Germknödel

Germknödel is a large dumpling made by wrapping a thick plum filling in yeast dough and then steaming or boiling it. It is a warm sweet dish popular in the Viennese cuisine of Austria. When you break open the hemispherical dumpling that fills the plate, dark powidl appears inside the white dough.

Wrapping plums in yeast dough

In the recipe presented by the Vienna Tourist Board, yeast is dissolved in lukewarm milk, mixed with flour and sugar, and left to rise. Eggs and butter are added, and the kneaded dough is left to rest, then rolled out thinly and cut into squares; powidl is placed in the center of each, and the dough is wrapped around it. Letting the dumplings rise again after wrapping makes the dough puff up.

In this method, the dumplings are boiled in salted water in a wide pot with the lid on and turned over partway through. Once they are taken out, they are drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled with ground poppy seeds and powdered sugar. Besides boiling, there are also methods in which they are steamed in a steamer set over hot water. The cooked dough is soft, and the fruit filling inside appears when the dumpling is broken open on the plate.

Powidl is a thick paste made by cooking plums down for a long time. A small amount is wrapped inside the dough, and when you take a bite, the sweet-tart fruit combines with the aroma of the poppy seeds and the richness of the butter. Because of its size, it is sometimes served not only as a dessert but also as a meal on its own.

A dumpling dish passed down in Vienna and Bohemia

Austria has many kinds of Knödel, including those made with wheat dough and those made with bread, potatoes or quark. Dumplings filled with sweet fruit also vary widely, and Germknödel is distinguished by its combination of yeast-raised dough and powidl.

Material from the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture states that in the 18th and 19th centuries, cooks from Bohemia worked in Viennese households and brought with them dishes including sweet fruit dumplings. This offers a clue to the dumpling culture shared by Vienna and Bohemia, but on its own it cannot establish who invented today’s powidl-filled Germknödel or when it took shape.

Besides the Viennese style with butter and poppy seeds, versions served with vanilla sauce can also be found. Austrian manufacturers also make frozen products filled with blueberries or cherries as well as powidl. Today’s tables include both dumplings made at home, starting with rising the dough, and ready-made ones that are heated and served.

Glossary