Another German holiday, another addictive baked good. The Fasnetsküchle is the official pastry of Mardi Gras in South Germany, which is called Fasnet in Swabian dialect or Fastnacht if you're a consonant-conscious member of the language police. Fasting is part of the post-Mardi Gras tradition (which, for those of you who didn't go to Catholic school, is the pleasure-denying month of Lent), so by way of preparation in the days before Lent, you are free to stuff yourself with as many Fastnetsküchle as possible.
And stuff yourself you will. The Fasnetsküchle itself is a rectangular-shaped Dutchie donut that would melt the heart of any Krispy Kreme lover. Covered with granulated sugar, it is soft, light, and delicious. Due to its ingenious no-hole design, one 'küchle is probably equivalent to at least two normal donuts. Leading up to Fasnet, which is only one week away, they are being sold in local bakeries as three for less than 2 Euros. I am seriously overdue for some fasting.
In fact, I'm pretty excited for this whole Fasnet thing, which is a week-long affair that spreads from Schmotziger Donnerstag to Ash Wednesday. Forget Fat Tuesday, I'm looking forward to Fat Thursday. I thought that this Schmotziger Donnerstag had something to do with spring cleaning, as schmutzig means dirty, but apparently that one little vowel makes all the difference and "schmotz" has something to do with baking and fat. It's a Swabian thing.
According to the banner that has been hanging over the pedestrian zone in Bad Cannstatt here in Stuttgart for the last three weeks, Schmotziger Donnerstag is a mess of parades, charades, races, masks and bizarre medieval traditions that involve cabbages and nightgowns. Bring on the mummery.
image via cafe-baecker-meyer.de
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