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Dumplings:
Topping:
Make the Dumplings:
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 (about 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.
Make the Topping and Assembly:
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.
Poster's Notes:
Interestingly, I came across an entry in Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages, under the section for "poppy" where she writes about the popularity of poppy seeds in Austrian desserts:
"Most of these recipes originated in Bohemia (today's Czech Republic), whence they came to Austria in the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Another great example for this sweet and high-calorie cooking tradition are Germknödel, steamed yeast dumplings stuffed with a very concentrated kind of plum jam (Powidl) and served with powdered sugar, ground poppy seeds and molten butter."
You can replace the poppy seeds in the topping with the walnuts favored by your grandmother. The dough and steaming technique are likely very similar, at least close enough for a beginning.
Posted by Ruth Baks
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A
30g butter (room temperature)
25g icing sugar
1 sachet (4g) vanilla sugar
2 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
250 g white all-purpose flour
1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
125 ml milk (warm)
200g powidl (thick plum jam similar to lekvar, for the filling)
Butter for the cloth
100g poppy seeds
100g icing sugar
100g 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!).
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.
There is popular Slovakian dessert called "Parene Buchty," steamed dumplings filled with jam or fruit, but all the recipes I've seen are in Slovakian.