in a lot of countries it is quite unusual to eat something sweet as a main dish. as an austrian you are used to it from your early childhood on and so apricot Dumplings are a common staple. i remember quite vividly the fluffy dumplings my grandma made, traditionally with a piece of sugar in the center. accompanied by a glass of milk. there are some rather good frozen options out there, however it is so easy and quick to make fruit dumplings yourself you don’t have to use these convenience products.

and yes i know apricot season is almost over, but maybe you can still get some (or have some in the freezer). besides you can also use this Dough with plums or e.g. make some nougat dumplings. a recipe for plum dumplings is already up on the blog, but i changed the dough and i have to admit like it better now (definitely let the curd drain, that’s how you get really fluffy dumplings). contrary to the traditional recipe, i replace the pit with a piece of chocolate. of course you can also use a piece of sugar or marzipan. you can also prepare the dumplings well ahead and freeze them before they go into the water. to finish cook the still frozen dumpling in simmering water for about 15-20 min.

at the first bite of this apricot dumpling is was transported back to my childhood. that’s what i love about food – it’s ability to bring memories and impressions alive just with the taste of it.

ingredients (about 9 dumplings)

• 250 g curd (full fat)
• 120 g flour
• 1 egg
• 25 g very soft butter
• 30 g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 9 apricots (or other fruits)
• 9 small pieces of chocolate
• about 20 g breadcrumbs per dumpling
• about 1-2 tbsp icing sugar (for 4-8 dumplings)
• some butter

place a sieve on top of a pot and line with a fine cloth (e.g. fabric diaper). place the curd in it, cover with the rest of the cloth and weight with eg a can. place in fridge for at least 1-2 hours or over night. the wetness of the curd will be soaked up by the cloth and you get a quite compact mass.

knead the curd with flour, egg, soft butter, sugar and salt into a smooth dough (either with your hands or a food processor). the dough should be a bit sticky, but not sticking to your hands. if it is too sticky add some more flour, but be careful not to add too much. the more flour there is in the dough the more compact (and not fluffy) the dumplings will be. if you’ve got time let the dough rest for about 30 min in the fridge.

cut the apricots about halfway, remove the pit and replace with chocolate. take a piece of dough the size of about a tablespoon and form a flat circle in the palm of your hand. place the apricot face down with the cut side and cover all over with the dough. roll in your hands to get a smooth dumpling. do so with the rest of the dough.

in a big pot bring water to a simmer, slightly salt and let the dumplings cook in it for about 10-13 min. when they spin on the surface they are ready.

for the crumbs melt some butter in a pan, add breadcrumbs and roast until golden brown. sift the icing sugar on top and mix in.

lift the cooked dumpling with a skimming ladle out of the water and immediatly roll in the crumbs. served sprinkled with icing sugar.

Filed under: mains, sweets, vegetarian Tagged: apricot dumplings, mains, sweets, vegetarian