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This Onion Tart is made with bacon and a really big amount of onions! It tastes best lukewarm with a glass of wine or some freshly squeezed grape juice. A perfect fall appetizer or snack!
Onion Tart is basically a thinly rolled out yeast dough topped with a mixture of caramelized onions, crispy fried bacon, sour cream, and eggs. Because you fry the onions for 20 minutes they taste really mild and slightly sweet. A great flavor combo together with the bacon and caraway seeds!
Fall is the perfect time for Onion Tart! It’s a really popular treat in southern Germany and Alsace. While each country has their own variety of onion cake they are all very similar. One thing they all have in common is that the main ingredient is always onion! A really big amount of onions.
The Bavarian version of Onion Tart called Zwiebelkuchen or Zwiebelplootz is made on a baking sheet and uses a yeast dough for the base. The topping is thinner than the one of the Swabian version which is baked in a Springform. It’s similar to my Apple Cake Recipe which is also baked on a sheet and topped with apple slices.
You can get Onion Cake at every harvest festival in Southern Germany and Eastern France. It’s super popular especially with a glass of Federweisser, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented freshly pressed grape juice. Sounds weird but tastes so good! A bit like grape soda with a hint of alcohol.
But if you can’t find Federweisser, wine (especially Riesling) or German beer are also a great combination. Onion Cake tastes best lukewarm but you can also heat up leftovers in the microwave.
A really important ingredient (besides onions) are caraway seeds. They’re said to make the onion cake more digestible and add that typical flavor. Don’t leave them out! I’m not a big fan of caraway seeds on its own but here they’re really essential and complement the flavor of the onions.
Onion Cake makes a great party dish but it’s also eaten for lunch and dinner. Like my Spinach Tomato Quiche or my Spinach Quiche with Cheese and Pine Nuts, it’s also great for brunch!
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Easy Onion Tart Recipe
Ingredients
For the yeast dough:
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
For the onion topping:
- 2 1/2 lbs yellow onions, finely diced
- 5 slices bacon, finely diced
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
Instructions
- Pour the lukewarm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm (90°F) milk. Cover and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- On low speed, add the flour, sugar, vegetable oil, and salt and knead until a soft dough forms about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands for one more minute. Sprinkle the dough with a little bit more flour if it's too sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover and let the dough rest at a warm place for 40 minutes or until about doubled in size.
- In the meantime make the onion topping: Fry up the diced bacon. When the bacon is done add the diced onions to it. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the onions slowly caramelize to a nice golden brown, about 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes.
- In a bowl, combine sour cream, eggs, salt and caraway seeds. Add the onion mixture to it and thoroughly combine everything.
- Grease an 18x13-inch baking sheet or use parchment paper. With floured hands spread the dough evenly about 1/2 inch high.
- Spread the onion mixture on top of it and sprinkle a few caraway seeds on top. Preheat the oven to 390F (200C) and let the onion tart rise a second time while the oven is preheating.
- Place the Onion Tart on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is light brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. This tart tastes best lukewarm.
Might be tempted to try your recipe but what in the world does
” 1 tsp package instant dry yeast 2 and 1/4 ”
mean?
I’m so sorry, Fred! I changed my recipe plugin a few weeks ago and it seems like the import didn’t work perfectly. It should say “1 package instant dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)”. – Julia