Autumn is the time when the world becomes a little bit more colourful and one appreciates the sunny days. But also everyone’s preparing for the winter, digging up scarves and sweaters,making jams, preserves, brushing up old recipes for soups and what not. One of those Autumn recipes is this german onion cake.

Some time ago, a friend of mine told me of his annual Autumn tradition, when he and his friends would gather one evening to bake an onion cake and drink young wine, which at this time of the year is widely available in almost every shop. The idea was pretty simple, everyone would bring some of the main ingredients and then bake the cake together. He then added few more stories, when someone would forget to bring onions or wine (ergo the main ingredients for the evening). I found this idea very nice.

So when he told us of his plan of reviving this tradition, and invited us along with few other friends, I just couldn’t say no. Also, as I’ve never ate the onion cake before this sounded like a good idea to try something new. He tempted not only with food but also with a promise he’ll clean the kitchen himself. And of course, who would ignore the chance of making a mess in the kitchen and not having to clean it up?

But back to the onion cake itself, it turned out to be nothing what I expected. It was a hearty meal, which despite its name, didn’t have that tangy onion taste. I really liked it and wondered why didn’t I eat it before. It was so good, few days later I made one myself at home. There weren’t any volunteers to clean up the kitchen, but that didn’t change the fact that the cake was just perfect.

Makes ca 12 pcs.

Preparation time: 40min                                                                 Baking time: 30min

For the dough:

450g of flour

1 pack of dried yeast (7 g)

pinch of sugar

½ tsp salt

60g / ½ stick of butter

220ml cold water

For the filling:

3 eggs

200ml cream

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp dried parsley

½ tsp nutmeg

250g grated cheese

800g onions (or 8 medium ones)

250g bacon

1 tbsp oil

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, yeast and salt. Combine the ingredients using a spoon, and make a hole in the middle into which you pour the water. Using the hand mixer, fitted with the dough hooks, combine all the ingredients, slowly adding the butter. When the dough starts forming a solid form, take it out and knead it on the floured work surface until smooth. Form a ball and place back in the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave for 30min.

In the meantime peel the onions and cut in halves, then cut into stripes. Leave aside. Cut the bacon into cubes. Fry both in a pan with 1 tbsp of oil until golden brown.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (circulating air not recommended)

When the dough is ready, place it on the working surface, and using a rolling pin, roll it out in baking sheet size. Roll the dough from the roll onto the greased, or lined with baking sheet, baking tray. Press the edges upwards, and spread the filling on the dough.

Cast the eggs and whipped cream and season with salt, freshly grated nutmeg, dried parsley and pepper. Pour the mixure evenly over the onions. Sprinkle with grated cheese and place the baking tray in the oven. Bake for 30min.

Let it cool down for few minutes before serving.