Strawberries and custard buchtelns

These soft yeast buns are made using your favourite dough for classic Viennese buchteln. While they may look different from traditional filled buns, the taste is just as wonderful. Filled with homemade vanilla custard, fresh strawberries, and topped with crumble – this is pure comfort baking. A whole tray of happiness!

Makes 12 buns.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 490 g strong white bread flour
• 30 g fresh yeast or 14 g dry yeast
• 215 ml milk
• 100 g butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour with dry yeast (or prepare a starter if using fresh yeast). Add remaining ingredients and knead, adding melted butter at the end. Knead until soft and elastic. Place in a floured bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1.5 hours).

Knead briefly again, divide into 12 portions (about 85 g each), and shape into balls. Arrange on a lined baking tray, leaving space between them (they will join during baking). Cover and let rise again for 30 – 45 minutes.

Once risen, press a deep well into each bun using the bottom of a glass. Fill with a mix of strawberries and cooled custard (piping bag works well). Sprinkle with crumble.

Bake at 180°C for 25–28 minutes. Remove, cool slightly, and serve.

Ingredients for vanilla custard:

• 4 egg yolks
• 65 g sugar
• 30 g plain flour
• 300 ml milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Whisk yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add 50 ml milk, flour, and vanilla, then mix.

Bring remaining milk to a boil. Pour in the yolk mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened like custard. Cover with cling film (touching the surface) and cool.

Ingredients for crumble topping:

• 50 g butter, melted
• 100 g plain flour
• 50 g sugar

Rub all ingredients together until crumbly.

Additionally:

• 300 g strawberries, hulled

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

Enjoy!