onion cake and sweet wine

Another alcoholic must this Autumn is the Federweißer. This is a young, sweet, bubbly, still-fermenting wine with a high yeast content, lending it a cloudy appearance. It is typically made with green grapes but the red version is also becoming popular. Confronted by the dilemma of which to buy, I chose both.

Federweißer (feather-white) is enjoyed from September through to October and is traditionally accompanied by Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake).

Onion Cake
(recipe makes 16 slices)

200g butter
400g plain flour
5 medium eggs
500g onions
500g red onions (or leeks when your local store has no red onions)
2 Tbs oil
300g fresh cream
150g sour cream
salt and pepper
nutmeg
100g thinly sliced bacon

Cut the cold butter into small cubes. Kneed flour, butter, 2 eggs, 5 teaspoons cold water and a dash of salt to a smooth dough, Wrap up in plastic wrap and place in the kitchen for an hour. Meanwhile peel and slice the onions into rings. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Combine the fresh cream, sour cream and 3 eggs and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
Roll out the dough on a well-floured workbench into a square shape (ca. 34x41 cm). Place in a greased baking form (ca 32x39 cm) and raise the edges. Scatter the fried onion on the dough and pour over the cream. Lay the bacon over and bake for ca. 30 minutes.