As a kid, I always looked forward to Fastnacht Day. It actually translates to "Fast Night." The German tradition is to eat the very best, and lots of it, before the Lenten fast. It serves as a way of using up the last of the lard (and sugar and stuff) before beginning a fast from sweets. Fastnachts (pronounced fost-nokts) are doughnuts.
Starting very early on Shrove Tuesday morning in a very small kitchen, my grandmother and aunt would make fastnachts for the entire Goodfellow family. My father would pick up several dozen at noon time and bring them home to a large welcome. Not only were the fastnachts unbelievably tasty treats, but we had to eat them all that day. We had to fatten up; the next day was the beginning of Lent.
A recipe from a Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook:
German Fastnachts
1 cake yeast or 1 pkg. granulated yeast dissolved in 1 cup warm water
Mix together: 1 cup mashed potatoes, I teaspoon salt, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 cup flour
Put the yeast into this mixture, set this to rise about 1 hour in a covered kettle.
Next mix together: ¾ cup butter or lard (soft), 1 large cup granulated sugar, 3 eggs (mix thoroughly and add), 1 pint warm water.Sift about 3 qts of bread flour into a large dish pan. Now make a well in the center of flour and pour the first two mixtures in. Work flour in very gradually with one hand until too stiff, then use both hands using more flour if necessary until the dough is pliable and not too sticky. Set this to rise in dish pan in a very warm place for 2 hours. Divide the dough into four parts. Roll to not less than ½ inch thick and cut into squares 2x3. Put a slit in the center of each one and let it rise again on tablecloth, cover with cloth keeping it raised in center of batch so as not to crush them when light. In about 1 hour, fry in deep fat. Store in warm place or they will get hard.
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