hot fat, helping the dough blister and crisp and keeping it from absorbing too much oil. The egg yolks and cream give richness and a tender, short texture, while the low sugar content stops the pastry from browning too quickly.

Frying temperature is the last variable. Schneeballen fry at a moderate temperature, around 170 °C, for several minutes, so that the dense centre of the ball cooks through before the outside darkens. They should be pale gold, like the snowball they are named after, rather than brown.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 250 g plain flour
• 50 g soft unsalted butter
• 25 g caster sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 60 ml double cream
• 2 tbsp plum schnapps, kirsch or rum
• 1 pinch salt
• 1.5 litres neutral oil or clarified butter, for frying
• 50 g icing sugar, for dusting
• 100 g dark chocolate, melted (optional coating)

The dough is deliberately low in sugar; the sweetness comes from the icing sugar on the outside. Egg yolks and cream give the dough richness and a short, tender bite. Traditional recipes use a fruit schnapps such as Zwetschgenwasser (plum brandy) or kirsch; rum is a good alternative, and in a pinch a little lemon juice can stand in. Bakers in Franconia traditionally fried in lard or clarified butter; a neutral oil with a high smoke point is easier at home. There is no raising agent: the lightness comes from the shaping, not from baking powder.

iv. Method

1. Put the flour, butter, sugar, yolks, cream, schnapps and salt in a bowl and knead to a smooth, firm dough. Wrap and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece out very thinly, about 2 mm, into a square of roughly 15 × 15 cm.
3. With a fluted pastry wheel, cut parallel strips about 1.5 cm apart across each square, stopping 1 cm short of the edges, so the strips stay joined at the top and bottom.
4. Thread the handle of a wooden spoon under every other strip, lift the dough and let it gather loosely around the handle. Slide it into the bottom half of a greased Schneeballen iron, gather it into a rough ball and close the lid. Without an iron, gather the dough loosely into a ball in a metal ladle or a large perforated tea-infuser ball.
5. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan to 170 °C (340 °F). Lower the iron into the oil and fry for 4–5 minutes, until the ball is pale golden all over and bubbling has slowed.
6. Lift out, let the oil drain through the holes, open the iron and turn the Schneeball out onto kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest, letting the oil come back to temperature between batches.
7. When cool, dust thickly with icing sugar, or dip in melted chocolate and leave to set on a rack.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Roll the dough paper-thin. Thick strips stay doughy in the centre of the ball and turn hard rather than crisp.
• Gather the strips loosely. A tightly packed ball fries unevenly and stays raw in the middle. There should be visible gaps between the strips.
• Keep the oil at 170 °C. Hotter oil browns the outside before the centre is cooked; cooler oil leaves the pastry greasy. Use a thermometer.
• Let the oil drain fully. Hold the iron over the pan for a minute so excess fat can drip out of the ball before you open it.
• Coat only when cool. Icing sugar melts on a warm Schneeball and chocolate slides off.
• Break, do not bite. The traditional way to eat a Schneeball is to break it in its paper bag with a firm tap, then eat the pieces; biting into a whole one showers sugar and crumbs everywhere.

vi. Variations

The plain icing-sugar Schneeball is the original. Rothenburg's bakeries now offer dozens of coatings: dark, milk and white chocolate, marzipan, nougat, coconut, cinnamon sugar, Amaretto and seasonal flavours. There are also mini Schneeballen, sold in bags, and filled versions with cream or praline.

The Schneeball is part of a family of fried 'angel wing' pastries found across Central and Northern Europe: Polish faworki and the Hungarian and Austrian equivalents, Danish klejner, Norwegian fattigmann and German Mutzen. For another German fried pastry, try the jam-filled Berliner.

vii. Serving & storage

Schneeballen are eaten at room temperature as a snack or with coffee. In Rothenburg they are sold in paper bags, and visitors break them inside the bag before eating. Plain sugar-dusted Schneeballen are also served with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream as a dessert.

Because they are dry and crisp, they keep well. Stored in an airtight tin at room temperature, plain Schneeballen stay crisp for one to two weeks, and chocolate-coated ones for up to several weeks; Rothenburg bakeries sell them with long shelf lives for travellers. Dust with fresh icing sugar before serving. Do not refrigerate them, which softens them, and they do not freeze well.

ix. More from Austrian & German

• Berliner — German jam doughnuts
• Faworki — Polish angel wings
• Klejner — Danish fried knots
• Fattigmann — Norwegian fried cookies
• Oliebollen — Dutch New Year fritters
• Kaiserschmarrn — shredded Austrian pancake