Strawberry Cheesecake Vatrushka Buns

brioche buns filled with cream cheese and strawberry jam

Strawberry Cheesecake Vatrushka Buns

These sweet and pillowy soft Vatrushka buns are filled with the most delicious strawberry cheesecake filling.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Russian

Keyword: brioche buns, vatrushka

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 248kcal

Author: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Ingredients

For the dough

220ml/1 cup warm milk full fat or skimmed
7g/1 tbsp active dried yeast
½ tbsp granulated sugar
85ml/1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
0.5 tsp salt
400g/3 cups + 2 tbsp bread flour

For the filling

125g/4 oz cream cheese full fat
2 tbsp granulated sugar
125ml/1/2 cup strawberry jam or any jam of your choice

For the streusel topping

2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 egg for brushing

For the strawberry jam

750g/3 cups ripe strawberries crushed
3 tbsp Ball® Jam setting mix with Pectin
0.5 tsp butter
660g/3 cups granulated sugar

Instructions

For the dough

In a small jar combine the warm milk, yeast and sugar and let the yeast bloom for 5 minutes. Then add an egg and vegetable oil and mix with a fork.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer combine the bread flour with the salt. Add the liquid ingredients and starting mixing using the dough hook attachment on slow for 1 minute, then turn up the speed and continue mixing for 10 minutes until you have a very soft and pliable dough. Alternatively, you can mix and knead the dough by hand for about 15 minutes. Take the dough out of the bowl and brush the same bowl with a bit of vegetable oil, then put the dough back in, flip it over, so the oily side is on top. Cover with a tea towel and let it proof for 1 hour in a warm spot of the house. At the end of proving time the dough should more than double in bulk.
When the dough is ready take it out of the bowl and weigh it. This will make it easier to divide the dough into 12 equal parts. You should have 12 pieces approximately 60g each. If no scale is available, simply divide the dough into two equal parts. Then each part into 6 parts.
Take a dough piece and starting tucking sides of it under itself until you have a rough ball, then roll it in a circular motion on a lightly floured surface until you have a tight ball. Place the ball on parchment paper lined baking pan. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Make sure your dough pieces are at least 3 inches apart. Use two pans if necessary. (The space between them will shrink after they have risen and flattened.) Cover with a clean tea towel and let them rise for 20-30 minutes depending on the temperature of your house. The dough balls won't double in size but will expand.

For the filling

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the cream cheese with granulated sugar and set aside until needed. (The sugar should completely dissolve in the cream cheese by the time it's ready to go inside the buns.)

For the streusel topping

In another small bowl combine the firm but not fridge cold butter, the flour and sugar with a fork. The streusel should have a sandy texture with a few clumps in.

To shape and fill the vatrushka buns

Using either the bottom of a jar or your fingers press firmly in the center of each bun to create a well deep and wide enough to hold 2 tablespoon of the filling. Fill each bun with 1 tablespoon of the sweetened cream cheese. Then make an indentation in the middle of the cream cheese filling with the back of a spoon to create space for the jam. Then drop a spoonful of jam on top of it.
Brush the sides of each buns with a beaten egg, then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake in the preheated oven at 180C/350F for 20 minutes or until the buns are golden.

For the strawberry jam

Wash the strawberries, drain, remove stems and hulls. Crush them with a potato masher.
Sprinkle pectin over the bottom of the pot of the Ball® freshTech Automatic Jam and Jelly Maker fitted with a stirrer. Add the crushed strawberries in even layer over the pectin, then add the butter, which will reduce foaming. Press JAM button and ENTER. Once the machine beeps twice, add the sugar and cover with the lid. Once the cycle is complete, press CANCEL and take the lid off. Preserve the jam immediately.

Notes

To maintain the traditional round shape, make sure the buns are spaced far apart in the baking pan.
Any fruit jam is suitable for this recipe.
You can omit the cream cheese filling and use the jam only or vice versa.

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