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Hungarian Plum Dumplings – Szilvásgombóc
Hungarian plum dumplings are made with mashed potatoes, the dough is the same as when you make gnocchi. Simple, tasty ingredients, they can be eaten as dessert, a meatless main dish o rside dish. A family favourit and children’s delight. Potato dumplings stuffed with plum, cinnamon, sugar and rolled in breadcrumbs.
Plum dumplings are common throughout Central and Eastern Europe. I grew up eating plum dumplings every late summer and fall, a fantastic autumn recipe that goes well with the whole family.
These dumplings are made by small plums into a potato-based dough. Then they are simmered in water and covered in buttery breadcrumbs.
These Hungarian plum dumplings look lovely when cut in half.
Hungarian plum dumplings - Szilvásgombóc
HungarianPlum Dumplings are made with mashed potatoes, the dough is the same aswhen you make gnocchi. Simple, tastyingredients, they can be eaten as dessert o rside dish. A family favorite and children’s delight. Potato dumplings stuffedwith plum, cinnamon, sugar and rolled in breadcrumbs.
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Large bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Large and medium pot
- Peeler
- Chef's knife
- Wooden spoon
- Slotted spoon
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1.7 pounds of potatoes 800 grams
- 2.5 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 cup of fine breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp of unsalted butter
- Salt
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 30 small damson plum, stoned
- 1 whole egg
Instructions
- Peel, cube and boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Mash the potatoes while still warm, mash really well with no chunks left. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and let it cool completely.
- Meanwhile, toast the bread crumbs in about 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat, stirring constantly, until crunchy and golden brown. Put aside.
- Mix the potato mass with one egg, a pinch of salt, the flour and knead the dough until smooth. The dough should be light and pliable, it might be a bit sticky but do not add more flour, otherwise you dumplings will be stone-hard.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- Sprinkle the work surface well with flour before placing the ball of dough on top. Be sure to sprinkle the dough on top as well as coat the rolling pin. I sprinkle a lot of flour on the surface, it prevents the rolled dough sticking to it. Roll it out the until it’s 0,5 thick (approx. 1/4 inch). Cut the rolled dough into 6 cm (2.5 inch) squares. Place a half plum on each square and sprinkle 1 coffee spoon of cinnamon sugar in the middle of the plums. Place the other half of the plums on the candied plums. Fold and knead the dough around plums to make them into dumplings.
- Add the dumplings to the boiling water in batches – not to over-crowd them – and gently simmer until they float on the top.
- Remove the dumplings from the water using a slotted spoon, drain and lightly roll them in breadcrumbs browned in oil.
- Sprinkle with sugary ground cinnamon. Enjoy!
Notes
- When you mash the cooked potatoes, add the butter and let it cool completely before adding the flour.
- 30 small damson plum, stoned – if making it from a larger fruit can use a half for each dumpling.
- Don’t overcrowd the pot with dumplings, cook a few ones at a time and remove them with a slotted spoon.
- Use fine breadcrumbs, otherwise you can get a harsh texture in your mouth.
My family makes these all the time but we don’t use cinnamon and sugar. We use cottage cheese and sugar! LOVE them!
Amazing! I am very excited to give it a try..My mom makes it from her heart, without recipes comes from her best experiences.. I am regretting now, I have to learn from others LOL…Hey can’t wait to try with Cinnamon and sugar and than maybe 6pcs with cottage cheese and sugar .
Thanks Chef & Dish!
My Opa made them without cinnamon and served them with a plum sauce
What is the best potato to use for this recipe?
Hello Frank,
The best potato to use is the yellow skin potato, we call it Ella in Hungary.
Agnes
oh dear me, it stuck like hell. I mixed it while the potatoes were still warm, is that what I did wrong? I had to add more flour, otherwise it stuck. Not just a bit, but I could not work with it. So mine turned out hard. I think I will try other recipes.
Hello,
Yes, you have it cool completely otherwise the dumplings will be hard.
“Mash the potatoes while still warm, mash really well with no chunks left. Add the butter and let it cool completely.”
Agnes
I make plum dumplings a lot in the fall. I always rice the potatoes so my dough is smooth. I also skip the rolling out of the dough, just make a ball, flatten it and place the plum in the center. Also I leave the pit in (keeps the dumpling from falling apart while boiling and rolling in breadcrumb mix) and serve with sour cream and extra cinnamon sugar if you like
most times we used left over mashed potatoes that had butter and cream mixed in. it speeded up the process when we wanted to make gomboc or nudli.
This recipe works well with apricot (small ones) also, instead of fruit, jam. szilvalekvar.
That’s true, thanks for sharing your idea. :)
First time here, great recipes!
No egg in the dough?
Hello Andi,
Apologies for the oversight! I appreciate your keen eye. I did include an egg in the recipe, but unfortunately, I forgot to list them in the ingredients. They are mentioned in the description area, though. I’m grateful for your understanding, and I hope you enjoy making the recipe. If you have any more questions or need clarification, feel free to ask. Happy cooking!
Idaho russet potatoes work perfectly fine for this recipe, and in the States are the most commonly available potato.
Also, my sister and I use Italian prune plums, which come into season late August-September time frame. We think their tartness is a perfect compliment to the sweetness of the sugar.