Delicious Lower Austria

Lower Austria, the lovely land around Vienna with its abbeys, castles and soft hillcountry around the Danube river is old farming country, using everything the land offers for a diverse kitchen with mouthwatering recipes!
Climate & geography also make for a great area of wine-growing, producing world class wines such as the 'Gruener Veltliner'.

Prominent specialities are Mohnnudeln which are not really noodles, but rather dumplings made of potato dough in finger thick noodle shapes. They are roasted in butter and sugar and sprinkled with locally grown ground poppy seeds before being served.

Buchteln are small, cube shaped cakes and served either plain with vanilla sauce or filled with plum jam (Powidel).


BUCHTELN mit Vanillesauce (east buns with vanilla sauce)
Ingredients:
500g flour, 30g yeast, 50g sugar, 70g butter, 2 egg yolks, 1 egg white, Pinch of salt, Lukewarm milk, Butter for spreading, Jam

Preparation:
Place the flour in a warm bowl and make a hole in the centre. Crumble the yeast into it, sprinkle with a tablespoon sugar, add 2 to 3 tablespoons lukewarm milk and cover lightly with flour. Put in a warm place to rise. Meanwhile melt the butter, lift off and cool a bit, then mix with a pinch of salt, the egg yolks and the egg white. Add this to the flour where the yeast in the middle has risen, and beat by adding as much lukewarm milk as needed to get medium firm dough. Continue beating until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Cover, and allow rising. Roll out the dough on a flured board until ¼ to ½ inch thick, cut out squares of about 3 inches side - length, put a teaspoon of jam in the middle, preferably apricot, then fold up and form into an egg shape. Brush over with softened butter on all sides of each piece, and tightly fit one after the other in a well - greased baking tin. Brush over again with softened butter and allow rising. Bake first in a medium oven, then raise the temperature and bake until golden brown. When ready, sprinkle with stifled sugar and serve hot sauce.

Vanillesauce (Vanilla sauce)
Ingredients:
¼l. (approx. 9fl ozs) milk, ¼l. (approx. 9fl ozs) cream, sugar as required, vanilla sugar, 3 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon starch flour

Preparation:
combine cold milk and cream with the other ingredients, heat up and beat continuously until boiling. When thick, remove from heat and serve.