Kartoffelkloesse - Potato Dumplings

It is my understanding that the Potato Dumpling is a south German food.  I don’t know if that’s true but I do know that my north German mother enjoyed making them from time to time.  She normally served them plain, seasoned with salt and pepper only.  If you would like a little more complexity to the dumplings, use the simple sauce provided or use your own favorite.  German potato dumplings are wonderfully filling and satisfying…and I love potatoes!

Dumplings Ingredients (serves 8)

    6 Potatoes, Russets are wonderful for these dumplings

    1 teaspoon salt

    2 eggs, beaten

    2/3 cup all-purpose flour

    ½ cup bread crumbs

    1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Sauce Ingredients (Optional)

    2/3 cup butter

    1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

    1 garlic clove, finely minced          

    1/4 cup bread crumbs

Make the Dough

1.      Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters.  Place in a saucepan large enough to fit them and cover with water.  Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender.

As I was only using 3 Potatoes for the photographs, they are not cut into quarters, but I highly recommend it for a greater quantity.

2.      Drain the potatoes well and transfer to a large bowl.  Mash using a hand masher.  Don’t use a hand blender or similar tool because it will make the potatoes too smooth.

Mashed before adding the other ingredients

3.      After the potatoes are mashed well, add the salt, eggs, flour, bread crumbs, and nutmeg.  Mix very well. 

Beaten Egg, Flour, Bread Crumbs, Salt, Nutmeg

After the additional ingredients have been added.  Oh Look!  There is a formed dumpling on the left.

The dough should not be sticky; if it is, mix in additional flour or bread crumbs.  It also helps to let the entire mixture cool a bit before proceeding to the next step.

4.      Form the dough into walnut size balls.  It’s easier to do a few at a time, rather than trying to make the entire batch of dough all at once.

Close up of a dumpling ready to be cooked.

5.      Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop the dumplings into the boiling water.  They will initially sink to the bottom and then will rise to the surface.  Allow to cook for 3 minutes on the surface.

Dumplings floating on the surface

6.      Remove the cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

Ready to eat Potato Dumplings

Make the Sauce

1.      Combined the butter, onion, garlic, and bread crumbs in a skillet and allow to cook and medium high heat until the butter is melted and bubbly. 

2.      Continue cooking until browned nicely and thickened.

3.      When the sauce is ready, pour over the dumplings.

Marmorkuchen (Marble Cake)

Marble Cake was one of my favorite cakes from my mother's baking itinerary and it’s a simple reason:  there is chocolate in it and I am a “chocoholic!”  The cake is somewhat dense but tasty throughout with a wonderful texture.  Folding in the flour can be tedious but keep at it; the results are worth it!

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

5 egg yolks

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

5 egg whites

2 tablespoons sweet cocoa

Making the Batter

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan.

2.      In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Continue beating for 10 minutes.

3.      Gradually stir in flour, alternating with splashes of milk, until all of the flour and milk are mixed in. The batter will get stiff as the flour is continually added. 

4.      Stir in baking powder.

5.      In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until frothy but not too stiff.  Fold egg whites into batter.

6.      Reserve 1/4 of the batter, and pour the rest into the tube pan.

7.      Mix cocoa into the remaining 1/4 of the batter. Then distribute evenly over the batter already in the tube pan, and fold under with a fork to produce a marbled appearance.

8.      Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

This tube pan had a flat bottom, so I turned it back over for a better presentation

Uh Oh!  Someone has already been at it!

German Marble Fact!

The Marble Palace or Marmorpalais was a royal residence in Potsdam, which is near Berlin.  The palace was built in the late 18^th century for the exclusive use of Frederick William II, King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg, and got its name for the extensive use of Silesian Marble throughout.  William, the last German Crown Prince and eldest son of Emperor William II, was born at the Marble Palace in 1882 and lived there with his spouse until they moved to another palace in 1917.  

After the end of the Hohenzollern monarchy, the palace and other royal residences were turned over to the Prussian Palaces Administration.  It then opened as a palace museum in 1932.  Significantly damaged during World War II, the Marble Palace became a military museum of the German Democratic Republic in the 1960s.  By 1984, the building had fallen into disrepair but has now been largely restored!

Hamburg Style Butterkuchen

“Butterkuchen” is literally Butter Cake in German, and there is plenty of butter to justify the name.  This is what we Americans might call a coffee cake and indeed it goes well with coffee or tea and can be served at any time of day.  Because it is made with yeast and no preservatives, it won’t last for more than several days, and it will eventually become stale as bread.  Fortunately, that’s usually not a problem in our home!

In Hamburg, Butterkuchen is widely available at Bäckerei shops, where they will slice off the outside crusts to make a better presentation.  My mother likes to relate the stories of her childhood and of early morning visits to the local Bäckerei, where they would give away these expendable but tasty morsels of Butterkuchen.  I wonder if that’s still the tradition?

There are several styles of Butterkuchen and I have included two versions of the topping:  one made with granulated sugar that is spread over the cake before baking, and one made with a sugar glaze that is immediately poured over the cake after baking.  Also, I prefer to use salted butter in the topping, which is a departure from the traditional method, but I like the flavor.  If it’s too salty for you, replace with unsalted butter.

If you have a Kitchen Aid or other machine with a dough hook, it’s a lot easier to make the dough!

Ingredients

For the Dough:

3 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ounce yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 eggs

3 1/2 Tablespoons of sugar

For the Granulated Sugar Topping:

20 Tablespoons of butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 ounces slivered blanched almonds

12 Tablespoons of sugar

Optional Glaze Topping:

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

6 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter

6 Tablespoons of Milk

1 Teaspoons of Vanilla

Making the Dough

1.      Sift the flour into a large bowl or into your Kitchen Aid bowl, if you are using one.

Yeast after proofing - About 10 minutes

2.      In a smaller bowl, combine the lukewarm milk and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and mix until the sugar is dissolved.  Then add the yeast.  Cover the bowl and place in warm area for about 7 minutes.  This step is to ensure that the yeast is alive and well!  If the yeast is not foamy after 5 minutes, it is dead and must be discarded.  You will need to repeat this step until you have good yeast.

3.      Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat until nearly all melted and remove from heat.  You may have to swirl the butter in the saucepan to finish the melting process.  Allow the melted butter to cool.

4.      When the yeast has proofed, it should be foamy or have a spongy look.

5.      Add to the sifted flour the yeast mixture, melted butter, salt, sugar, and eggs. 

a.       If using a Kitchen Aid or similar machine, use a dough hook and a lower speed to work the ingredients into a smooth dough.

b.      If you are not using a machine, mix the ingredients together with a wooden spatula and then with your hands gently work into a smooth dough.

6.      Cover and let rest in a warm place for 20 minutes, allowing it to rise.

7.      Grease a 17 x 11 Baking Sheet.

8.      Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out into a dimension that roughly fits the baking sheet.  Roll up the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to the baking sheet.  Push the dough as necessary to distribute it evenly in the baking sheet and to make sure that it is covers the entire sheet.

9.      Using your fingertip, make depressions all over the dough and then cover.  Allow to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

10.  Preheat your oven to 350F.

Using the Granulated Sugar Topping

1.      Beat the butter so that it is a light consistency.  Do not over beat to avoid butter separation.  Again, the Kitchen Aid can do this very quickly, if you have one.

2.      When the dough has finished rising, Distribute teaspoons of the beaten butter all over the dough.

3.      Sprinkle the dough with the slivered almonds

4.      Sprinkle the dough with the granulated sugar

Baking the Cake

1.      Place on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes.  Insert a toothpick after 20 minutes.  It should come out clean and the top should be a golden brown color.

2.      Allow to cool and then cut into 2 inch squares for serving.

3.      Enjoy!

Optional Glazed Topping

1.      Beat the butter so that it is a light consistentcy.  Do not over beat to avoid butter separation.  Again, the Kitchen Aid can do this very quickly, if you have one.

2.      When the dough has finished rising, Distribute teaspoons of the beaten butter all over the dough.

3.      Sprinkle the dough with the slivered almonds

4.      Bake the Cake as noted above.

5.      Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat when butter is melted.

6.      Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to the melted butter and stir until smooth.

7.      When the Butterkuchen has finished baking, pour glaze over the hot cake and allow to cool.

8.      Cut into 2 inch squares for serving.

Greetings - Please stay awhile!

My mother was born in Hamburg, then the German Reich, and now a major city in the Federal Republic of Germany.  Her ancestors were citizens of Hamburg and the surrounding Kingdom of Prussia for many generations.  When she was in her early 20s, she relocated to Wales, leaving behind family and a city of rubble, but never forgetting the memories of her youth and the struggles and triumphs associated with a devastating World War.  Eventually, my mother met my father and they married in the United Kingdom and moved to the United States in the late 1950s.

The Building in Hamburg where my mother grew up - It survived Allied Bombings during the Second World War

While growing up in a small California coastal town, we rarely encountered other German immigrants or those of recent German extraction.  Although my mother refused to teach us the German language, she frequently celebrated the cuisine of her homeland, which consisted of savory meat and fish dishes and decadent cakes and desserts.

In this blog, I would like to share the inspirations or her wonderful cooking and the memories that they created.  Most of the recipes are from north Germany and particularly from Hamburg, but I will reserve the right to provide my own modifications, which may have their foundations in my American nationality.  In addition, I will likely include other German culinary favorites, and I refer to the cultural meaning of German, which applies to nations outside of the Federal Republic of Germany, such as Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

I have a great fondness for the German culture, so don’t be surprised if I share my knowledge about German history and other factoids.

More to come soon and I hope that you enjoy!