Food and drinks

Onion cake without yeast: this is how easy it is to make a hearty dish

With the beginning of the grape harvest, the Federweisser period starts in Germany: This is unfiltered grape must that is still in the fermentation process. As a result, it tastes incredibly sweet – and goes perfectly with a hearty dish like onion cake.

Depending on when the grape harvest begins in this country, the fresh Federweißer ends up on the shelves of many supermarket chains between the beginning of September and the end of October (the period can vary). The drink, also known as the “new wine”, is served in many places together with onion cake, which is reminiscent of a tarte flambée due to its main ingredients – onions, sour cream and bacon. The difference, however, is in the preparation: how you can easily recreate the traditional dish without yeast at home is explained step by step in this article.

Recipe suggestion: onion cake with shortcrust pastry

Unlike the Alsatian tarte flambée, which is only topped with raw onions, the traditional onion cake only contains steamed onions. The dough can be prepared with leavening agents so that it is nice and thick and fluffy – but also has an extremely filling effect. The slightly “lighter” variant is therefore an onion cake without yeast. How the dish succeeds in no time is shown in the following instructions for a springform pan explained step by step.

For the dough you will need these ingredients:

300 g of flour
150 g cold butter
60 ml of water
salt

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead them together until a homogeneous mass is formed. When preparing a shortcrust pastry, it is important that you only knead it briefly (with your hands) so that it remains “crumbly” and does not become too elastic, such as a pizza dough or strudel dough. Then shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and store it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

And another tip:
You can also combine the amount of water with white wine, i.e. you take 30 milliliters of both instead of 60 – this gives the shortcrust pastry a tangy note.

You will need these ingredients for the topping:

2 eggs
1 kg of onions
50 g butter
125 g bacon
200 ml sour cream
3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Salt pepper

Then it’s time to prepare

Step: First, the onions are peeled, halved and cut into fine strips. Alternatively, you can cut thin rings, it doesn’t really matter in the end. Since chopping a whole kilo of onions is quite wasteful, you can also use a vegetable slicer or an all-purpose grater Use with the appropriate attachment – this not only saves you time, but also watery eyes.
Step: Put the butter in a large pan and heat it on the stove. Once the fat has melted, pour in the oil and sliced onions. Let the onions simmer in the pan for ten to 15 minutes until they are golden yellow and translucent – but not brown, otherwise they will quickly taste too bitter!
Step: Now it is the turn of the bacon, which is ideally diced – it is stirred into the butter and onion mixture together with the caraway (whether ground or as grain, it is up to you) and briefly seared. Then take the pan off the heat and let the contents for the onion cake cool down briefly.
Step: Take a springform pan, line the base with baking paper (just cut off the rest) and grease the inner ring well. Place two thirds of the shortcrust pastry on the floor and shape the rest into a long roll – and then press it down on the sides. Finally, the dough is pierced evenly with a fork.
Step: Put the two eggs together with the sour cream, salt and pepper (more or less spices depending on your taste) in a bowl and stir everything together. Then mix the whole thing with the bacon and onion mixture and pour the entire contents over the finished shortcrust pastry in the springform pan.
Step 6: Finally, the raw onion cake without yeast must be prepared in a preheated oven for 40 minutes (the time may vary depending on the oven) at 200 degrees top / bottom heat. When it is ready, it should be allowed to cool briefly on the wire rack and then freed from the side walls so that it can pass through in peace.

If you like, you can decorate the finished onion cake with fresh caraway seeds or grated cheese – a fresh lamb’s lettuce also goes well with it.