Moravian Kolache – Moravské koláče
Sweet yeast Kolache pastry with double filling. An authentic Czech recipe.
Servings 16 pieces
Ingredients
Yeast dough:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting the work surface)
- ¾ cup lukewarm milk
- 1 and ½ ounces fresh yeast (or 2 and ½ teaspoons of dry active yeast)
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest freshly grated
- 1 and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
Cream cheese filling (any tried which works for you - about 7 oz / 200 g)
Plum butter (about 7 oz / 200 g)
Streusel topping:
- 1 stick butter
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
You’ll also need:
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Place 4 cups all-purpose flour in a mixing bowl, make a dimple in the middle. Crumble 1 and ½ ounces fresh yeast, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar, pour over ¼ cup of lukewarm milk. Mix with a fork until a runny batter is created in the middle. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in the warm place for 30 minutes.
- Meantime, melt 1 stick unsalted butter over low heat, mix it with 2 egg yolks, rest of lukewarm milk, 1 and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest, and ½ tsp salt. Whisk until combine.
- Add whisked butter-egg liquid to the bowl with flour and activated yeast. Add ½ cup granulated sugar.
- Knead a smooth dough: Start mixing with a fork, then use your hands to make a nice dough. It takes about 5-8 minutes. Or use a kitchen mixer with a hook attachment. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for further 45 minutes.
- Meantime, make cream cheese (tvaroh, quark) filling. Get plum butter ready. Let the fillings sit on kitchen counter to warm to room temperature.
- Make streusel topping: mix 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 stick butter, and ⅔ cup granulated sugar using your fingers to create small coarse crumbles.
- When the dough has raised, dump it on the worktop. The dough should not stick, if it does, flour the worktop a little.
- Roll the dough out into a square about ¼ inch thick—it shouldn't be too thin. Divide into equally-sized pieces, about 4 inches on a side.
- Place 1-2 teaspoons of cream cheese filling in the middle, then fold the opposite sides and seal together carefully. Shape the filled dough pieces between your palms into a ball.
- Transfer the kolache seamed side down to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the kolache rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to
340 °F. - For an egg wash, whisk 1 egg in a bowl using a fork. Press each kolach in the middle, for example, with a joint of your index finger.
- Brush kolache with egg wash and fill holes with plum butter. Sprinkle with streusel topping.
- Bake kolache for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes 16 Moravian kolache.
- Make the cream cheese filling ahead, that it is at room temperature when you start filling the Kolache. If you used too cold cream cheese filling, the yeasted dough could not bake properly.
- If the plum butter is too thick, mix it with a spoon of rum. Rum thins the jam and adds a wonderful flavor to the filling. If the it is too thin or runny, add gingerbread crumbs (that’s how plum butter is thickened in the Czech Republic).