Dampfnudeln

(Dictionary calls them "sweet yeast dumplings". That sounds weird... )

A childhood thing, something that mothers make, and I actually have never made them myself. Today I read about them and decided I needed to make them. I am afraid they are not very photogenic. And I am not a good food photographer...

Originally they are made in a pot or pan with a bit of milk and fat, or even steamed in a pot. I am lazy and bake them in the oven.

Preparation time: about 90 minutes
Suggested music: as a variant of Dampfnudeln are known in Austria as Germknödel, listen to Falco, e.g. Out of the dark *arrrrrrr*

Ingredients:

• 500 g flour (I mixed in 100 g whole wheat flour)
• 1 sachet yeast
• 200 mL plant milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• pinch of salt
• custard (vanilla sauce, or just vanilla soy milk if you are as lazy as I am)

What to do:

1. Prepare a yeast dough with everything but the custard. The dough has the right consistency when it forms a ball around the dough hook as in the picture above.
2. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes.
3. Knead the dough again for a few seconds, then form little balls and place in an oven pan, not too close to one another. If you are not as hungry and hasty as I was, they should look much nicer. Let rise again for 10 minutes, then bake at 180 °C for about 20 minutes, until they are browned on the surface.

Open one Dampfnudel up a little and serve with the vanilla sauce. 

Variations: Try steaming them in a pot, they will not be as dry on the surface. Serve with cinnamon or fruit sauce or ground poppy seeds. Fill with jam.

Anti-Weltschmerz chocolate pudding

For one sad and/or lonely person. Immediate improvement guaranteed!

Necessary therapy after watching the documentary "Schmutzige Schokolade" ("The dark side of chocolate") by Miki Mistrati. The filmmaker investigated child labour on cocoa plantations in Côte d'Ivoire.

Further information (german)
Film in der ARD-Mediathek
www.thedarksideofchocolate.org

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Suggested music: Get well soon - Rest Now, Weary Head! You Will Get Well Soon

Ingredients:
The whole point of this recipe is using fair trade cocoa powder, of course. You can likely find it in an organic supermarket, as well as fair trade sugar.

• 250 mL soy milk (any other plant milk should work as well)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (you might need more if you use unsweetened soy milk)
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

What to do:

1. Heat 200 mL of the plant milk in a small pot on the stove.
2. Sift the starch and cocoa powder into a bowl, add the sugar, and mix. Sifting helps preventing clumps. 
3. Add the remaining 50 mL plant milk to the cocoa mixture and whisk until all clumps have disappeared.
4. When the plant milk comes to a boil, turn the heat down (or even off, depending on your stove) and add the cocoa mixture while whisking. Let it boil shortly - with this amount of starch, it should thicken immediately.
5. Pour into a small serving bowl, grab a spoon and devour.

This recipe will result in a relatively solid pudding. I like it that way, because I usually eat it hot, directly after preparing it. If you want to prepare the pudding in order to put it in the fridge and eat later, you can use as little as 1 tablespoon corn starch.