German Fastnacht Deep-Fried Doughnuts

Gather the ingredients.

In a medium saucepan, warm the milk and add butter until it has melted.

In a large bowl, add salt, sugar, and nutmeg.

Pour in the milk and melted butter mix. Stir and set aside until it's lukewarm.

When the bowl's contents are lukewarm, mix in beaten eggs and yeast.

Add 3 cups of flour. If you have a stand mixer, beat at low speed for 2 minutes and then at high speed for 2 more minutes. If you're mixing by hand mix try to add as much air as possible by vigorously mixing the batter for the last two minutes.

Once it's well mixed, add the remaining flour and mix by hand.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about 3 minutes.

Place the dough into a greased bowl and turn it over to grease both the top and bottom. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it prove in a warm place for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured board.

Roll out the dough out into a 1/4-inch thick disc.

Cut it into squares.

Cover with the kitchen towel and let prove again until it doubles in size, approximately 45 minutes.

Once the squares have doubled, heat about 2 to 3 inches of cooking oil to 370 F in a heavy, deep saucepan. The frying oil is ready when a scrap of dough browns in about 1 minute.

Drop the dough squares into the hot oil. Avoid crowding the pan as too many pieces of dough can make the temperature of the oil drop.

When golden brown on the bottom side, turn the squares over.

Once uniformly golden brown, remove from heat and set the fastnachts on paper towels to cool. Remove excess oil with a paper towel.

Serve with molasses on the side and enjoy!