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Austrian Dumplings w/Fruit - Apricot (Marillenknödel) or Plum (Zwetschkenknödel)

Course: Breads & Rolls, Desserts, Side Dishes
1st Gen Author: Fred Lybbert

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.