One of the best Czech national dishes! Czech people love their Sweet Fruit Dumplings! (in my case Glute-Free)Whether they are strawberry, apricot, blueberry, or blackberry, you can never go wrong. Fruit dumplings are among the most popular summer dishes and the perfect sweet treat. Children or adults cannot imagine the real summer without these. You can try them from cheese or leavened dough. Then fill with fresh or frozen fruit in winter, and the Czech classic is on the table.
In this blog post, I will cover:
What are Sweet fruit dumplings?
They are sweet yeasted dough-like food, cut into pieces. The fruit mixed with sugar is wrapped in small pouches made out of dough. They are then closed and boiled in water or steamed. I personally prefer the steamed method.
Czech fruit dumplings are sprinkled with grated “tvaroh,” or ground poppy seed, powdered sugar, and drizzled with melted butter.
Which fruit is the best to fill dumplings with?
There is not such a fruit to make better dumplings. It is all about preference what fruit is in season or what you have an appetite for.
When you travel to the Czech Republic, many restaurants will have Plum dumplings, usually drizzled with melted butter and powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, and sometimes a gallop of fresh whipping cream on the top. It would be under the main dish or just one dumpling to try under the dessert menu.
In late summer, apricots or blueberries are in season, and many families make Apricot/Blueberries dumplings that are often topped with farmers’ cheese, whipped cream, and butter.
But the most delicious dumplings in my family are Strawberry dumplings! Most of the time, we do not use yeasted dough but cheese dough. I will make a separate blog post on that recipe as those earned their own spotlight!!!
Let’s get cooking
In our family, Fruit Dumplings (Ovocne Knedliky) was served as a full lunch, as we always had lunch as the biggest meal of the day on weekends. — even though it seems more like breakfast, dessert, or aside. My kids love fruit dumplings for dinner, but my “American” hubby would rather have it as a dessert than a full meal.
How to make a dumpling dough
Take 500 ml milk and warm it to approximately 90-100F/32-37C/. It should be warmer than your body temperature but not hot. Hot milk will kill the yeast. Add a pinch of sugar to the milk, stir, add the yeast and stir the yeast into the milk. Cover and let sit for several minutes. When the yeast has become bubbly or foamy on the top, your yeast is active and ready to be used.
In small bowl mix psyllium with a water
- 500 ml Luke warm milk
- 20g of yeast ( check below what is difference between instant and active yeast)
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 4 cups of Gluten-Free flour – Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp of psyllium
- 1/4 cup of water
- pinch of salt
Warm-up milk to room temperature. In about 1 cup of milk, add yeast and rest for 5 minutes while getting ready with other ingredients.
Combine psyllium and water and mix well.
I am using KitchenAid Artisan 5-qt. Stand Mixer with the hook attachment, or you can also use a hand mixer with the hook attachments. Add all ingredients to a bowl and work the dough until it separates from the sides of the bowl and is smooth. This will take several minutes. You are looking for a texture that is not too stiff nor too soft.
Suppose needed ad some more lukewarm milk or a little bit of Gluten-Free flour to achieve the right consistency. Every flour is different, and sometimes you need a little bit less or a little bit more, especially in the Gluten-Free world. It does happen that I need more than 4 cups of flour. I add in small increments after 4 cups.
How to let dough rest/proof
Prepare another bowl, lightly oil the inside or dust with flour, place the dough in the bowl, cover with a lid and let rise in a warm place. This will take about 60 minutes; check for the doubled volume.
I am using my favorite bowl for rasing yeasted doughs. I got it in the Czech Republic, but I did find it on Amazon as well. My favorite company Tescoma is selling a couple of things there. Tescoma Dough-rising bowl with warmer, ø 26 cm
How to assemble Fruit dumplings
Put the dough on a well-floured board. The dough will be sticky, but not too much to leave dough all over your fingers. If the dough does stick to your fingers, work a bit more flour in, but do not overdo it.
If you are doing regular flour, your dough will have so much better consistency. With the Gluten-Free version, you need a bit of patience.
I use a spoon to portion similar pieces of dough and spread with my finger into a flat piece big enough to add fruit on top. Place your filling in the middle of each square; add some brown sugar if needed when using fruit.
Using both hands, bring opposite corners together until you have little round dumplings and fruit is well covered, and then press corners together. Roll in your palms into a nice ball.
I leave the dumplings on the lightly floured board and make sure to allow enough space between each dumpling so when they rise again, they don’t get stuck together.
How to cook Fruit Dumplings?
Steaming Process Once your dumplings are rested has risen a bit; it is time to steam them. If you have a proper streamer, I recommend you use that. I don’t have a steamer, and I can still use the steaming method.
It would be best if you had a pot with a wide opening, pour little water in, to cover the bottom, about 2 inches or so. Place the steaming basket in, spread cheesecloth over, spray with oil Spray to prevent dumplings from sticking to the steamer/cheese cloth. Bring water to simmer.
Carefully place dumplings on the top of the cheesecloth, allowing enough space between each dumpling. I was able to put about 5 – 6 on, but this depends on the size of your dumpling and the size of your pot opening. I steamed my dumplings covered for 10 minutes.
Using a spatula, remove dumplings, and using a fork or I used a toothpick to puncture the skin to release the steam right away they are out of the pot. I also baste each dumpling with melted butter to prevent sticking to each other and a pot.
What to top Fruit Dumplings with?
Different fruit calls for different toppings. For example, when you fill dumplings with plums, here in the USA, known as Italian plums, the toping is grounded poppy seed mixed with powder sugar and drizzled with melted butter.
Strawberry-filled dumplings can be topped traditionally with farmers’ cheese or with purred strawberry mixed with sugar and milk and poured over dumplings.
Apricot-filled dumplings taste great with cinnamon sugar and are drizzled with melted butter and topped with fresh whipped cream.
The most common topping for Fruit Dumplings
My favorite and I would say traditional Czech topping is farmer’s cheese, sprinkle with sugar, drizzled with melted unsalted butter, and topped with sweetened sour cream or whipping cream. I love to mix a little bit of powder sugar into sour cream. Gives a little bit of taste of yogurt.
- 1 cup grated farmers cheese
- 2-3 tbsp of melted unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1-2 tbsp of sugar
- cinnamon sugar to taste
What type of cheese is the best?
In the Czech, we use “tvaroh.” We also have two categories of tvaroh, – “tvrdy tvaroh” hard cheese and “mekky tvaroh” soft cheese.
Finding this type of cheese might be a bit challenging. The closest cheese to the one we use in the Czech Republic is farmers’ cheese or Amish cheese. This cheese is on the dryer side and can be graded. There are a couple of different types, and when I buy, softer one, I crumble the cheese with my fingers.
Try to find one without sodium added. If you make it somewhere into the international market and have the ‘Eastern European section,” look for “tvorog,” the Russian style cheese.
Finishing the toppings on dumplings
Garnish dumplings with farmers’ cheese, cinnamon sugar, drizzle with butter, and top with fresh whipped cream. I do not look at calorie count as that is probably very high. I rather enjoy the flavor and traveling to childhood memories when I would eat these as a delicious lunch! Now you have dumplings cooked, all toppings ready to go, and a big appetite ready.
Cooking and storing tips:
- Steeming versus boiling Steaming dumplings make them much dryer all around. You can boil dumplings in water, but to me, they have a slimy texture on top, and they do not store as well.
- Baste with butter all around dumplings. They will stick like glue to each other otherwise.
- Fresh taste the best! Yes, you can store them covered with plastic, foil, but they won’t taste as soft the next day, like freshly made.
- You can freeze dumplings and unfreeze them slowly in the fridge overnight.
- Do not overheat in the microwave. They could harden if cook on too high and long.
- Serve them warm. You can cover cooked dumplings with a clean kitchen towel, so they stay warm while you cook the remainder.
Are you still intimidated to make Fruit dumplings?
Do not be!!!! This type of dough can be fussy because the flour is missing gluten to glue everything together. I messed up a couple of trials, and now the more I make them, the more I feel confident, but they are still not like my mom would cook them. Mom’s cooking is always the best!!!
I hope you did enjoy this Gluten-Free recipe. If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, please. Thank you so much!
Other dessert recipes to try
If you like these Strawberry Crumb Bars, be sure to try these other dessert bar recipes.
- Czech Pancakes – Livance, Czech pancakes are more filling but light and fluffy. Definitely different from traditional USA pancakes.
- Marble Bundt Cake – Babovka is a popular Czech Coffeecake with an afternoon cup of coffee or tea on the weekends. It is effortless to make even a Glute-Free.
- Apple Bundt Cake – “Majka” – Very flavorful bundt cake. Apples make this cake very moist, unlike being dry and crumbly like many Gluten-Free desserts are.
- Easy & Delicious GF Crepes – my kids’ favorite quick and easy sweet afternoon treat or even dinner. They come together faster than pancakes or waffles and taste just as good!
Until next time…!
DOBROU CHUT!
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