Forget Apricot Jam... Try these divine Apricot Dumplings (Marillenknödel)

It's summertime and the young apricot tree in the far corner of the garden has again produced a splendid crop of palate tingling golden fruit.  I had been eyeing them for weeks, checking their progress, sampling the odd apricot here and there, but it was only a week ago that they were just perfect.

With too many to eat, what to do?  Usually, I would make jam with the excess, but this year I decided to dry some and make apricot dumplings i.e. Marillenknödel.

You can't get a more Austrian dish than Marillenknödel - Imagine a perfectly ripe apricot enveloped in a soft dumpling dough rolled in sugary sweet crunchy caramelised breadcrumbs.  It's the Mozartkugel of the dumpling world!  


Every summer my grandmother made these, with extra helpings of the crumb mixture, just for me, because I could have eaten the crumbs alone by the spoonful (and I did!).

Well not much has changed, only that I now have to make the dumplings myself and I still double the amount of crumbs.

It may seem a lot of effort, but believe me, once you've tasted these you'll gladly make them again.

Apricot Dumplings

Required time:  1.5 hours

Ingredients:

     500 - 600gr Apricots

     1 Sugar cube per apricot

  Dumpling Dough 

     1kg Potatoes

     350gr Plain flour

     1 Egg

     Pinch of Salt

  Crumb Coating

     200gr Breadcrumbs

     200gr Sugar

     200gr Salt free butter

Method:

1. Wash and dry the apricots. Remove the stone by cutting half of the apricot open along the crease and replace it with a sugar cube.
2. Boil the potatoes in their skins until they are soft.  Drain and pour cold water over them so they cool to the touch.
3. Peel the skins off the potatoes and press them into a large bowl using a potato press if you have one, otherwise just mash them.
4. Add the egg, pinch of salt and sifted flour to the potatoes and mix well until a sticky dough forms.
5. Separate the dough into two portions and on a floured workbench roll each into a short, fat roll.  Cut slices off the dough and flatten into small rounds.  Place a prepared apricot on each round and firmly seal the dough around it.
6. Bring some water in a large cooking pot to the boil.  Whilst waiting for the water to boil, gently melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and sugar combining all ingredients well.  Stir over a medium heat until the crumbs become golden and the sugar caramelises a little - be careful not to burn the crumbs.  Remove from the heat.
7. Gently lower the dumplings into the simmering water and cook until they rise to the top and float - this is the sign they are done.  Remove and drain the excess water then immediately roll them in the warm crumb mixture.
8. Serve warm, on a plate with some extra crumbs sprinkled over the top and a light dusting of powdered sugar.
9. Enjoy...