Vatrushka: Sweet Russian Buns
Easy Russian Vatrushka Recipe: Delicious, fluffy and healthy farmer's cheese individual sweet buns look impressive and take a bit more than an hour to make! They make for a great tea-time treat, breakfast or Thanksgiving dessert.
Servings 8 servings
Calories 413kcal
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups or 250 g spelt flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast or 3 teaspoons fresh yeast
- 1/2 cup or 120 ml milk (you can also use your favorite nut milk)
- 1/4 cup or 45 g Demerara sugar divided
- 3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
- 1 egg yolk
For the filling:
- 10 oz or 300 g farmer's cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 8 tablespoons cranberries, lingonberries or other berries You can also use cranberry sauce, apple sauce or jam for the topping
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and create a well in the middle. Mix yeast with milk and 1 tablespoon of demerara sugar and pour the mixture into the well. Let rest covered for 10 minutes or until the surface is bubbly.
- Add the rest of sugar, butter and egg yolk and knead until smooth. Let rest for 30 more minutes.
Make the filling:
- You want your cottage cheese to be as dry as possible. If yours is rather creamy, wrap it in a cheese cloth and hang over a sink or a big bowl to strain the liquid. You can use it afterwards instead of milk for pancakes for example.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix farmer's cheese with egg, honey and vanilla extract.
Roll the dough:
- When the dough has doubled in size, knead it once again and divide into 8 balls. To do this, you can cut the dough ball in halves with a very sharp knife, then in quarters and then in eighths. Form eight balls. Preheat the oven to 390 F or 200 C.
- Using a rolling pin, roll each ball, working from the center - outwards, until it is about 16 cm or 6 inches in diameter. Fold the edges inwards to form a well in the middle for the filling. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Assemble and bake:
- Add the filling into the wells, one tablespoon at a time. Sprinkle with cranberries, lingonberries or other berries. You can also use cranberry sauce, apple sauce or jam for the topping.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and enjoy with tea!
Notes
Store them refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Serve warm or cold.
Nutrition
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 225IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 3.2mg