Soft potato-dough dumplings filled with whole plums, strawberries or apricots — Czech summer dessert at its best.
Ovocné knedlíky — fruit dumplings — are Czech summer happiness on a plate: a tender potato-based dough wrapped around a whole piece of fruit, boiled until the dough is silky and the fruit inside has melted into a juicy compote. Served drowned in melted butter, fresh curd cheese (tvaroh) and a generous shower of icing sugar, they're a complete meal — typically eaten as Sunday lunch in summer.
Serves 4
Boil potatoes whole 25 min until tender. Cool slightly, peel, and grate or mash through a ricer while warm. Spread on a tray to cool completely.
Mix cooled potatoes with flour, semolina, egg and salt. Knead briefly into a soft dough — too much kneading toughens it. Add a touch more flour if too sticky.
Wash plums and remove stones (insert sugar cube into hole). For strawberries, hull and stuff a sugar cube into the centre.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Flatten each into a disc. Place a fruit in the centre and pinch the dough up around it, sealing completely.
Roll each dumpling in your palms into a smooth ball. Lightly dust with flour.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle simmer. Drop dumplings in. They sink, then rise. Cook 8–10 min after rising — test one by cutting open: dough should be cooked, fruit hot.
Lift out gently with a slotted spoon. Brush with melted butter immediately to prevent sticking.
Place 3 dumplings per person. Crumble curd cheese over. Drizzle remaining melted butter. Dust generously with icing sugar (and cinnamon if using).
The fruit must be ripe — under-ripe fruit doesn't soften enough during the brief cooking.
Eat immediately — they get gluey on standing.
Tvaroh dough version: use 250g curd cheese instead of potato — softer texture
Filled with poppy seed jam (powidla style) instead of fresh fruit
Sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs and butter for ströhle topping
Best fresh. Refrigerate cooked dumplings 2 days — reheat by gentle steaming.
Fruit dumplings are the most beloved Czech summer dessert, made when stone fruits and berries are abundant. Made for centuries in Bohemian and Moravian villages, they become unmissable when plums or strawberries hit peak ripeness in summer farmers' markets.
Probably overworked or too much flour. Knead briefly and very gently — potato dough is delicate.
Substitute sweetened ricotta or skip and double the icing sugar.
Per serving · 4 servings total
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