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Dark, boozy, and rolled by hand, these no-bake rum balls belong on every Austrian Christmas Keksteller and taste even better after a few days in the tin.
Every December in my grandmother Eva's kitchen, the Rumkugeln came last. Not because they were an afterthought, but because they were the easiest and the most forgiving, the reward you gave yourself after days of rolling Vanillekipferl and piping Spritzgebäck. Eva and Gretel would sit at the table with a bowl of chocolate crumb mixture, a bottle of Stroh Inländer-Rum that could strip paint, and a tin of Schokostreusel. They rolled and talked. The kitchen smelled like Christmas.
Rumkugeln are what Austrians make from the bits and pieces. Cake trimmings, broken biscuits, the ends of a Gugelhupf nobody wanted to throw away. You grind it all up, mix it with melted chocolate, ground walnuts, a spoonful of Marillenmarmelade, and enough Inländer-Rum that you can smell it from across the room. No oven. No thermometer. Just your hands and a little patience while you roll them into balls and coat them in chocolate sprinkles, coconut, or cocoa powder.
The trick, if there is one, is the rum. Inländer-Rum is not the same as Caribbean rum. It's an Austrian product, intensely aromatic, with a flavor that sits somewhere between molasses and burnt caramel. It's what makes these taste like Austria and not like a generic truffle. If you can't find Stroh or another Inländer-Rum, use a dark overproof rum, but know that the flavor will be different. Gretel always said you could judge aKeksteller by its Rumkugeln, because they're the one thing that can't hide behind decoration. They either taste right or they don't.
Rumkugeln belong to Austria's long tradition of Restlverwertung, the thrifty practice of using leftovers creatively rather than wasting them. Bakers and home cooks turned stale cake, broken biscuits, and pastry trimmings into confections by binding them with chocolate, jam, and rum. Inländer-Rum itself has been produced in Austria since the 18th century as a domestic substitute for imported Caribbean rum, originally made from sugar beet. The Stroh brand, founded in Klagenfurt in 1832, remains the most recognized producer. By the 20th century, Rumkugeln had become an essential part of the Christmas Keksteller, the ceremonial cookie plate that Austrian families assemble each Advent.
Quantity
200g
Quantity
100g
Quantity
80g
Quantity
30g
Quantity
100g
finely chopped
Quantity
80g
Quantity
3-4 tablespoons
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
for coating
Quantity
for coating
Quantity
for coating
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| plain cake or biscuit crumbs (Keksbröseln) | 200g |
| ground walnuts | 100g |
| powdered sugar (Staubzucker) | 80g |
| unsweetened cocoa powder | 30g |
| dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa)finely chopped | 100g |
| apricot jam (Marillenmarmelade) | 80g |
| Inländer-Rum (Stroh 80 or Stroh 60) | 3-4 tablespoons |
| warm water | 1 tablespoon |
| chocolate sprinkles (Schokostreusel) | for coating |
| desiccated coconut (optional) | for coating |
| cocoa powder (optional) | for coating |
If you're starting with leftover cake, Biskotten, or plain biscuits, blitz them in a food processor until you have fine, even crumbs. Sponge cake works beautifully. So does a stale Gugelhupf. Avoid anything with strong frosting or fillings, those will throw the balance off. You want a neutral, dry crumb that will absorb the chocolate and rum. In a large bowl, combine the crumbs with the ground walnuts, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. Mix them thoroughly with your hands until the color is uniform.
Melt the chopped dark chocolate gently in a bowl set over barely simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water. Stir until smooth and glossy, then take it off the heat. You're not tempering this chocolate, just melting it, so don't overthink the temperature. You want it liquid and warm, not hot. Add the tablespoon of warm water and stir. This loosens the chocolate just enough to make it easier to combine with the dry mixture.
Pour the melted chocolate over the crumb mixture. Add the Marillenmarmelade and three tablespoons of Inländer-Rum. Work everything together with a wooden spoon, then switch to your hands. You're looking for a mixture that holds together when you squeeze a small amount in your palm. If it crumbles apart, add the fourth tablespoon of rum. If it's sticky and wet, you've gone too far and need to add a few more crumbs. The texture should feel like damp sand that clumps willingly.
Pinch off pieces of the mixture, about the size of a large cherry or a walnut in its shell, and roll them between your palms into smooth balls. Keep your hands slightly damp to prevent sticking. Work quickly and don't fuss over perfection. A little unevenness is fine. You should get about thirty balls from this amount. Line them up on a sheet of baking paper as you go.
Set out shallow dishes of Schokostreusel, desiccated coconut, and cocoa powder. Roll each ball in your chosen coating, pressing gently so it adheres. The traditional Austrian choice is chocolate sprinkles, and that's what most Keksteller will have, but mixing all three coatings gives you a beautiful tin. Drop each finished ball into a paper petit four case if you have them.
Place the finished Rumkugeln in a single layer in an airtight tin with baking paper between layers. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. The rest firms them up and lets the rum permeate evenly through the crumbs. They're good after two hours. They're better after two days. They're at their best after four or five days in the tin, when the rum has softened everything and the flavors have merged completely. Mahlzeit!
1 serving (about 23g)
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