Classic Onion Cake (German Zwiebelkuchen)

A real autumn favorite: This quick onion cake with short pastry is loved by young and old! German Zwiebelkuchen works with bacon as well as vegetarian.

I can't tell you whether it is the original onion tart recipe - but the fact is that my easy onion tart without yeast tastes immensely delicious. And that is the most important thing. Hearty, spicy, moist, good!

Taste and Occasion

There are many different alternatives, be it onion cake from the baking sheet or without a base, with or without cheese, vegetarian, or bacon. The onion cake with sour cream that I am presenting to you in this article is a really traditional dish.

To make the onion cake recipe easy and fast, I have chosen a salty short pastry as a foundation. All you need to do is knead all the ingredients together quickly (see my big shortcrust pastry guide for more tips). Since the onion cake does not need yeast, you save the waiting time.

Of course, the kneading dough should be cooled down a little before rolling out. But you can use this time to prepare the topping.

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Ingredients

The onion cake dough is topped with a spicy mixture of onions (obviously😉 ), bacon, eggs, sour cream and spices.

If you bake the onion quiche with both white and red onions, it will look especially lovely. Even without bacon. When it comes to seasoning, you are flexible: salt and pepper belong in, clear. But nutmeg and caraway are a matter of taste.

I wish you a great start into the autumn season and hope you will copy the classic onion tart. Or how about Quiche Lorraine, pumpkin focaccia and tarte flambée?

How to make the Onion Cake

The preparation of the German Zwiebelkuchen is not difficult at all. Everything starts with the dough: Put flour in a bowl and quickly knead in small pieces of cold butter with egg, ice water and salt. Form the dough into a ball and put it in cling film to cool for about 30 minutes.

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Now it comes to the heart of the dish: the onions. Finely slice or chop them and heat some butter in a pan. Sauté the onions at medium heat for about 10 minutes until they become translucent. Then add bacon and fry the mixture for another 5 minutes. Put the onion mix aside to cool down.

For the next step, preheat the oven to 360°F / 180°C. Roll out the dough to the size of a 11* 12 inches / 28*30 cm quiche, tart or springform pan (plus edge); place it in the pan and raise one edge.

Whisk the eggs with the sour cream. Fold the slightly cooled onion mixture into the egg cream and season everything with nutmeg, salt, pepper and caraway seeds, if necessary.
Pour the mixture onto the dough, smooth it down and bake the onion cake for about 40 minutes. Cover it after 30 minutes, if necessary, so that it does not get too dark.

Top Tip

The easy onion cake with sour cream from the large tart or quiche pan is particularly stylish. I recommend one with a removable bottom - that saves a lot of nerves!

If necessary, you can also use a regular springform pan. For the onion cake recipe with short pastry, I used the foundation of my vegetable quiche. Also very tasty

Recipe Card

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Original German Zwiebelkuchen

Easy onion cake with short pastry - a real autumn classic! Since the onion cake does not require yeast, it is also made comparatively quickly

Prep Time20 mins

Baking Time40 mins

Cooling Time30 mins

Servings: 1 cake

Calories: 314kcal

Equipment

• 1 big mold (approx. 11 inches / 28 cm)

Ingredients

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For the dough

• 250 grams (2 cups) wheat flour
• 140 grams (0.6 cups) butter , cold and in pieces
• 1 egg, medium-sized
• 1 tablespoon ice water
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the topping

• 50 grams (0.2 cups) butter
• 700 grams (4.4 cups) onions , weighed uncooked
• 150 grams (1.1 cups) ham, diced; or bacon
• 3 eggs, medium-sized
• 300 grams (1.3 cups) sour cream , or creme fraiche
• ½ teaspoon salt and pepper , amount as desired
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon caraway , optional; quantity as desired

Instructions

• To make the dough, put the flour in a bowl and quickly knead the cold butter in small pieces with the egg, ice water and salt. Form the dough into a ball and put it in cling film to cool for about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, finely slice or chop the onions. Heat the butter in a pan. Sauté the onions at medium heat for about 10 minutes until translucent. Then add the bacon and fry for another 5 minutes. Put the onion mix aside to cool down.
• Preheat the oven to 360°F / 180°C. Roll out the dough to the size of a 11* 12 inches / 28*30 cm quiche, tart or springform pan (plus edge); place in the pan and raise one edge.
• Whisk the eggs with the sour cream. Fold the slightly cooled onion mixture into the egg cream. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and caraway seeds if necessary.
• Pour the mixture onto the dough, smooth it down and bake the onion cake for about 40 minutes. Cover after 30 minutes if necessary so that it does not get too dark.

Variations

Vegetarians can of course leave out the meat. We also eat meat and sausage only extremely rarely. But for the children it was a great lure to at least try the onion cake from the springform pan. I called the creation easy ham cake - and then they tore the pieces from my hand 😉 .

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In need for some more savory snacks? With my delicious spinach puffs with feta you can never go wrong. Your guests will fall in love immediately!

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