Procedure

1) Mix the dried yeast with 100ml of warm milk and add 2tbsp of sugar. Leave it to activate for about 15 minutes. (If using easy bake yeast, skip this step as the yeast doesn’t need to activate. Add it straight to the flour with the rest of the ingredients.)

2) In a large bowl, mix flour with salt, then add the rest of the sugar and milk, butter, two egg yolks and the activated yeast mixture. 

3) Gently bring all the ingredients together and knead the dough until it becomes nice and soft (this can be also done in your stand mixer, using the dough hook attachment). The dough shouldn’t be sticky. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 20 minutes. 

4) Prepare your filling. In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, mascarpone, vanilla paste and sugar together. Set aside.

5) To prepare the streusel topping (crumb topping), rub the butter into the flour to make a light breadcrumb texture. Add in the caster sugar and gently mix it into the mixture. 

6) Prepare a baking sheet and line it with a parchment paper. 

7) Once the dough has risen, tip it onto a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll it to about 0.5cm thickness. 

8) Using a round glass or a small glass bowl (8-10cm), cut out circles from the dough. 

9) Place the dough circles onto the baking sheet, leaving a sufficient space between each to let them rise. Using a smaller glass, make a light indent into the middle of each of the circles. Put some filling into this indent, then top it up with some jam or preserve and the streusel topping. Glaze the sides of each of the kolaches with the egg yolk. 

10) Bake Moravian kolaches at 170C/150C fan for about 20 minutes until golden.

11) Leave to cool for about five minutes before serving. Enjoy!