German · Authentic-ish German
Zwiebelkuchen
331 kcal a serving, against 494 for the traditional version. That is 163 kcal off, or 33%, with 17.7g of protein. Serves 8. 1 hour 50 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Traditional Zwiebelkuchen uses a soft, enriched yeast dough - flour, milk, butter and egg yolk - topped with masses of caramelised onions, smoked bacon, double cream and whole eggs. It is baked until golden and served warm.
What changed, and what each change costs
200g butter-and-milk enriched dough base for a leaner flour and semi-skimmed milk dough, butter down to 20g
You could halve the base and go to a frittata, but then you're not making a Zwiebelkuchen. So I shave off as much butter as I can get away with and swap whole milk for semi-skimmed. The yeast dough is still there, but it's lighter.
What it costs you. You will miss the richness and the colour in the crust. The base is a bit less tender, but you still get the proper pillowy texture.
200g double cream swapped out for 250g quark, and 3 eggs down to 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites
Double cream in the filling is a calorie black hole. Fat-free quark gives you richness and tang without the luxury. Egg whites mean you keep the set and the protein up, while the quark keeps things soft.
What it costs you. It isn't exactly the same. The filling is lighter, a little more sour and less silky than the original. Sometimes that's a fair deal. Sometimes you just want the double cream.
Bacon reduced from 200g to 120g, fully rendered and fat poured off
Bacon is the other giant calorie bomb. A proper Zwiebelkuchen is meant to taste like a bacon sandwich with custard. I keep enough for taste, but sweat it all to render out the fat and pour that away.
What it costs you. You'll never get the full smoky punch of the classic, but you don't need a whole pig's worth of bacon fat per slice either.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 494 | 331 |
| Protein | 17.1g | 17.7g |
| Fat | 24.6g | 5.8g |
| Saturated fat | 13.5g | 2.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 51.3g | 51.6g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 3.5g | 5.4g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish German prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, milk, eggs.
The method is in the book
The numbers win this one. Zwiebelkuchen is all about comfort, but you can take the edge off the fat without losing the soul of the dish. You still get sweet onions, a proper chewy base and smoky bacon, just without needing a nap afterwards. Zwiebelkuchen - only a bit more forgiving, then. Not quiche, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish German, along with 54 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.