Apricot Knödel (Austrian Dumplings)

📝 Ingredients

• 8 ripe but firm apricots (about 50 g each)
• 250 g fromage frais, 3 % fat
• 140 g plain flour (130 g for the dough, 10 g for the work surface)
• 1 egg
• 45 g unsalted butter (20 g softened for the dough, 25 g for the breadcrumbs)
• ½ unwaxed lemon (for the zest)
• 60 g breadcrumbs
• 40 g caster sugar (20 g for the apricots, 20 g for the breadcrumbs)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 pinches of salt (1 for the dough, 1 for the cooking water)

🍴 Utensils

• Colander
• Mixing bowl
• Fine grater
• Large saucepan
• Slotted spoon
• Frying pan

📖 Steps

1. Line a sieve with kitchen paper, tip in the fromage frais and leave to drain for 30 minutes in the fridge. Well drained, it makes a dough you can shape by hand; too wet, it sticks and the dumplings fall apart as they cook.
2. In a mixing bowl, use a spatula to combine the drained fromage frais, the 20 g softened butter, the egg, the zest of the half lemon and 1 pinch of salt. Add the 130 g flour and mix just until you have a soft dough that's still slightly sticky. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, wash and dry the apricots. Slit them down the side with a small knife without separating the two halves, remove the stone and spoon ½ tsp caster sugar into the hollow, then close the fruit by pressing gently.
4. Dust the work surface and your hands with the remaining 10 g flour. Divide the dough into 8 portions of about 50 g, flatten each into a 10 cm disc, place an apricot in the centre and bring the dough up around it. Pinch to seal, then roll between your palms into a smooth ball with no cracks.
5. Bring a large pan of water to the boil with 1 pinch of salt, then turn down to medium-low to keep it at a simmer. Poach the knödel 4 at a time for 12 to 14 minutes: they float to the surface after about 5 minutes, but aren't cooked yet. Boiling too hard would make them burst.
6. While they cook, melt the 25 g butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the breadcrumbs and stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden and smelling of toast. Off the heat, add the remaining 20 g sugar and the cinnamon, then tip into a shallow bowl.
7. Lift out the cooked knödel with a slotted spoon, drain them for a few seconds, then immediately roll them in the sweet breadcrumbs until completely coated: the moisture in the dough helps them stick. Keep the first batch warm under an upturned plate.
8. Leave to rest for 2 minutes before serving warm, 2 knödel per person: the apricot and melted sugar inside are scalding hot straight out of the water.