Germknödel (Yeast dumplings)

Yeast dumplings are a very popular dessert from the Viennese cuisine. The dumplings are quite big, of hemispherical shape and filled with plum butter. The classic Viennese way of preparation: Shortly before serving, the dumplings are doused with melted butter and sprinkled with a mixture of ground poppy seed and powdered sugar. By the way: The fluffy dough was already popular in the Viennese dessert cuisine during the 17th century, its production, however, was made easier with the invention of dry yeast in 1847 by the Viennese brewer Adolf Ignaz.

Ingredients:

120ml (0,2 pt) milk
12g (1/16 cup) yeast
250g (2 1/4 cup) plain flour
3 tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
120g (0,3 lb) plum / damson jam or compote
100g (1 cup) powdered (icing) sugar
100g (0,25 lb) ground poppy seed
200g (7/8 cup) butter (melted, to drizzle)
Flour for rolling

Preparation:

To make the dumplings: dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk before adding four tablespoons of flour, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly and sprinkle with flour, then cover and leave to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume (ideally in a preheated oven set to 40°C with the door left open). Add the melted butter, the remaining flour, egg and egg yolk and work the dough until smooth. Leave to rise for another 30-40 minutes. Knead the dough on a floured surface and leave to rest for 5 minutes before rolling out to a thickness of 5mm. Use a cutting wheel (or pastry cutter) to cut out squares measuring approx 5x5 cm. Moisten the edges with water. Place a spoonful of plum/damson jam in the centre of each square, fold the dough over and form into dumpling shapes in the palm of your hand. Place the dumplings on a floured board and leave to rise again for 30 minutes. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil (the dumplings need lots of space to rise) and add the dumplings (if necessary cook in two batches). Bring the water back to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer the dumplings for 15 minutes with the lid on. Turn the dumplings after about 10 minutes and leave to cook for another 4-5 minutes with the lid on. Remove from the water and pierce several times with a thick needle or toothpick to prevent the dumplings from collapsing.

For the poppy seed mixture: mix the ground poppy seed and the powdered (icing) sugar. Drizzle the dumplings liberally with melted butter and sprinkle with the poppy seed mixture. Serve immediately.

Tip: Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature, otherwise the dough will not rise properly.

Serving suggestion: vanilla custard