Steamed Plum Jam Dumplings (Germknödel)

How to prepare steamed plum jam dumplings (germknödel)

1. Mix the flour with sugar and salt.
2. Beat the eggs and mix with the milk, water, and melted butter.
3. Put the egg mixture in the bread machine, then sprinkle the dry yeast and vanilla sugar on top. Place the flour mixture on top. Set the machine to the kneading and rising program.
   * The dough can also be kneaded by hand, then left to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
4. While the dough rises, grind the poppy seeds with sugar in a spice grinder.
5. Then prepare the vanilla sauce: beat the egg yolks well in a small pot.
6. Put the milk with sugar and vanilla seeds in another pot over low heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar. When the milk starts to form small bubbles around the edges, remove from heat.
8. Pour the hot milk over the yolks like this: with one hand stir the yolks (a whisk is excellent) while with the other add a tablespoon of milk at a time. After you've added about 10 tablespoons of milk, you can start pouring the milk directly from the pot in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
9. After all the milk is incorporated into the yolks, put the pot with this mixture over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
10. Remove the pot from heat and plunge the bottom into cold water. Continue stirring until the sauce cools completely. If desired, strain the sauce through a fine sieve.
11. Put the dough on a floured work surface. Knead it lightly. Cut into 3 pieces, then each piece in 2, and each piece in 2 again. You'll get 12 pieces of dough, about 60 g each.
12. Take a piece of dough in your hand. Flatten it in your palms. Put a tablespoon of plum jam in the center of the disc. Bring the edges together like a little bundle and seal the dumpling well around the jam. Place the formed dumpling with the sealed side down.
14. Form all the dumplings.
15. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15-20 minutes.
16. Meanwhile, prepare your steaming setup. If you have a pot with a steamer system or an electric steamer, use those! I improvised like this: I took a pot (the widest one available); placed a heat-resistant ceramic bowl in it and put a plate on top. I added water to the pot, but not reaching the plate. I greased the plate with melted butter (so the dumplings don't stick). I brought the water to a boil.
17. I placed the dumplings on the plate in the pot at a distance from each other, as they rise quite a bit while cooking.
    * Only 2 dumplings fit in my pot at a time
18. I put the lid on the pot and let them steam for 12 minutes.
20. Assembly: Pour vanilla sauce on plates to cover the bottom well; place one dumpling in the sauce; brush the dumpling generously with melted butter; sprinkle plenty of the poppy seed-sugar mixture on top.

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