Vatrushka Recipe (Ватрушки) (2024)

What's a Vatrushka?

Vatrushka Sweet Cheese Buns (Ватрушки) pronounced Vat-roosh-ka is a delicious Russian baked sweet yeast bread filled with Tvorog, also known as Farmer's Cheese or Quark. It's a childhood favorite which I remember my mum and grandmother making. We always ate this with Russian tea.

Vatrushka Buns (Ватрушки) are sometimes called Shaneshki (Шанежки), however there are they are slightly different recipes. The sweet yeast dough pastry (сдобное sdobnoe) and the filling is the same in both recipes, but when making a Vatrushka, you make a well and fill it with the Tvorog Cheese filling. When making Shaneshki, the cheese filling is simply smeared across the top the the sweet yeast dough.

The cheapest and easiest way to make Farmer's Cheeseis from scratch. It can be hard to find store-bought Farmers Cheese or Tvorog, you can substitute quark if that's available and you don't want to make you own homemade tvorog cheese.

Bread Machine or Traditional Dough?

It can be time consuming to make the Russiansweet yeast dough (сдобное sdobnoe). We are all so time poor, so I bought a Cuisinart Bread Maker to speed up the process. There is a dough cycle which does all the mixing, kneading and raising for you. I simply throw in all the ingredients, turn it on and in 90 minutes, I'm ready to start making theVatrushka Russian sweet buns. You can see the video below on how to make the basic Sdobnoye Sweet Yeast Dough recipe, if you dont have a bread machine! I've included both ways of making the yeast dough for Vatrushki.

I make a variation of this recipe I called Russian Pastry with Strawberries. It's kind of a cake/pie/bun with the same ingredients, topped with sliced strawberries. Perfect for something different during strawberry season. Some recipes and Russian expressions are really hard to translate into English, but it's worth checking out!

Vatrushka Cheese Filling

The cheapest and easiest way to make Farmer's Cheeseis from scratch. It can be hard to find store-bought Farmers Cheese or Tvorog. You can substitute with Quark if that's available, otherwise make your own. If making homemade tvorog cheese, make sure you drip dry it in a cheesecloth, as you don't want to use a very wet Tvorog.

The Vatrushka filling is really easy to make. You can use regular Vanilla Essence, however I recommend using Vanilla Bean Paste. You can buy it in supermarkets and even Costco. The difference that Vanilla Beans make to the flavor is noticeable, and makes babushkas recipe a little bit fancy. Using a fork, the Tvorog filling is mixed with egg, sour cream, vanilla bean paste, Tvorog and sugar.

How to Make Vatrushka Buns

This Vatrushka recipe makes 12 sweet buns. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll them into balls and place them on a line baking tray. You want to make a well or indentation in the dough ball, using the bottom of a glass. This is so you can fill it with the Tvorog Cheese filling. Place it in a warm place until the dough rises again before brushing with an egg wash. Each Vatrushka will be around 5" round. They only take 20 minutes to bake. It's a sweet baked recipe that reminds me of babushkas house.

Vatrushka Buns are a Russian classic, baked sweet buns filled with sweet Tvorog cheese. A light bun, like a Russian brioche, and a tasty treat. Vatrushka Sweet Cheese Buns (Ватрушка) Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!

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