the name of the doughnut is different in various areas of germany. most areas in german speaking regions call it a "berliner". residents of berlin, brandenburg and saxony often know them as "pfannkuchen", which in the rest of germany generally means pancakes - pancakes are known there as "eierkuchen" (lit. egg cakes). in parts of southern and central germany (bavaria), as well as in much of austria, they are a variety of "krapfen"; in hessen they are referred to as "kräppel" or "kreppel", or, in palatinate, "fastnachtsküchelchen" (literally: "little carnival cakes").