Apricot Kolache with Sweet Cheese and Almond Crumble

Step-by-step method

At a glance

You're making soft, yeasted kolache, which take a bit of time but reward you with that nostalgic smell of home baking – the trick is letting the dough rise twice and pressing the centers thin without tearing them. The real magic happens right at the end, when you brush the hot kolache with Amaretto butter, so whatever you do, don't skip that step.

1/13

Mix the dry ingredients

Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar, dried yeast and grated lemon zest, and mix everything together while still dry.

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500 gram
All-purpose wheat flour

1 gram
Salt

100 gram
Granulated Sugar

10 gram
Dried Yeast

1 piece
Lemon
2/13

Add the wet ingredients

Make a well in the mixture and pour in the lukewarm milk. Add the room-temperature egg yolks and the lukewarm melted butter.

For this step
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250 milliliter
Fresh Whole Milk (3.5% Fat)

2 piece
Egg Yolk

120 gram
Unsalted Butter
3/13

Work the dough

Bring everything together and knead thoroughly. In a stand mixer with a dough hook, let it run for about 13 minutes on medium speed. The dough should be smooth, elastic, and should not stick to the sides of the bowl.

4/13

Let it rise

Lightly grease the dough and bowl with oil, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise somewhere warm for 1 to 1.5 hours, until doubled in size.

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1 teaspoon
Sunflower Oil
5/13

Shape into balls

Turn the risen dough out onto a work surface and divide into 15 equal pieces (about 60 g each, or smaller at 45–50 g if you like). Roll each piece in your palms into a smooth ball and arrange on baking trays lined with parchment paper, leaving space between them.
6/13

Let rise a second time

Cover the balls on the tray loosely with a tea towel and let them rest for an hour. This makes it easy to shape a thin center afterwards.
7/13

Mix the sweet cheese filling

In a bowl, combine the curd cheese (tvaroh), ricotta, egg yolks, icing sugar, vanilla sugar and cornstarch. Whisk until smooth and creamy.

For this step
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250 gram
Full-Fat Curd Cheese

250 gram
Ricotta

2 tablespoon
Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon
Vanilla Sugar

1 teaspoon
Cornstarch
8/13

Make the buttery crumble

Put the flour, sugar and cold butter, cut into cubes, into a bowl. Add the sliced almonds and cinnamon. Rub everything together with your fingers until it forms buttery crumbs.

For this step
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150 gram
Coarse Wheat Flour

150 gram
Granulated Sugar

150 gram
Unsalted Butter

30 gram
Sliced Almonds

2 gram
Ground Cinnamon
9/13

Cut the apricots

Pit the apricots and cut into wedges or quarters. If they're on the tart side, sprinkle them lightly with sugar.

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600 gram
Apricot
10/13

Shape the wells

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (top and bottom heat). Once the balls have relaxed, use your fingers or the floured bottom of a glass to press down the centers until almost paper-thin, leaving just a puffy rim about 1 cm wide.
11/13

Fill the kolache

Brush the rims with beaten egg. Spoon the sweet cheese filling into the middle and spread it over the thin center. Arrange the apricots on top of the cheese and finish with a generous layer of crumble.

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1 piece
Chicken Eggs
12/13

Bake until golden

Place the trays in the oven and bake for about 15–20 minutes. Keep an eye on them — they're ready once the edges turn golden and the crumble starts to turn crisp.
13/13

Brush with Amaretto butter

While the kolache are still hot, brush the edges with melted butter mixed with a splash of Amaretto. Let them cool slightly before serving.

For this step
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50 gram
Unsalted Butter

2 tablespoon
Amaretto

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Apricot Kolache with Sweet Cheese and Almond Crumble

Name: Apricot Kolache with Sweet Cheese & Almond Crumble
Prep time: 43 min
Cook time: 31 min
Total time: 219 min
Yield: 15
Cuisine: Czech
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Cornstarch; 600 gram Apricot; 1 piece Chicken Eggs; 250 milliliter Fresh Whole Milk (3.5% Fat); 320 gram Unsalted Butter; 10 gram Dried Yeast; 2 piece Egg Yolk; 1 teaspoon Sunflower Oil; 150 gram Granulated Sugar; 100 gram Granulated Sugar; 30 gram Sliced Almonds; 2 tablespoon Powdered Sugar; 2 gram Ground Cinnamon; 1 piece Lemon; 500 gram All-purpose wheat flour; 150 gram Coarse Wheat Flour; 250 gram Full-Fat Curd Cheese; 250 gram Ricotta; 1 teaspoon Vanilla Sugar; 2 tablespoon Amaretto; 1 gram Salt

everydaybyyumsto

Prep 43 min Cook 31 min

Plus 2 h 15 min of resting (not counted in active time)

21 Ingredients

13 Steps

Hard Difficulty

Equipment

What you'll need besides the ingredients.

Stand mixer

Tea towel

Pastry board

Baking sheet

Baking paper

Whisk

What's in it?

605 kcal

Calories

62 g

Carbohydrates

36 g

Fats

25 g

Proteins

The nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on the specific ingredients used.

About this recipe

Craving that real taste of summer that fills the whole kitchen with the same aroma as grandma's kitchen during the holidays? I've put together soft, yeasted kolache where the gentle tartness of fresh apricots meets a rich sweet cheese filling. Our tried-and-tested ratio of ingredients, with a splash of melted butter, keeps the dough beautifully soft and pillowy. The whole experience is rounded off by a crunchy layer of proper buttery crumble with sliced almonds. And a dash of Amaretto brushed on with melted butter once they're baked? That's the secret finishing touch that takes these to the next level, so don't skip that step.

Vegetarian High-protein Desserts Czech

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Step-by-step method

At a glance

Mix the dry ingredients

For this step

Add the wet ingredients

For this step

Work the dough

Let it rise

For this step

Shape into balls

Let rise a second time

Mix the sweet cheese filling

For this step

Make the buttery crumble

For this step

Cut the apricots

For this step

Shape the wells

Fill the kolache

For this step

Bake until golden

Brush with Amaretto butter

For this step

How it went

Nobody has tried this recipe yet

Apricot Kolache with Sweet Cheese and Almond Crumble

Ingredients — what you'll need

Equipment

What's in it?

About this recipe

Want a recipe like this every Thursday?

Similar recipes

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