Marillenknödel
“Whole apricots, often hiding a sugar cube where the stone was, wrapped in a soft potato or quark dough, boiled, then rolled in buttery toasted breadcrumbs and powdered sugar. A summer classic especially associated with the apricots of the Wachau valley.”
Where it comes from
Marillenknödel are the apricot dumplings of Austria and Bohemia, a whole fruit wrapped in soft potato dough, boiled and rolled in buttery crumbs. They are inseparable from the Wachau valley's prized Wachauer Marille apricots, made in their brief summer season.
On the plate
Bite through the tender, pillowy dough and a whole hot apricot bursts sweet-tart juices, the hidden sugar cube melting into syrup. The toasty, golden crumb coating adds nutty crunch against the soft fruit — pure stone-fruit summer.
How it works
Riced cooled potato keeps the dough light and low in developed gluten so it stays tender, while a thin even casing cooks through before the fruit overcooks. Toasting the crumbs in butter sets a fragrant, moisture-resistant jacket around the wet boiled dumpling.
Variations
Quark dough instead of potato, plums in season (Zwetschkenknödel), poppy-seed crumb coating, strawberries for a modern twist
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓35 min active · 30 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 125 min
Boil floury potatoes, peel them while hot, and press them through a ricer to cool.
- 28 min
Mix the cooled potato with egg, butter, semolina, a little flour and salt into a soft dough.
- 38 min
Pit each apricot through a small slit and tuck a sugar cube inside.
- 410 min
Wrap a portion of dough evenly around each apricot, sealing it fully.
- 512 min
Simmer the dumplings gently in salted water until they float and cook through.
- 68 min
Meanwhile toast breadcrumbs in plenty of butter with a little sugar until golden.
- 73 min
Roll the drained hot dumplings in the buttered crumbs to coat all over.
- 82 min
Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.
