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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Luxembourg
Open tart with a buttery crust topped with Quetschen plums arranged in circles, baked until the fruit releases its juices. It is Luxembourg’s autumn tart, made when the plums ripen, usually in September.
Traditional sweet from Luxembourg
Also known as: tarte aux quetsches
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Quetschentaart — Luxembourg
Quetschentaart is an open, straightforward tart. The base is a butter dough of butter, sugar, egg, flour and salt, rolled into a tart pan. On top go the Quetschen — dark purple-skinned, elongated plums with a long pit — halved and arranged in overlapping circles.
In the oven the plums release their juices and caramelize at the edges. The base becomes slightly moist from the juices, which is to be expected. Luxembourg culinary expert Anne Faber publishes a version adapted from Ketty Thull’s recipe, the country’s reference cook.
The Quetschen season is an event. According to Anne Faber, when the harvest arrives, around September, families make the tart and bakeries sell it across the country.
The tart also appears in the capital’s patisseries, where the city’s tourism highlights it among local specialties. Out of season some use frozen plums, but the fruit releases more water.
It is served warm or cold, in slices.
Luxembourg
The country’s autumn tart.
Butter dough (butter, sugar, egg, wheat flour and salt); Quetschen plums.
In slices, warm or cold, with coffee.
Plum season, generally from September to early October.
Your questions
A tart of Quetschen plums arranged in circles on a simple base, typical of autumn.
In the weeks of the Quetschen harvest, at the start of autumn.
A variety of elongated, dark-skinned plum with firm flesh, widely used in tarts in the region.
Flavors of Luxembourg
Cake baked in thin layers around a rotating spit in front of a flame, forming rings like those of a tree trunk. It arrived in Luxembourg from another European tradition and became a sweet for weddings and large celebrations.
Thick green‑bean soup with potato, onion, bacon and sausage, served as a main course. It’s a traditional Luxembourgish home soup and is served at Buergbrennen bonfires after Carnival.
Small human-shaped brioche pastry, with raisins for eyes and sometimes a small white pipe. It is the sweet of Saint Nicholas and Advent in Luxembourg, sold in bakeries in the weeks before Christmas.
Sweet made from leavened laminated dough, covered with sugar icing and almonds, shaped into a loop that resembles two entwined arms. It is the gift of Bretzelsonndeg, the fourth Sunday of Lent, when men give it to the women they care for.
Cold salad of cooked beef cut into cubes, with hard‑boiled egg, pickled cucumber and a mustard‑and‑vinegar dressing. It originated as a way to use leftover boiled meat and has been made for generations in Luxembourgish homes.
Flat patties made from grated potato with onion, parsley and seasonings, fried until crispy. Official tourism presents them as a national dish, and they are traditional at fairs and Christmas markets.
Smoked pork neck, slow-cooked and served sliced with fava beans in a creamy sauce and boiled potatoes. It is the dish most often cited as Luxembourg’s national dish.
Simple dumplings made from a batter of flour, milk and eggs, cooked in water and served with fried bacon or melted butter. They are home-style, winter food, with recipes passed down through generations.
Sweet strips of dough tied into loose, irregular knots, fried until golden and dusted with powdered sugar. They are Luxembourg’s Carnival sweet and are still often made at home.
Pork sausages browned in a skillet and served in a creamy Luxembourgish mustard sauce, with mashed potatoes. The name means “wine sausage with mustard sauce.”
Meat pie in a golden crust, filled with a pork and veal ragù and finished with a Riesling wine jelly. It is a specialty of the capital’s pastry shop and, according to the family that sells it, was created in the city of Luxembourg in 1928.
