Austrian Dumplings w/Fruit – Apricot (Marillenknödel) or Plum (Zwetschkenknödel)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup Topfen/Quark see substitutes below
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
For the filling:
- 10 small ripe apricots or plums fresh is BEST!
- 10 tsp sugar or 10 sugar cubes
- cinnamon (optional) to dust the sugar
For the coating (Option 1):
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- cinnamon or vanilla sugar (optional)
For the topping (Option 2):
- 4-5 Tbsp ground poppy seeds
- 3 Tbsp sugar powdered or granulated
- 4 Tbsp melted butter
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Cream the butter and topfen/quark together in a bowl.
- Add the egg and salt, then stir in the flour.
- Mix until a soft dough forms. If it's sticky, add a bit more flour.
- Chill for 30 minutes (makes handling easier).
Prepare the Apricots or Plums:
- Wash and pit the apricots/plums carefully, trying not to break them completely in half.
- Place sugar (optionally dusted with cinnamon) inside each apricot (i.e. in place of the pit) and close them up.
Form the dumplings:
- Lightly flour your hands and work surface.
- Divide dough into 10 equal pieces.
- Flatten each piece into a circle, place an apricot in the center, and gently enclose it with the dough, sealing well.
- Roll into a smooth ball.
Cook the dumplings:
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a gentle boil.
- Carefully lower in the dumplings and simmer (not boil) for about 12-15 minutes, or until they float and the dough is tender.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.
Make the breadcrumb coating (Option 1):
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the breadcrumbs and sugar (and optional cinnamon) and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown.
- Roll the drained dumplings in the buttery crumbs until fully coated.
Poppy seed coating (Option 2):
- While dumplings cook, melt butter in a small saucepan.
- In a separate bowl, combine ground (I remember these served with whole, not ground) poppy seeds and sugar.
Serve.
- Place dumpling(s) on a plate.
- With bread coating, dust with powdered sugar if desired.
- With poppy seed topping, drizzle generously with melted butter and sprinkle heavily with the poppy seed-sugar mixture.
- Best served immediately, warm and buttery.
Topfen/Quark Substitutes:
- Option 1: Greek Yogurt (Full-Fat), well drained.
- Option 2: Ricotta Cheese For a closer match to topfen/quark, blend ricotta until smooth and consider mixing it with a small amount of sour cream (about 10%) to enhance creaminess.
- Option 3: Cream Cheese Cream cheese is denser than topfen/quark, so you might want to lighten it by blending with a bit of milk or yogurt.
- Option 4: Homemade Topfen/Quark Combine 9 parts ricotta cheese with 1 part sour cream. Blend until smooth to achieve a texture and taste close to topfen/quark.
Notes
These were my FAVORITE part of the Austrian Cuisine that I experienced on my mission there from July 1977-July 1979. SOOOOO GOOD.