The recipes in the Real German Cuisine Challenge are from the German recipe book Die echte deutsche Küche and will be translated by me over the next couple of years.

Fliederbeerensuppe mit “Plauener Spitzen” (Elderberry soup)

6 comments

Elderberry soup with egg white caps

Ingredients for 4 portions:

  • 1 kg Elderberries (Holunderbeeren)
  • 1/2 liter apple juice
  • 1/2 untreated lemon (juice and peel)
  • 3 cloves
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 sour apples (Granny Smith, Jonathan)
  • 1 ripe pear
  • 100 g sugar
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • cream (to taste)

For the “Plauener Spitzen”:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • 3 drops lemon juice

Preparation time: about 1 1/2 hours

Per portion: 330 calories

Directions:

  1. Wash the elderberries and use a fork to strip them from the stems. Add the apple juice and 800 ml water to a pot with the lemon peel and cloves and bring to a boil.
  2. Peel the apple and pear and remove the cores and seeds.  Cut up the fruit.  Add the berries and the fruit to the boiling stock and boil for 20 minutes.
  3. Pour the contents of the pot through a sieve into a bowl.  Use a spoon to press all the juice from the leftovers in the sieve. (Tip: use a dark colored bowl, the juice will stain!)  Bring again to a boil and add the sugar.  Stir 2 T of cornstarch with some water and use it to thicken the soup.  Add lemon juice to taste.
  4. For the “Plauener Spitze,” take a wide, flat pot, fill with water and bring to a simmer.
  5. Beat the egg whites until very stiff, fold in the salt, sugar and lemon juice.  As soon as the water simmers, use a tablespoon to pick up some egg white mixture, turn the egg white onto a second tablespoon and place it gently into the water.  Poach each side about 4 minutes.
  6. Serve the soup in deep bowls and top each bowl with three “Plauener Spitze.”  To taste, each person can pour a little cream over the soup.
  • Instead of egg white caps, you can use small macaroons, meringues, crumbled Melba toast, or roasted white croutons.  In summer, this soup is also very refreshing served cold.  If you can’t get fresh berries, substitute with elderberry juice.

Want more Real German Cuisine? Check out the full recipe list organized by German state.

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Saskia September 21, 2009 at 4:05 pm

This looks delicious, better than the jam I was planning on making with the elderberries in my garden. But how many does it serve? Do you recommend halving this recipe? And, because I have yet to purchase a scale, about how many cups of elderberries is 1kg? Thanks in advance….

2 Saskia September 23, 2009 at 1:51 pm

Oh, silly me, it says 4 servings right there… sorry!

3 Christina Geyer September 23, 2009 at 11:51 pm

@saskia: Hi! I halved the recipe and wished I hadn’t, it was so good. Not sure how many cups 1kg is. Maybe 3-4 cups? I highly recommend getting a digital scale. I rarely use cup measures now. If you get a scale, get one that switches between ounces and grams, then you can use it for all recipes.

4 Saskia September 24, 2009 at 1:50 pm

Hi Christina,

I made it yesterday (ommitted the pear, though, because I was running out of space in my saucepan). I thought it was fabulous. I guestimated on the amount of holunderbeern, but I was so happy to make use of them, as they were about to start falling off of the tree. I also could have done without the egg white thingies. Small meringues would have been super if I’d had them around. Since my husband doesn’t like that sort of thing, I think I’m going to freeze some and enjoy it throughout the winter! Thanks for posting this recipe ;)

5 Christina G September 24, 2009 at 2:26 pm

Freezing is a great idea. I should do that!

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