For the Spätzle

• Sieve the flour into a big bowl, add the water, the eggs and 15g of salt and a little pinch of nutmeg. Use a fork to mix it all together. The dough should be creamy in consistency, not too runny and also not too firm.

• Place a large pot filled with water on the stove, add some salt and bring to the boil.

• Lay a spätzle maker horizontally along the top of the pot with boiling water and add heaped spoons of the spätzle mix onto the maker with holes. Use a scraper (that should come with the maker) and scrape slowly back and forth into the water. Usually works better when you add a large amount of the mix on top of the maker. 

• The spätzle is cooked once they float to the top of the water. Use a sieve to collect them out from the water.

• Place the cooked spätzle in a colander/strainer to drain.

to make it Kaiser Spätzle

• Preheat the oven to 200°C using only the top heating element.

• Place a big pan on medium-high heat and melt the butter.

• Add the red onion to the pan and fry for 2 minutes.

• Add the spätzle into the pan and stir occasionally, so they become slightly brown.

• Add the cream into the Spätzle and let the mixture come up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. 

• Add two-thirds of the cheese into the pan and mix it together with the Spätzle.

• Season with salt and pepper to your taste. 

• Place the Spätzle in a small oven tray and add the remaining cheese on top and place the Spätzle in the oven for 15 minutes

• Take the pan, give it a quick wipe and pour the sunflower oil in and place on medium to high heat.

• Take the onion rings and coat with flour, shake off any excess flour.

• Add half of the onion rings and fry until brown.

• Place on kitchen paper and fry the rest of the onion.

• Season the onions with salt and place them on top of the Spätzle in the oven once the 15 minutes are up.

• Leave the tray in the oven for 3 more minutes and then serve.