These beautiful yeast cakes are originated, accordingly to their name, in the region of Moravian Wallachia. Traditionally, they have been made during all important occasions like weddings, birthdays, parties, etc.
My today’s treat consists of 3 different fillings: the plum, the apple-walnuts and the curd with raisins. I decided to treat my mom for the Mother’s Day (myself too, of course), therefore, it has been really special and tasted just beautifully. My memory of lovely Czech Republic, Dobrou chuť!
Note that this is a super breakfast or afternoon’s snack for babies, too. I would offer homemade marmalades fillings from the age 2 plus. The dough is very moist and soft, so they cannot stop eating them.
Total Time: 1 hour + 1,5 hour sit of dough
Shopping List
80 ml of lukewarm milk
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
20g of fresh yeast
2 egg yolks
40g of icing sugar, sifted
60g butter, melted
350g of semi-coarse flour, sifted
A pinch of sea salt
The Plum Filling:
250g of deseeded dried plums
50g of superfine caster sugar
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
The Apple-Walnuts Filling:
90g of ground walnuts
1 package of vanilla sugar + 2 tablespoons of caster superfine sugar
2 small peeled apples, grated
A splash of warm milk
The Curd with Raisins:
1 semi-fat curd
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
2 tablespoons of icing sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of vanilla pudding mix
1 handful of raisins, soaked in a rum or hot water
The Topping:
100g of butter, cold in cubes
170g of plain flour, sifted
70g of superfine caster sugar
Homemade marmalades as per your wish (I used apricot one)
A knob of melted butter to finish
Icing sugar to sprinkle with
Instructions
The Dough
First, activate the yeast. In a coffee mug place milk with 1 teaspoon of caster sugar and sprinkle with the yeast. Let it rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until foamy.
Stir in the butter, yeast, flour, salt and start kneading a dough. Accordingly to the consistency, add milk from the coffee mug. The dough should be elastic and smooth.
Once it is ready, sprinkle with some plain flour, cover with a clean cloth and let it sit in a warm place until it doubles its volume, for about 1 hour at least.
The Plum Filling
In a small deep pot place dried plums and cover them with hot boiling water. Cook them on a medium heat for about 20 minutes until they get soft. Take off the heat.
Save the liquid and let the plums cool down for a bit.
Next, in a hand blender put the plums, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon. Mix until it gets into a very smooth texture. If necessary, add water (what remains from the cooking). I used about 3 splashes of it, so the jam isn’t too liquid, nor too thick. Do not forget to taste.
The Apple-Walnuts Filling
In a small mixing bowl place the walnuts, vanilla sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of caster sugar (accordingly to your taste) and grated apples. Stir.
Add a splash of warm milk and mix. Taste. Done.
The Curd with Raisins
In a medium mixing bowl put the curd, vanilla extract, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and taste. Add more sugar if you like it to be sweeter.
Next, whisk in the egg yolk on low-speed until running, then, increase the speed to the highest. Continue until it becomes smooth and then, add 2 tablespoons of vanilla pudding mix.
Stir in the raisins with a spatula and set aside until further processing.
The Topping
In a small mixing bowl place some cold butter, plain flour and caster sugar. Work with your hands until you get a beautiful crumby texture. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
Presentation
Prepare your working board and halve the dough. Knead it for some more and let it sit for 15 more minutes.
Afterwards, start rolling them out into round shapes. The real Czech treat should have around 35 cm. Similarly to a strudel dough, roll out with a roller, then, stretch them gently on sides with hands into ½ cm thick base. Then, nicely fold the sides, so they look smooth and equal. No rocket science there.
Place both cakes onto a large baking tray lined with some baking paper.
Put generous layers of the fillings.
For a more impressive effect, you can make the rounds of fillings, starting from the middle: apricot marmalade, The Apple-Walnuts, The Curd with Raisins all the way up to the edge.
You can also divide the fillings into slices. Meaning, divide the cake with a strip of The Curd Filling (you can pipe it with a decorating bag for easier use).
Next, into each slice place different filling: The Plum Filling, The Apple-Walnuts or some apricot marmalade. Yummy already now!
Sprinkle with The Topping. Let it sit for 10 more minutes. Then, pour some melted butter all over them. Decadent!
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden and baked through. Let them cool down entirely, finish with the icing sugar and slice into heaven.
Makes 2 round cakes of 35 cm.