Name: Czech Kolach with Quark, Plum Jam and Poppy Seeds
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 1 cake
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour; 250 ml milk; 25 g yeast; 70 g caster sugar; 2 pcs egg yolk; 100 g butter; 1 pinch salt; 500 g soft curd cheese; 60 g powdered sugar; 1 package vanilla sugar; 1 pc egg yolk; 40 g raisins; 2 tablespoons rum; 100 g ground poppy seeds; 100 ml milk; 40 g caster sugar; 250 g plum butter; 50 g plain flour; 40 g butter; 40 g caster sugar; 30 g almonds

Step by step process

Yeast dough

1
For a Czech kolach, prepare the yeast starter first. Crumble the yeast into lukewarm milk, add a teaspoon of sugar and let it activate for 10 minutes.
2
In a bowl, mix the flour with the remaining sugar and salt. Pour in the starter, add the egg yolks and melted lukewarm butter, and work everything into a smooth, springy dough. The ingredients should be at room temperature, the dough rises more willingly that way.
3
Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 60 minutes, until doubled in size.

Three fillings

4
Simmer the poppy seeds with milk and sugar in a saucepan into a thick paste, 5 minutes is enough, then let it cool.
5
Beat the quark with powdered sugar, vanilla sugar and the egg yolk until smooth. Pour the rum over the raisins and let them soak.
6
For the crumble, rub the flour, sugar and butter between your fingers into a crumbly mixture. Warm the plum jam briefly so it spreads easily.

Assembly and baking

7
Roll the risen dough into a circle about 35 cm across and move it onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Press the edge down lightly so the fillings cannot leak out.
8
Spread the quark filling over the middle, leaving 2 cm free at the edge. Spoon the plum jam and poppy seed filling alternately into rings or a flower shape, as the Chodsko tradition demands, and dot the pattern with the drained raisins.
9
Sprinkle the cake with the crumble and chopped almonds and let it rise for another 20 minutes.
10
Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C (350 °F) for about 25 to 30 minutes until golden. Let the baked cake cool on a rack and slice it only once lukewarm.