Powidltascherl
Also: Powidltaschkerl, Powidltaschen, Powidl-Tascherl
Austrian potato-dough pockets filled with thick spiced plum jam (Powidl), boiled then rolled in buttery toasted breadcrumbs.
Identity criteria
- 1Soft potato dough (Erdäpfelteig), not pasta or yeast dough
- 2Filled with Powidl — a thick, unsweetened-to-lightly-spiced cooked plum butter
- 3Sealed into half-moon or square pockets
- 4Boiled until the dough sets, then finished in butter-fried breadcrumbs
- 5Eaten warm, dusted with sugar — a sweet main, not a side
Components
Potato dough (riced potato, flour, egg)essentialDefines the tender, slightly dense texture
ButteressentialBoth for the crumbs and finishing
EggoptionalHelps bind the potato dough
Powidl (spiced plum butter)essentialThe filling — slow-cooked plums, often with cinnamon, clove, rum
Powdered sugaroptionalDusted on top to serve
Buttered toasted breadcrumbs (Brösel)essentialThe defining outer coating
Technique
- Potato-dough making
- Riced cooked potato bound with flour and egg gives the characteristic tender pocket distinct from pasta
- Filling and sealing
- Powidl must be fully enclosed so it does not leak during boiling
- Boiling
- Sets the dough gently without browning
- Breadcrumb rolling (Bröseln)
- Butter-toasted crumbs add nutty crunch and contrast to the soft dough
Form & serving
- Served
- Plated warm, sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs and powdered sugar
- Temperature
- hot
- Portion
- Several pockets per person as a sweet main course
- Pairs with
- Stewed plums · Vanilla sauce · Melted butter
Character
Flavour
Texture
Tender potato-dough pocket with a soft jammy center and crisp buttery crumb coating
Eaten
A homey Austrian Mehlspeise (flour-based sweet dish) eaten as a warm main course, especially in plum season and on meatless days.
When
autumn · winter
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Square Taschkerl · Vienna
Cut into squares rather than half-moons
- Švestkové knedlíky kin · Czech Republic
Whole-plum dumplings are a close cousin in the same tradition
Related dishes
- sibling Marillenknödel
Apricot dumplings made from the same potato dough
- sibling Švestkové knedlíky
Czech plum dumplings sharing the Powidl/plum and potato-dough lineage
- pairs-with Vanillesauce
Often served alongside
Substitutions
Powidl plum filling → Apricot or other thick fruit butterinadmissible
Changes the dish; the plum Powidl is what makes it Powidltascherl
Potato dough → Quark (Topfen) doughadmissible
Common related variant but yields a different, lighter pocket
Butter for crumbs → Margarineadmissible
Acceptable but loses the nutty richness
Common mistakes
- Using runny jam instead of thick Powidl, which leaks during boiling
- Overworking the potato dough, making it gluey
- Skipping the buttered breadcrumb coating, the defining finish
- Boiling too vigorously so pockets burst
Provenance
A traditional sweet of the former Habsburg lands, shared across Austria and the Czech/Slovak culinary tradition where potato-dough fruit dumplings are staples.
Shared by: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia
References
- 1.Austrian regional cookery tradition
- 2.Habsburg-era Mehlspeisen canon
Confidence: high