Nicole Stich's Marillenknödel (Apricot Dumplings)

Oh, the glorious dumpling. Is there any other culinary marvel as delicious, as adorable, as appropriately named, as internationally recognized, and as beloved as the dumpling? Such a humble little thing, and yet so fervently adored, from Italy to China, from Germany to Japan.

I think I've mentioned before that tomatoes are my desert island food, the one thing I'd happily eat every day from here to eternity, but if a questionnaire would ever allow for a second item on that list, it'd have to be the dumpling. Pork-stuffed, tomato-sauced, chicken-stew-topped, and finally - and most stunningly - fruit-filled.

Most people think of dumplings as savory bites, pan-fried like gyoza, or tossed in a butter sauce, like gnocchi, bursting with soup like the Chinese soup dumpling or even scraped off a board into a pot of boiling water, like Spätzle (not actually a noodle! yes, a dumpling). But from the marvelous culinary archives of the Austro-Hungarian Empire comes forth what I believe to be the crown jewel of dumplings: the sweet one stuffed with fruit, rolled in toasted, buttered breadcrumbs and served, dusted with a fine shower of confectioner's sugar, to a table of hungry eaters who will adore you, in one fell swoop, after dining like such royalty.

The Austrian fruit dumpling is encased in delicate quark-enriched dough flavored with fresh lemon peel and vanilla. Would you like to know what my personal idea of heaven smells like? Make this dough and take a long, deep breath before you stir in the flour. Quark is a German fresh cheese that looks a little like ricotta, but tastes really nothing like it: it's far more sour. The Vermont Butter & Cheese Company makes quark and you can poke around your cheese stores or specialty grocers to find other brands. Otherwise, here's a guide to making your own (I haven't tried this myself).

The dough is rather soft and delicate - handle it as little as possible. As long as you keep your counters and hands well-floured, you should be fine. After you form the gorgeous dough into a log and cut it into equal pieces, you flatten those pieces until they're large enough to encase a sugar-stuffed apricot and gently press and poke until you've closed up the dough all around the apricot. Then you plop these little balls into a pot of boiling water where they'll bob and float until they're done. You roll the drained dumplings in butter-toasted breadcrumbs and then shower them liberally with confectioner's sugar.

And then, oh then, to eat them. What you'll find is a delicious outer cover of tender, tasty dumpling and a perfectly cooked apricot, sweet and tart at the same time, fairly bursting with juice, on the inside. The buttery, crispy breadcrumb coating and the soft fillip of powdered sugar finesse each bite.

In Austria, these are served as part of a light meal, not as dessert, so we ate the dumplings (two per person is just fine) for dinner, then followed up with salad. (We used to have rice pudding with sour cherries for lunch at school in Berlin, too, so who knows.) But I don't think it really matters when you eat these gems. Just make sure you do.

I know. You have to search for an odd German cheese. You have to strain it and then make a dough. You have to be all careful with it. And then you have to not only boil the dumplings, but make a further coating for them. There's a reason it took me 31 years to make my own. But you know what? I'm a lazy git. And I've learned my lesson. Don't wait as long as I did. This is the king of dumplings, the leader of them all!

(And the recipe, from Nicky's gorgeous blog, delicious days, really is a cinch. It worked perfectly and doubles very easily. I translated from the metric for American readers below.)

More photos here.

Marillenknödel (Apricot Dumplings)
Makes 6

1/2 pound fresh quark cheese
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon zest
6 small apricots
6 sugar cubes or 3 teaspoons of Demerara sugar
4 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
Scant 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for forming
1/3 cup plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs
Powdered sugar

1. Place the quark in a fine mesh sieve and let drain for an hour into the sink. If you don't have an hour, 15 to 30 minutes are fine. Wash the apricots and dry them, then cut them open along their seams (only halfway!) and remove their pits. Fill with either a sugar cube or half a teaspoon of Demerara sugar.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a generous pinch of salt, and reduce the temperature until the water bubbles just very lightly.

3. In a big bowl cream together the strained quark, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of soft butter, egg yolk, semolina, sugar, vanilla, and salt using a wooden spoon. When it's well-combined and fluffy,  fold in the flour. Don't over-mix. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and with well-floured hands, form the dough gently into a thick log.

4. Cut the log into into 6 equally sized pieces. With floured hands, gently pat each piece into a small disc, then place a sugar-filled apricot in the middle of the dough and gently wrap the dough around the apricot. Form a neat little dumpling (re-flour your hands as necessary) and double check that the apricots are completely covered by the dough. There will be seams, but try to make sure they are as closed as possible.

5. Carefully slip the dumplings into the water and watch to make sure none got stuck to the bottom of the pot, stirring, if needed. Let them simmer at low heat for 12 to 14 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a pan over medium heat and toast the breadcrumbs in the butter for a few minutes. Remove the dumplings with a skimmer, then roll them in the pan with the buttered breadcrumbs until evenly covered. Pile the dumplings on a serving plate and dust generously with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

Comments

[Plush Palate]

I'm sold! I will try this this weekend!! It sounds and looks absolutely divine. I've also never had a sweet dumpling so I am thoroughly curious! Thanks for the inspiration.

[thecatskillkiwi]

I'm on a dumpling roll... no pun intended, will try this once i can pry my teeth away from Veslka's seasonal blueberry perogies... YUM and double yum!

[Adrienne]

Oh! A sweet dumpling? Sounds amazing! Question: do you cover the pot while they cook or leave it uncovered? Seems a little silly to ask, but with some dumplings (like the kind in chicken stew, for example) it matters... if I'm tracking down a weird german cheese, I don't want to mess up the process :)

[Luisa]

Adrienne - you leave it uncovered. The water should simmer and the dumplings will bob around in the water.

[radish]

The extent to which I love these cannot be measured or explained! They are pure heaven.

[Shauna]

I spotted your Tweet regarding these gems and was hoping for a post about them! Sensational.

I love these kinds of recipes that are so Old World that they might require a sort of costume in order to make them turn out right. I'm feeling braids and a dirndl here.

[Tracy]

Now I'm kicking myself for passing up some really nice looking apricots at the market this morning.

Your rice pudding comment took me back to the college year I spent in Freiburg eating Reismilch mit Pflaumenmuß at the Mensa. It only cost a Mark in 1989 for a generous bowl, which let me save my pennies for a trip to Berlin and the DDR in the spring after the Wall had begun to crumble.

Thanks for the recipe and the memory.

[Mary Lamb]

Marillen Knödel were said to be the favorite dessert of the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler. Next March, the Stockholm Philharmonic and a couple of other Scandinavian orchestras plan to perform all ten Mahler symphonies and some of the songs at the Concerthouse. In addition, they will construct a replica of Mahler's composing hut and they will serve Marillen Knödel!

[Anna]

Knödel!
Was ist heut' für Tag? Heut' ist Knödeltag... aaah, wenn jeder Tag Knödeltag wääääre, dann wär's ne schöne Zeit! Do you know that song? My father used to sing it. And Knödel are one of the things that look and taste so spectacular, when actually, once you get it, they really are not hard to make. Plus they are so worth it!

[Mouse from A Mouse Bouche]

Oh I am SO with you on the desert island scenario. And the fascination with the dumpling as the truly universal food. I used to love apricot dumplings when I lived in Prague and haven't had them since! Will have to try... (also just discovered delicious days blog--so great!)

[Jean]

I love sweet main meals - it seems so decadnet. The rice pudding, sweet fruit tarts and french toast of my Swiss childhood and also other German/ Austrian treats like Kaiserschmarren and Dampfnudeln.

[The Leftoverist]

This is what I love about cooking--for as long as I've been in the kitchen, I've never made or even heard of dumplings such as these. New wonders around every corner. And I'm REALLY into apricots lately.

[Trish la Dish]

You rock! I was a little worried about you the last couple of weeks when your posts were coming in late-ish. But here you are making dumplings! Fantastic! They're delicate dumplings of course - - I think I understand that (been there and back a few times...). It's so good to hear you've got your appetite and can share this cozy yummy treasure you found. Thanks!
Hug...Trish la Dish

[R khooks]

I love these. My Austrian Grandma used to make these and plum versions. She served them with custard too. Will have to remember not to eat all the apricots and save them to make some Marillenknödel. Superlecker!

[tigress]

this looks amazing! i will try it this summer! i make my own cheese so now i have an excuse to make quark too! :)

[Stephen Bitterolf]

Luisa - For your reader's information (and for the ease of NYCers out there) I got the Quark at the Union Square Farmer's Market at the Hawthorne Valley Farm stand. I wanna say it was $4.50?

[la ninja]

WOW... from baked beans to delicatessen in a matter of days!need I say more?
too lazy at the mo to try anything this elaborate but reading about it was as delish!
gracias!

[Upstairs Penny]

Can't wait to try these! Will have to make a 'QUARK' run first. Thanks for the info about finding it at Union Square!

[Wolfgang Bitterolf]

Two is definitely not enough. Just back from Vienna where my sister made some. I ate five and was low man on the totem pole - my brother-in-law did eight. BTW: It is quite customary to eat a "Gemüsesuppe" (vegetable soup) before the Marillenknödel.

[Nora]

hello luisa!
this is my first post, just for you-because i am austrian and i have an insider tip for you :-) three years ago, during my summer holidays i worked in the kitchen of a traditional family run "gasthaus" in upper austria and the two generations of cooks told me that it is absolutely necessary to wait with the breadcrumbs until the butter has turned brown. it gives the crumbs much more aroma. then you stir in crystal sugar that caramelizes, and finally you add the breadcrumbs-you just need to roast them until they have absorbed the butter-sugar-caramel mix! it's worth trying :-)
by the way i like your blog a lot and my favorite dish so far is the braised fennel with parmiggiano!
see you!

[Heather]

I read about these on both your blog and delicious days. That must mean two things:

1. They are damn good.
2. I should make them.

[Bess]

I'm living in Vienna and have had my fare share of all thing knödel, but the marillenknödel is always the fave! Thanks for posting the recipe, maybe one day I'll try to make my own :)

[jean]

Even with your phone camera, you manage to make it look wonderful. When will you get your real camera again?

[Luisa]

Mary- how wonderful!

Anna- hee, that song made me smile. Very cute!

Nora- great tip, thank you! We'll be making more of these soon.

Jean- you are a peach, thank you. I miss my real camera something fierce. Apparently it will be fixed and returned by the end of July.

[jenny]

I loved your ode to the dumpling, especially since I feel similarly. throw in apricots and I'm definitely sold.

happy to see you experimenting in the kitchen again!

[Megan]

Are these ok leftover or eaten a while after they've been made? I'm planning on making them today for serving this evening...?

[Luisa]

Megan- They really need to be eaten fresh and hot, straight from the pan, like all dumplings. They risk getting gummy otherwise. But they are a fun dinner party dish, your guests will want to watch you make them!

[Megan]

Belt bustingly good. I don't know how anyone can eat more than one! Thank you - these were fun to make.

[Megan]

(Nevermind. Just finished a second. Nap to follow shortly.)

[Mercedes]

I like the sugar cube trick- I always wondered how the fruit in the dumplings got so soft and sweet.

P.S. Thanks for your message.

[Lisa-Marie]

Luisa, these look spectacular! yum yum!

[Isabelle]

Wow! I am completely intrigued. I've never made dumplings and the savoury Chinese variety are on my cooking list, but this is something different altogether. They sound heavenly. Apricots are in season where I live so I really shouldn't pass up this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing.

[Barbara]

Great idea. I have been eating dumplings in all its forms for years- but never tried anything like this. Pretty, too.

[Stephanie]

I'm partial to the Zwetschkenknödel, I sould get into these though so I don't have to wait for the plums to come into season! My Omi usually prepared these with soup and a salad. We were also known to have bread pudding or donuts for dinner. Mmm.... donuts.

[Darina]

My parents are from Eastern Europe and when I was growing up my mom made very similar sweet dumplings. They were stuffed with plums, and instead of breadcrumbs, she coated them with butter, sugar, and wheat farina.I swoon thinking about those dumplings. Maybe it's time to make them on my own.

[Martina]

I've been using Greek Yogurt when I would usually use Quark; but to imagine that this whole time I've been in Vermont I never knew that the vermont butter & cheese company has been making quark!! Thank God I now know.

[Sonja]

Marillenknödel are such a wonderful thing! I should make them more often...

In Austria we have 2 different versions of dough for fruit dumplings - one is potato based, the other one based on fresh cheese, as you describe (I much prefer this one!). We actually use a fresh cheese called "Topfen" in Austria, which has a slightly firmer texture than the German "Quark" (it is very hard to get outside Austria, though).

[Luisa]

Sonja- That's why the recipe has you drain the Quark, so that it approximates Topfen...

[Alejandra]

I absolutely love quark! At the Union Square farmer's market, there is a dairy stand run by Hawthorne Valley Farm (http://www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org/). I discovered that they make the most INCREDIBLE fresh quark. When you get a chance, absolutely check them out. In my home we eat it with a spoon, it's so good.

[nihendo]

I love all of you! I stumbled upon this site for the tutorial on roasting peppers only to discover all the other wonderful gems. All these wonderful people and their gorgeous recipes. I thank you - my belly thanks you!

[Megan]

My friend just had these for the first time in Austria at my recommendation (well, yours). He's been there several times but hadn't heard of them. He thanks you.

[Andrea]

I was lucky enough to eat Luisa's dumplings. They were just divine! Sweet memories... Thanks!

[Riley Adams]

Apricot is something I've only recently come to enjoy, but now I'm a true fan.

I'm with you on the tomatoes!

Riley
Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen

[Daniela Restrepo]

I am sooooooooo gonna try this. Sounds absolutely delicious

[stephen]

I only wish that cheese pastries in America were more like this. Lightly sweet, tart fruit, melt in your mouth real fat goodness.

[BF]

i love how different these sound. i'm definitely going to try them out. such a wonderful description of their taste, luisa.

[jo]

Hi Luisa - great blog - I used some week old fresh goat cheese and these made a lovely lunch. But I wonder what the closest thing to Topfen or quark, readily available in France, is? More dumpling recipes please!

[deeba]

Apricot & dumplings = creative genius! I ♥ the very idea! Beautiful!!

[Edgardo Resto]

Hi Luisa,

Never posted on your blog before, but I had to today to share some info (which you may already know.) In NYC you can get Quark from the Vermont Butter and Cheese company at Whole Foods as well as the lovely quark from the Green market in Union Square. But you can also get Quark from Shaller & Webber on 2nd Ave (btw 85th & 86th St.) as well as at Grand Central Market at the German food stall that I don't know the name to. These two shops sell the appel-farms quark which comes in regular, low-fat and fat-free (but seriously, who really wants fat-free anyway?) My wife is German and she has never been able to subsist too long without getting her quark fix from time to time, so it's been a part of our household for a long time. Just thought I would help you all fulfill your dumpling/Quark cravings in the NYC area. Can't wait to try making the dumplings soon!

I have been reading your blog over the past few months. I just randomly bumped into it. Great place! Lovely recipes, beautiful photographs, great comments from your "wednesday chef" community and, above all, wonderful writing! It has been a pleasure to read. Also, as a Tufts alumn (I believe from your class, '99. My wife Svenja is as well) it's been great to read your writing. Keep it up. It's been fun!

[Becca's Bistro]

I was also inspired to make these after seeing the recipe on Delicous Days. Mine came out a treat too. I live in Turkey so couldn't get quark but used labne (drained),which is found in Turkey and the Middle East. Worked just fine.