A vegan twist on Dampfnudeln (German Yeast Dumplings)

I've always been a huge fan of sweet dishes, and this recipe combines veganized versions of two of my all-time favorites: the southern German/Austrian Dampfnudel and the Germknödel. Both are sweet yeast dumplings, but the Dampfnudel is cooked in a pot or deep pan, usually in milk, whereas the Germknödel is filled with plum jam, and steamed. Here, we combine the filling traditionally associated with a Germknödel, but the method of preparation typical for Dampfnudeln, to create a delicious, vegan dish! Many thanks to my mom, who played a major part in creating this recipe!


Ingredients (for 10 Dampfnudeln):


For the dough:


- 500 grams all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
- 1 tsp salt
- 250 ml (soy/oat/almond) creamer (1 cup)
- 15 g dry active yeast (2 envelops of 1/4 ounce each)
- 2 Tbsp soy flour
- 50 grams vegan margarine (like Earth Balance) (1/4 cup)
- 50 - 80 grams of sugar (1/3 cup)


To cook/simmer:


- 50 grams vegan margarine (like Earth Balance) (1/4 cup)
- 250 ml soy milk (1 cup)
- 20 grams sugar (1.5 tbsp)
- dash of salt


For the filling and to serve:


- 20 tsp plum jam (you may use any type of jam you want)
- vanilla sauce
- ground poppy seed/powdered sugar mixture

Mix yeast with 1 tsp of sugar and a little bit of lukewarm creamer, and let stand for 15 minutes. All ingredients should have room temperature. Add flour, salt, soy flour, margarine,  the rest of the sugar and the rest of the creamer to the yeast mixture, the dough should be pliable and only a little sticky. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour (it should double in size). Knead the dough and divide into 10 pieces. Stretch out and fill with about 1 tsp of jam, pull dough over filling and press edges together to seal.

Melt 1/4 cup margarine in a flat pot/sauce pan (it needs to have a lid; a glass lid works best, that way you can see inside without lifting the lid, which, if done too soon, would ruin your Dampfnudeln), add soy milk, salt and sugar and place the 10 filled balls of dough in the mixture. It works best if you place them with the "sealed" side down, that way you minimize the risk of them splitting open while cooking. 

Let them rise a few more minutes, then place the lid on the sauce pan, bring to a boil (medium heat), then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the Dampfnudeln start to "sing" (the milk mixture should be gone at that point, and they will have developed a nice crust). Do NOT open lid before they are done, otherwise they will collapse. Ladle some vanilla sauce onto a plate, place a Dampfnudel in it, and sprinkle with poppy seed and sugar mixture. Enjoy!