Giant Yeast Dumplings - Germknödel mit Powidl und Mohn

This is one of my favourite recipes..a sweet dish that should be definitely on your 'I have to try' list...I found this one at thepassionatecook.typepad.com

And the writer also left some comment:

Germknödel are big dumplings made out of a yeasty dough and filled with Powidl - a sort of plum jam which needs to cook for hours and hours to reduce down to an almost black paste tasting more of dried prunes than fresh plums.
They are prepared as you would expect for a yeast dough, with lots of resting and rising and hoping and praying involved. You then stuff them with the Powidl and neatly close the dough around them, letting them rise some more. They are cooked over steam, spreading a kitchen towel over a pot of boiling water and securing it with a piece of string, then putting the dumplings on the towel and covering them with another pot (upside down) to create some sort of steam bath for the Germknödel (no aromatherapy involved here, though!). It would probably work equally well in a steamer, although I have never tried this. When they are done, they should be firm outside but wonderfully fluffy inside, and they are served hot with some melted butter and a mixture of poppy seeds and icing sugar - delicious!

serves 6

30 g butter (room temperature)
25 g icing sugar
1 sachet (4 g) vanilla sugar
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
250 g white all-purpose flour
1 sachet (7 g) dried yeast
125 ml milk (warm)
200 g Powidl (for the filling)
butter for the cloth

For the topping:
100 g poppy seeds
100 g icing sugar
100 g butter

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, icing and vanilla sugar, yolks and salt, put the bowl over simmering water and whisk until the mixture is warm (make sure it does not get too hot, the eggs must not cook!). Mix the flour and the yeast in a bowl with a fork, then add to the egg mixture. Gradually add the warm milk, combining thoroughly, then knead with a mixer/food processor to achieve a smooth and soft dough. Cut into 6 even pieces and shape them into balls. Let them rest on a floured surface, cover with a slightly moist, but not wet, kitchen towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes. When the dough has risen, flatten the dough slightly, fill with Powidl and close up the dough neatly so the filling can't escape. They should keep their dumpling shape. Put on a floured surface again (use a cutting board, for example), cover with a moist towel and put in a warm (ca 50 C) oven or an airing cupboard, where they should be left until they have doubled in size.
Prepare the pot by spreading a clean kitchen towel over it after filling it with boiling water, secure the cloth with a piece of string, brush the cloth with butter and lay the dumplings on top. Depending on the size of your pot, you may want to cook them in batches so they have enough room. Then cover the dumplings by placing another pot of the same diameter on top (upside down that is), to create a "steam room" for your dumplings. A lid is not enough, as the steam with make the cloth and dumplings rise, so they need some space to roam here! Steam them for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, grind the poppy seeds - if you haven't got a grinder, put them in a slim and tall tupperware dish and grind using a hand-held blender (without adding anything). Then combine with the icing sugar.
When the Germknödel are done, arrange on plates, pour over the melted butter and sprinkle generously with the poppy seed mixture. Serve immediately, with warm vanilla custard or creme anglaise if you wish.