Germknödel

Hello ladies and germs, and welcome to the best thing to come out of the Austro-Hungarian empire alongside apfelstrudel, this jammy dumpling called germknödel. This recipe is from Caroline’s Cooking.

Prep time: 20 minutes and 1 hour proving time
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 2 knödels

Ingredients
Dough:
60ml milk
14g unsalted butter
123g plain flour
5g dried yeast
Pinch of salt
13g sugar
1/2 egg
1tsp vanilla extract

Filling
38g plum jam – also known as powidl

Toppings:
9g poppy seeds
6g powdered sugar
1 sachet vanille soße
500ml milk

1. Germ-mania

Start by melting 14g butter in 60ml milk until it is lukewarm, you don’t want it too hot otherwise you will kill the yeast and you wouldn’t kill some yeast, would you Jack?

In a separate large bowl, mix 123g plain flour, 5g yeast, 13g sugar and a pinch of salt, stir to combine. Add in the warm milk mixture, half an egg and 1tsp vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead, adding more flour if required (although don’t add too much) for around 5 minutes until smooth.

Form the dough into a ball and return to the bowl and cover. Leave in a warm corner to rise for 45 minutes.

2. Dough you want germknödel baby

After 45 minutes, gently knock back the dough and divide into two equal parts. Take one piece of dough and flatten it out. Dollop 1tbsp plum jam into the middle.

Pinch the dough around the sides to seal. Ours looks like pure Cornish pasty, so channel your inner Cornish-miner wife and pinch!

Once sealed, gently roll the dumpling in your hand to form it into a perfect ball.

Repeat with the other dumpling.

Leave to dumplings to rest on a lightly floured surface covered for 15 minutes.

3. Top of the toppings

Whilst your dumplings rest, make your vanilla sauce and poppy seed topping.

Grind 9g poppy seeds down with 6g icing sugar in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.

Either in the microwave or on the hob, heat 500ml milk with the vanilla sauce powder until thickened.

4. Steamy

Bring a pot of water to boil on the hob. Line a bamboo steamer with grease proof paper and place one dumpling per floor of the steamer – they will expand and you don’t want them to merge into a powerful super-dumpling.

Place the steamer over the pot of boiling water and cover. Bring the heat down so that the water is just simmering. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the dumplings have expanded and are firm to touch.

5. Gerne germ

Remove the cooked dumplings from their paper and serve in a wide bowl, topped with a generous helping of vanilla sauce and sprinkled with poppy seeds.

Dink and sink!

Food for Thought