Germknödel with Powidl & sweet poppy seeds

One of the culinary excentricities of Austria is that it is quite common for people to make sweet food a main course. It is acceptable to devour a whole apple strudel or a variety of dumplings filled with fruit (apricots, plums, strawberry etc) and a whole array of other dishes considered desserts as the only thing you're having for lunch. Our Hungarian friends Timi and Levente had been bugging us for months now to make Germknoedel which they had eaten in Austria a few years ago. Serena also posted a comment recently when I was writing about my trip to Austria requesting a recipe for these delicious dumplings, so here we go.
Germknödel are big dumplings made out of a yeasty dough and filled with Powidl - a sort of plum jam which needs to cook for hours and hours to reduce down to an almost black paste tasting more of dried prunes than fresh plums. Timi told me today that back in Hungary her grandmother and other old women in the village would meet once a year to make this jam together, killing the endless hours in which the jam has to cook by drinking mulled wine by the bucket-load... I have asked her to put me in touch with her gran, of course, obviously I will be going for research purposes only, culinary and culturally research that is.
But back to the Germknödel. They are prepared as you would expect for a yeast dough, with lots of resting and rising and hoping and praying involved. You then stuff them with the Powidl and neatly close the dough around them, letting them rise some more. They are cooked over steam, spreading a kitchen towel over a pot of boiling water and securing it with a piece of string, then putting the dumplings on the towel and covering them with another pot (upside down) to create some sort of steam bath for the Germknödel (no aromatherapy involved here, though!). It would probably work equally well in a steamer, although I have never tried this. When they are done, they should be firm outside but wonderfully fluffy inside, and they are served hot with some melted butter and a mixture of poppy seeds and icing sugar - delicious!

Germknödel with Powidl & sweet poppy seeds
(serves 6)

30 g butter (room temperature)
25 g icing sugar
1 sachet (4 g) vanilla sugar
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
250 g white all-purpose flour
1 sachet (7 g) dried yeast
125 ml milk (warm)
200 g Powidl (for the filling)
butter for the cloth

For the topping:
100 g poppy seeds
100 g icing sugar
100 g butter

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, icing and vanilla sugar, yolks and salt, put the bowl over simmering water and whisk until the mixture is warm (make sure it does not get too hot, the eggs must not cook!). Mix the flour and the yeast in a bowl with a fork, then add to the egg mixture. Gradually add the warm milk, combining thoroughly, then knead with a mixer/food processor to achieve a smooth and soft dough. Cut into 6 even pieces and shape them into balls. Let them rest on a floured surface, cover with a slightly moist, but not wet, kitchen towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes. When the dough has risen, flatten the dough slightly, fill with Powidl and close up the dough neatly so the filling can't escape. They should keep their dumpling shape. Put on a floured surface again (use a cutting board, for example), cover with a moist towel and put in a warm (ca 50 C) oven or an airing cupboard, where they should be left until they have doubled in size.
Prepare the pot by spreading a clean kitchen towel over it after filling it with boiling water, secure the cloth with a piece of string, brush the cloth with butter and lay the dumplings on top. Depending on the size of your pot, you may want to cook them in batches so they have enough room. Then cover the dumplings by placing another pot of the same diameter on top (upside down that is), to create a "steam room" for your dumplings. A lid is not enough, as the steam with make the cloth and dumplings rise, so they need some space to roam here! Steam them for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, grind the poppy seeds - if you haven't got a grinder, put them in a slim and tall tupperware dish and grind using a hand-held blender (without adding anything). Then combine with the icing sugar.
When the Germknödel are done, arrange on plates, pour over the melted butter and sprinkle generously with the poppy seed mixture. Serve immediately, with warm vanilla custard or creme anglaise if you wish.

Comments

[serena]

thank you so much! this sounds do-able - although given that i'm moving soon & am trying to finish up all edible foodstuffs in the kitchen i'm not sure i'll be able to try this soon. what would you recommend as a substitute for Powidl, do you know? or should i even be attempting a substitute?

regards,

-serena

[johanna]

you'd be hard-pressed to find a substitute, I think. Mail order could work. There's an Austrian shop in the city which could get it for you, I'm sure: Kipferl. http://homepage.mac.com/bauer/kipferl.html The owner Christian gets Austrian produce sent every week. That's if you can get into London or know someone around. Or try to make your own: cook plums (without adding anything) long enough to be able to stand a wooden spoon in the mixture - this obviously takes hours of reducing, so may not be worth your while.
And if all else fails, I will be going to Austria in August - and I can send you some from there if you let me know your details.

[martina]

Mein Mann und ich wünschen uns seit Jahren Germknödel mit Marillenfülllung. Uns schmeckt die Powidlfüllung überhaupt nicht.

Vielleicht versuchst du einfach einmal eine andere Marmelade bzw. Konfitüre.

[melissa]

I love poppy seeds!...your recipe sounds great and since it looks so delicious in the photo, I would try it soon. Hugs from Panama :)

[panasianbiz]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. Although I've travelled to many countries, Austria is not one of them. As someone with a sweet tooth, the idea of eating a sweet dish as the main part of the mean sounds incredibly appealing. Austria, here I come!

[Linda]

Go to any good delicatessen and buy some plum jam from Holland, or Germany, or wherever. This works just fine and tastes great on toast, too! Cheers.

[julia]

I was wondering if you knew how to make the Powidl at home, as we were going to attempt it, only cannot find a recipe.

[johanna]

Hi Julia, I am actually planning to make Powidl this fall, and while I have no recipe, I will try and use 1 quantity of sugar over 2 of plums, maybe put a cinnamon stick in and then simmer for hours... just waiting for a miserable day now and I'll run out to get some plums! If you try it, let me know how you get on!

[Vanessa]

I just cooked my first batch! They turned out to be quiet good. I am having a flashback to my holidays spent in Europe.
They are not quiet like the ones I have eaten in Austria.
However that is due to my lack of real Powidl- I cooked some prunes with plum jam for approx 1hr until it was thick, like cement.
From an Aussie dreaming of Austria a big thumbs up.

[Declan]

gday.

They look really good. As i am half austria and have been there 4 times i LOVE germknodels! just a question.. is it possable to make the base fo them flatter than the one in your picture? cheers.

and how do u make that rich jam??

[Declan]

gday.

They look really good. As i am half austria and have been there 4 times i LOVE germknodels! just a question.. is it possable to make the base fo them flatter than the one in your picture? cheers.

and how do u make that rich jam??

[johanna]

Hi Declan, you can make the dumpling any height or shapy you like, really, and adjust the steaming time accordingly.
As for the jam, see my comment above for a pseudo recipe which I have not yet tried, but should work fine.
hope this helps a little.

[Sara]

Hello Serena,
You can order real powidl from www.meinl.com. They ship orders around the world. Because they deduct the 20%VAT tax from international orders, it cancels out the fedex costs if you order enough. You will receive your order in 3 days--no kidding! It is also the source of the best Viennese coffees! Enjoy.

[olga]

Hi,
does anybody knows is there a chance to order ready made products of those delicious sweets for the restoran. If you have info please send to pavlovic_olga@yahoo.com
Best regards
Olga

[Kristin]

WOW! I have been looking for a recipe for this dessert, which I first tried in Waidring, Austria, for almost 5 years! Thank you so much for this - can't wait to try it!

[Maria]

Thank you for this recipe. I've been looking for an english version of it for years!
I lived in Austria (13 years ago) and the food is spetacular! We used to have these germknodels for lunch almost every week.
The only problem is to find the Powidl... I thought about trying to make a paste from dried pruns - do you think it will work?
And again, Thank you for this recipe!

[johanna]

Hi Maria,
I think that’s a great idea! I would add some lemon juice, as the powidl is slightly tart – let me know how it worked! Good luck!