Buchteln are a very famous dessert treat from central Europe, and I have been wanting to introduce you to it for a while now. These sweet Buns are typically made with yeast and frequently they are stuffed with jam or sometimes even with other surprises such as Topfen or even nuts. You will find this traditional dish all around the alps in the heart of Europe but often you might not be able to recognize it in a menu because of the many names it is known for. Buchteln are also known as Wuchteln, Rohrnudeln and Ofennudeln in German, the names pretty much depend on the location. We Austrians call them Buchteln and I believe the South Tyroleans in Italy know the sweet buns by the same name.
However, originally it appears that the Buchteln were created in Bohemia ( Czech Republic) and are known today as Buchtičky. No idea when the yeast buns appeared first, but a fact is that some 500 years ago the Bohemian kingdom was taken over by the Habsburg Monarchy and remained a part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire until the end of the 1st world war. Therefore my wild guess is that the buns must have been in existence for a while, because they reached far over the Austrian Empire. Locals from the German and Slavic speaking countries must have loved it so much that it became an essential celebratory dessert dish in each house.
The original Bohemian and Austrian Buchtel includes a jam stuffing, more precisely a harder Prune Jam stuffing which is better known as Powidl in the local dialect German. Very often you will find that the Buchten are served with a homemade Vanilla Sauce. I for once would never serve or eat Buchteln without that sauce. The main reason for that is, that the baked Buchtel dough is a bit on the dryer side of life and the pure creamy Vanilla flavors enrich the dish 10 times more, making it the perfect food combination or you can call it food marriage too.
This time I used some Fresh Yeast to bake this wonderful batch of Buchteln. We in Austria bake a lots with fresh yeast and in college time it was the only yeast we were allowed to use. I heard that the fresh yeast is better when used to bake bread, although I think I would always use fresh yeast instead of dried yeast if it was so readily available in Goa. This fresh yeast was given to me by my buddy from Germany and she even thought of bringing some Hazelnuts! Of course I was totally thrilled, because hazelnuts are not available here (anybody knows where I could get some in Goa, please let me know!), so I used them as a stuffing for the Buchteln. As per your choice you can use some thicker jam too to stuff the Buchteln or you can come up with your own stuffing. Be creative!
Well, I had to post the Homemade Vanilla Sauce too. ^.^ It’s a must have with the Buchteln!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, those look ever so good and addictive! A wonderful speciality.
Cheers,
Rosa
Love these gorgeous buns! The filling sounds so delicious and that sauce is to die for
Wish I could taste this Helene 
Complimenti Helene, Baci
M.G.
Ohhhh!! How cool are those buns!! Yummm. Lovely dessert Helene
I have never heard of these – but they sound and look absolutely amazing.
I like the combination of honey and hazelnuts for the filling. This must really taste wonderful with an afternoon tea. Thank you, Helene!
Terrific stuff! I love hazelnuts, so I know I’d like these. I haven’t had this before, but it looks excellent. Thanks so much.
Oh Helene – What a delicious sweet treat! Jam or sweet stuff dough is one of my favorites! The hazalnut paste and vanilla sauce sound so yummy with that dough!
I’m very tempted to try making these!!
You just made my mind come up with all kinds of ideas on how I would want to make them!
Definitely on my list! Very soon!
xxx