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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.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 413 kcal
Course: Dessert , Breakfast
Cuisine: Russian

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:
    Cup of Yum
  1. 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.
  2. Add the rest of sugar, butter and egg yolk and knead until smooth. Let rest for 30 more minutes.
Make the filling:
  1. 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.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Mix farmer's cheese with egg, honey and vanilla extract.
Roll the dough:
  1. 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.
  2. 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:
  1. 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.
  2. 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 Information

Calories 413kcal (21%) Carbohydrates 60g (20%) Protein 14g (28%) Fat 10g (15%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Cholesterol 69mg (23%) Sodium 200mg (8%) Potassium 63mg (2%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 15g (30%) Vitamin A 225IU (5%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 30mg (3%) Iron 3.2mg (18%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 413

% Daily Value*

Calories 413kcal 21%
Carbohydrates 60g 20%
Protein 14g 28%
Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 69mg 23%
Sodium 200mg 8%
Potassium 63mg 1%
Fiber 8g 32%
Sugar 15g 30%
Vitamin A 225IU 5%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 30mg 3%
Iron 3.2mg 18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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