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Onion Cake – plated and served
DinnerCakes & PastriesLunchGerman

Onion Cake

Autumnal sheet cake with bacon and caraway seeds, and the onions must cool before the egg mixture is added.

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Preparation
40 min
Cook/bake time
45 min
Total
2 hr 25 min
Difficulty
Easy
Calories
336 kcal
Servings
12 pieces
Prep
40 min
Cooking & baking
45 min
Resting
1 hr

Only 1 hr 25 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.

Autumnal sheet cake with bacon and caraway seeds, and the onions must cool before the egg mixture is added. Hot onions cause the eggs to curdle immediately, turning the creamy mixture into scrambled eggs on dough. Federweißer is a must with this, not as a recommendation, but as part of the season.

Why this works

The most common mistake with onion cake happens in a single moment: when the egg mixture meets still-hot onions. Egg proteins coagulate at around 62 degrees, and freshly sweated onions are well above that. The eggs curdle immediately into flakes, and instead of a creamy binding, you get scrambled eggs among the onions. On cooled onions, those same eggs only coagulate in the oven, slowly and evenly, binding the mixture. The second point concerns the onions themselves: they are only sweated until translucent, not browned. Caramelized onions taste good, but they are significantly sweeter and have already lost their water. The cake then becomes dry and tastes more like onion jam. The caraway is not just an accessory: its essential oils counteract the bloating effect of the onions, which is why it traditionally belongs in the recipe.

Step-by-step instructions

Conventional · 190 °Cor Fan 170 °C

  1. Prepare the yeast dough

    Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk and knead it with the flour, butter, salt, and sugar for eight minutes until smooth. Let it rise for one hour until the dough has doubled in size.

  2. Render the bacon and sweat the onions

    Render the bacon in a large pan and sweat the onions in it over medium heat for fifteen minutes until translucent. **Do not brown them**. Caramelized onions have lost their water and will make the cake dry.

  3. Let cool completely

    Spread the onion mixture on a plate and let it cool to room temperature. This is the step where the cake fails: hot onions cause the eggs to curdle immediately, and the mixture becomes flaky instead of creamy.

  4. Stir in the egg mixture

    Whisk the eggs, sour cream, heavy cream, and flour, and stir the mixture into the **cooled** onions. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and the caraway seeds. The caraway seeds should be whole, not ground, so they are less dominant.

  5. Top and bake

    Stretch the dough out on a greased baking sheet, pull up a small edge, and distribute the topping over it. Bake the cake at 190 °C for about 45 minutes until the surface is golden brown and the mixture is set. Serve lukewarm, accompanied by Federweißer.

Our best tips

  • The onions must be cooled. It is the only step where onion cake can truly be ruined, and it only costs waiting time.
  • Only sweat the onions until translucent, do not brown them. Caramelized onions make the cake dry and sweetish.
  • Use whole caraway seeds instead of ground. Ground caraway dominates the entire cake, while whole seeds release their flavor in bursts.

Tasty variations

Without bacon

Omit the bacon and sweat the onions in two tablespoons of butter, adding an extra teaspoon of salt. This is quite common as a vegetarian version in wine-growing regions.

On shortcrust pastry

Instead of yeast dough, use a savory shortcrust pastry made from 300 g flour, 150 g butter, one egg, and salt. This is widespread in the Palatinate and significantly faster.

Nutrition facts

Per serving (1 pieces)
Calories336 kcal
Protein11 g
Carbohydrates34 g
– of which sugar9 g
Fat17 g
Fiber4 g

Where the 336 kcal come from

per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it

We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:

  • Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
  • Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
  • Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
  • Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.

A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.

How we calculate nutrition →

Frequently asked questions

Why is my onion mixture flaky?

The egg mixture was added to onions that were still hot. Egg proteins coagulate at around 62 degrees. On cooled onions, however, they only set in the oven and bind the mixture creamily.

How many calories are in a piece of onion cake?

Around 340 kcal per piece when cut into twelve pieces from the sheet. Bacon and cream make up the majority. The vegetarian version without bacon is around 280 kcal.

What is Federweißer?

Partially fermented grape must that is only available in autumn and regionally. It continues to ferment in the bottle, which is why it cannot be transported tightly sealed, and it goes with onion cake like beer goes with a pretzel.

Can I prepare it in advance?

Yes, once baked, it keeps for three days in the fridge and can be frozen. Warmed up in the oven at 160 °C, the base becomes crispy again. It tastes best lukewarm anyway.

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