This is a traditional summer treat from Central Europe, that you need to try. It's not too difficult to make either. You just need a leavened dough, your preferred filling, and an oven. You can choose from three traditional fillings – curd cheese, poppy seeds or plum preserve.😍

Shop ingredients

Ground Vanilla – 10 g – fine vanilla bean powder – highly aromatic Grade A vanilla from Uganda

Ghee Spray with Avocado Oil – 200 ml – clarified butter with avocado oil in spray, lactose‑free, with practical dispenser

£6.49

Nutrition (1 serving)

245 kcal
31 g carbohydrates
10 g fats
6 g protein

Per 15 portions

Dough:

450 g plain flour
50 g cane sugar
10 g yeast
10 g vanilla sugar
5 g salt
2 g nutmeg
250 ml milk
1 egg
pinch lemon zest
80 ml butter

Curd cheese filling:

250 g semi-fat quark
80 g cane sugar
1 vanilla sugar
1 pinch vanilla powder
1 yolk
lemon zest

Poppy seeds filling:

200 g poppy seeds
80 g cane sugar
250 ml milk
1 vanilla sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 egg

Plum preserve filling:

250 g of plum butter
1 tbsp of rum
1 cinnamon sugar

To grease the tray:

5 ml ghee butter spray

Instructions

The ingredients make 15 sweet buns (5 of each filling; each bun is about 70g), with the following macros:
Curd cheese: 245 kcal / 6g protein / 31 g carbohydrates / 10g fat
Poppy seeds: 320 kcal / 8g protein / 35g carbohydrates / 16g fat
Plum preserve: 250 kcal / 4g protein / 34g carbohydrates / 9g fat
Mix the flour, sugar and other powdered ingredients in a large bowl. Add in lukewarm milk and melted butter, crack in an egg and crumble in the fresh yeast. Using a kitchen robot, create a smooth dough. Transfer onto a warm place and leave it to rise.
Transfer the risen dough to a floured surface and roll it out thinly. Using a knife, cut it into a grid of equal‑size rectangles. Top each rectangle with a spoonful of your chosen filling:
Curd cheese: In a bowl, mix the curd cheese with caster sugar and vanilla sugar, a pinch of vanilla powder, egg yolk and fresh lemon zest. You can also add rum‑infused raisins.
Poppy seeds: Cook the poppy seeds in warm milk for a little while, until they thicken. Take it off the heat, and whilst hot, add both sugars, butter, and egg.
Plum preserve: Simply mix the plum preserve with cinnamon sugar. If you think they are too thin and runny, you can thicken them up by adding crumbles of lady fingers.
Lift the diagonally opposite edges of the rectangles, pull them over the filling and pinch them together to create a seal. Repeat with the other two edges. Carefully roll the buns into a ball shape. Repeat with the other rectangles.
Place the sealed buns on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Ensure that the sealed side is facing the bottom. Brush the tops with a good amount of melted butter or ghee spray. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 25‑30 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with icing sugar once cooled down slightly.
Enjoy!

Products used in the recipe