Breads & doughs
Zwiebelkuchen: German onion cake with yeast dough
A savoury German onion tart with a soft yeast base, slowly softened onions, bacon, sour cream and caraway. Make one 28 cm tart to cut into eight portions.
- Total time
- 195 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Cuisine
- German
Ingredients
Method
Knead the dough
Mix flour, lukewarm milk, yeast, sugar, softened butter and 4 g salt. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth; the milk must not be hot.
Let it rise
Cover the dough in a bowl and leave in a warm, draught-free place for about 60 minutes, until roughly doubled in volume.
Prepare the filling
Thinly slice the 900 g peeled onions and dice the bacon. Weigh the sour cream and 100 g egg without shells; keep them chilled until mixing.
Cook and cool the onions
Cook the bacon in a wide pan for 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring until soft. Take off the heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Line the tin
Roll out the dough and line a 28 cm springform tin, making a 3 cm rim. Rest for 15 minutes while preheating the oven to 180 °C, conventional heat.
Mix the filling
Whisk eggs, sour cream, caraway, pepper and the remaining 2 g salt. Fold in the cooled onion and bacon mixture and spread over the dough.
Bake
Bake at 180 °C for 40–45 minutes until the base is cooked and the centre is set. Cover the rim if browning too quickly; extend cooking if the filling is still liquid.
Rest and slice
Rest in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully release the sides and cut into eight portions. Serve warm with a simple salad if desired.
The step photos are illustrative.
Notes
Use baker’s yeast, not baking powder, and caraway, not cumin. Contains wheat, milk and eggs. The stated total allows for rising, filling cooling, the second dough rest and resting after baking; some tasks overlap. Refrigerate within 2 hours and use within 3 days. Nutrition counts the rendered bacon fat retained in the filling; any accompanying salad is excluded.
You may also like
Nutrition facts
1 of 8 servings
- Protein
- 9.9 g
- Carbohydrates
- 42.3 g
- Fat
- 14.9 g
- Saturated fat
- 6.9 g
- Fiber
- 3.2 g
- Sugars
- 7.4 g
- Sodium
- 424 mg
Approximate estimate, not a measurement of the cooked dish. Brands and draining change values; nutrients with incomplete data are omitted. Generic references for prepared mustard, cream, sweet potato, oil and chocolate; specific varieties and brands can differ.
Reference source: USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy
For general information only; it does not replace advice from a qualified health or nutrition professional.
About this recipe
A savoury German onion tart with a soft yeast base, slowly softened onions, bacon, sour cream and caraway. Make one 28 cm tart to cut into eight portions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make Zwiebelkuchen ahead?
Yes. Refrigerate the baked tart and reheat portions in the oven until hot throughout. The base is best on the first day.
Why cook the onions first?
It softens them, removes some water and prevents a wet filling with raw onion inside.
Can I omit the bacon?
Yes, but use a little additional fat to soften the onions. That variation changes the flavour and the calculated nutrition.
