Topfenecken
Recipe from: Heidi, my teaching internship advisor
Ingredients: 250g Flour, 250g Butter, 250g Topfen (20%), salt, marmalade (apricot is best)
Mix the flour and a dash of salt; cut in the butter in small pieces and mix with a fork in order to make the dough flaky. Add the topfen. Mix until soft dough forms. Roll into a ball and chill overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
The next day, roll out the dough (not paper-thin but with only a few millimeters of thickness). Use a knife to cut the dough into squares. Put a small dab of marmalade in the middle of each square. Then pull one corner of the square up and over to the diagonal side, forming a triangular pouch. Pinch the sides closed and place on a baking pan (no grease needing).
Bake until puffed up and golden brown (approx 200 C for 15 minutes, or 350 F for 10 minutes?). Remove and Bon Appetit!
A substitute of gluten-free flour will also make deliciously flaky gluten-free Topfenecken. The gluten-free versions are a little flatter, but still puffy and flaky--apparently characteristics that are hard to find in gluten-free foods. The Topfen works wonders. Köstlich!
3 comments:
Comment on Topfen substitute:
I wanted to let you know I made the Topfen Schmarren using Farmer cheese, and it worked very well! I think you would agree that it is an excellent substitute for topfen in the US. I'm sending photos of the brand I used. I bought it from a Russian food store and is known as TVOROG in Russia. This brand is called Fresh Made, from Philadelphia, Pa. There is another popular brand called Lifeway. In the USA this should be available in many cities. The cheese has a very nice aroma. The texture is fluffy, yet substantial. Much more complex than the ricotta cheese available in the US. One note of caution: There is also "farmer cheese" available that is more aged and solid-- it can be cut into pieces. Of course, people should be made aware that the solid farmer cheese is not a topfen substitute.
This is very helpful and heartening! I have come to love Topfen and was very worried that I would not be able to enjoy some of my favorite Austrian desserts when I return to the US. I will definitely seek out this softer Farmer's Cheese, and I look forward to trying it out. Thank you!!!
Hi Lanna,
I found your blog via the stats page on my own blog. ;-)
This Topfenblätterteig is one of my favorite doughs for making rustic, open faced apple tarts. My mom used to make Apfelschlangerl with it, basically a pie in a long rectangle form, mimicking a strudel (but not rolled like the real strudel, you only bring up the sides over the apples, which are places along the center of the oblong dough - your recipe would make 2 Apfelschlangerl).
I moved here from the US, so I know that it is not easy to find the right kind of topfen substitute there. Regular Farmer's Cheese tends to be too watery, which makes for a tough dough, and also lacks in taste. Fresh Fields (Whole Foods in most parts of the US) and health food stores now carry a brand that has the texture and aroma of the real thing. I think to remember that it is produced by a small dairy up in the Northeast. It is worth looking for it!
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