Spätzle are a traditional dish in southern Germany and if you add some delicious Allgäu cheese you create a whole new meal – Allgäu Kässpätzle. But Kässpätzle are not just popular in southern Germany, in the whole alpine area in Switzerland and Austria they are very common as well and you might find them on every menu. Due to the diversity of the different regions, there are different Recipes around, but here I’m sharing with you the recipe for classic Kässpätzle with Allgäu cheese. There are also a few similar names for Kässpätzle around, like Chäsknöpfli (in Switzerland) or Käsknöpfle (in Austria) or also Kässpatzn (in Germany).

The secret of some good Kässpätzle are not the Spätzle (for sure, they should be tasty as well), but the only ingredient that decides the Taste overall is a good cheese. You can’t use any packed Cheddar Toast-Cheese for 99ct or less per package simply because it won’t taste good (because I wouldn’t call this a cheese at all) and the consistency won’t be the same, too. My secret is original Allgäu mountain cheese which is similar to Emmental and the flavour is mildly aromatic and nutty. The name is protected as only cheeses produced in the area between Lindau/Ravensburg at Lake Constance and Memmingen/Kempten in the Allgäu are allowed to use this name. Otherwise, it’s simply Bavarian cheese or where ever it’s from.
If you are travelling to southern Germany, maybe to Munich for the Oktoberfest, you can discover a lot more about the Allgäu cheese on the the Westallgäuer Käsestraße (Westallgäuer cheese route). More information can be found in this pdf. Now before starting with the recipe, I want to point out that making Spätzle by yourself can be a real mess, so prepare to clean your kitchen thoroughly afterwards. But it gets better and easier as soon as you figured out how it works. So don’t hesitate, the taste of the Kässpätzle and your very first handmade Spätzle will reward for this. So, now, let’s go!

Ingredients for 4 portions of Allgäu Kässpätzle

• 500g finely sifted flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 liter of water
• 1 pinch of salt
• 5 onions
• 1 knob of butter
• 200g grated Allgäu Cheese / Emmental Cheese

Instructions for Allgäu Kässpätzle

First, you prepare the Spätzle Dough by giving the flour, salt, eggs and water in a bowl. Mix everything for a few minutes until some bubbles appear in the dough and let it rest for one hour.

During this time you can already peel and cut the Onions into thin rings before you will fry them later. After the dough rested for one hour you now need a (medium sized) pan and a (bigger) pot. Fill the Pot to 3/4 with water (minimum one litre, better would be 2-3), give some salt to it and place it on the Cooker until the water boils. Take now a Spätzle Slicer (Spätzlehobel), place it directly over the pot and move it back and forth to create Spätzle. They will immediately fall into the water and start to cook. By the speed of moving up and forth on the “Spätzle machine,” you can determine their size. Either small bobbles or longer Spätzle, both are okay.

After the first Spätzle appear back on top of the water they are done you can skim if off, give them straight in a casserole, and mix the fresh Spätzle with Cheese and Spätzle and Cheese and Spätzle so on. As soon as you’ve finished the dough I recommend to place the casserole in your oven to keep them hot, and that the cheese fully melts, while you fry the onions in the separate pan with a knob of butter. Place the onions on top and now your result should about look like the Picture above (these were the Käsespätzle they offer on Top of Mount Pfänder in Austria) – and now: enjoy!!

This is the best Spätzlehobel out there, to make delicious Spätzle by yourself

Otherwise, you can already buy the Spätzle, cook them like regular pasta for a few minutes and start by mixing it with Allgäu Cheese and topping them with fried onion

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