Zwetschgenknödel (German Plum Dumplings)

Plum Dumplings cut open on a white plate. In the background you can see a bowl of Italian prune plums and another bowl with Dumplings

4.54 from 13 votes

Zwetschgenknödel (German Plum Dumplings)

Bite into soft dumplings and find a whole juicy plum hiding inside, sweetened with cinnamon sugar and coated in toasted breadcrumbs. Made with quark, or a simple cream cheese and Greek yogurt substitute if quark isn't easy to find. A classic German autumn dessert my family has made for years.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Austrian, czech, German

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Servings dumplings

Calories 240kcal

Author by Marita Sinden

Ingredients

For the dough

½ cup butter at room temperature
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup quark or use ½ cup (125 gr) cream cheese and ½ cup (125 gr) Greek Yogurt (10% fat) instead *see notes
1 cup all purpose flour

For the filling

¼ cup granulated sugar for filling
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 Italian Prune Plums or another plum variety (10-15 depending on size)

For the Bread Crumb Coat

1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Make the Dough

Using a stand or hand mixer, whisk together the butter, sugar, and salt until creamy. Carefully mix in the egg and either the quark or the cream cheese and Greek yogurt mixture if you don't have quark.
½ cup butter, 2 tbsp granulated sugar , 1 cup quark
Add the flour to the bowl and combine into a homogeneous dough. The dough will be soft and a little sticky; that's normal. Don't be tempted to add extra flour or it will turn out dry and hard.
1 cup all purpose flour
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes for the gluten to activate.
While the dough rests, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well.

Prepare and assemble the plums

While the dough rests, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well.
Wash the plums. Make a lengthwise incision on one side of each plum and remove the stone. Fill the core of each plum with a teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture and set aside.
12 Italian Prune Plums , ¼ cup granulated sugar , 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into portions to match your number of plums. Since the dough is soft and sticky, it helps to work with damp hands. Flatten a portion of dough, place a filled plum in the center, and wrap the dough around it, sealing the seams well so they don't open in the water. Repeat with the remaining dough and plums.
Leave the wrapped dumplings to rest on a plate at room temperature.
Heat water with ½ teaspoon of salt in a large pot. Once boiling, reduce the heat so it's just simmering, not boiling hard. Add the dumplings and simmer, working in batches if needed depending on the size of your pot.

The Bread Crumb Coat

While the dumplings simmer, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the sugar and breadcrumbs, and fry, stirring often, until golden brown. Remove from the heat.
2 tbsp granulated sugar , 2 tbsp butter, 1 cup bread crumbs
Once the dumplings are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon and add them straight to the pan with the toasted breadcrumbs, rolling them around until fully coated. Serve warm.

Notes

I would strongly recommend referring to the step-by-step recipe photos in the main post. I also offer some recipe variations in the main post.

What to serve with plum dumplings?

There are a variety of condiments that go well with these sweet dough balls. Sauces or fruit compote compliment the crispy, doughy texture of the knödel.

Here are some suggestions:

Vanilla Sauce - see recipe
Vanilla Pudding- see recipe
Vanilla Ice Cream
Plum Sauce
Sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar
Cherry sauce

Can I prepare this dish in advance?

If you want to make this dish in advance, I suggest making the dough and store it in the fridge overnight. Then simply fill the dumplings and cook them on the day it is served.

Another piece of advice would be to fully prepare the dumplings and then store them on a floured plate overnight. Make sure you cover the dumplings with cling film.

Can you freeze Plum Dumplings?

You can freeze the plum dumplings before cooking them. You can place them frozen in the simmering water, but up the cooking time by 5 minutes. Then coat the balls with breadcrumbs and serve.

Nutrition