Moravské koláče

Step 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 2 ½ oz caster sugar, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp lemon zest. Add 1 cup whole milk, 2 egg yolks and 2 ⅞ oz butter and knead for 10 minutes to a soft, silky dough that comes cleanly off the bowl. Cover and leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour until doubled.

Step 2: Make the poppy filling: simmer 3 ½ oz ground blue poppy seeds with ¾ cup milk and 1 ⅜ oz sugar over a low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes until thick enough to hold a trail. Cool.

Step 3: Beat 7 oz quark (tvaroh) with 1 ⅜ oz sugar, 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp vanilla extract until smooth. Stir 5 ½ oz povidla or thick plum butter so it is spreadable.

Step 4: Rub 2 ⅛ oz plain flour, 1 ⅜ oz sugar and 1 ⅜ oz cold butter together with your fingertips to coarse crumbs.

Step 5: Knock back the dough and divide into 20 balls (about 45 g each). Set them on lined trays, 5 cm apart, flatten slightly, cover and leave for 20 minutes until puffy.

Step 6: Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan). With the bottom of a small glass dipped in flour, press a wide, deep hollow into each bun, leaving a 1 cm rim.

Step 7: Brush the rims with 1 egg. Fill a third of the buns with poppy, a third with quark and a third with plum, a generous teaspoon each, and scatter crumble over the top.

Step 8: Bake for 18–20 minutes until the rims are deep golden and the quark has just set without cracking. Cool on a rack; they taste best the same day, but freeze well.