Red Currant Koláče (rybízové koláče) is my staple summer dessert. Currant is a common fruit in the Czech Republic and koláče are one of the many delicious ways to use it in the kitchen.
It’s no secret that I love currant, especially the red one. I’ve already shown you how I make the traditional Red Currant Tart, the (even better) Currant Tart with No Edges and, of course, there’s the Linzer Cookies. In summer, we often make the traditional Czech koláče with fruit and I find the red currant to be by far the best fruit for this.
The combination of flavors is unbeatable. The koláče pastry is not too sweet. Red currant has a sour taste which is complemented by the sweet streusel on top of each koláč. Moreover, I make the pastry quite thin with very narrow edges so there’s no dry bites.
Before I show you how to make the Red Currant Koláče, I’d like to remind you that I have a whole bunch of koláče recipes, here are some of them:
Red Currant Koláče Recipe
Supplies
Dough
- 500 g/1.1 lb semi-coarse flour (you can use all-purpose flour but semi-coarse is just better, see Czech Flour Guide)
- 100 g/0.22 lb of unsalted butter (or vegetable fat) + a bit more for glazing
- 100 g/0.22 lb of caster sugar (krupice in Czech, see Czech Sugar Guide)
- 250 ml/8.4 fl oz of lukewarm milk
- 1 tbsp of dried yeast
- pinch of salt
- 2 egg yolks
Filling
- 1 kg of red currant
Streusel
- 1 cup of coarse flour
- 3 cups of caster sugar
- 125 g/0.55 lb of cold unsalted butter
Video
Here’s a video to help you with the process.
How to make Red Currant Koláče
Let’s prepare the dough. Put lukewarm milk in a bowl and stir in the dried yeast. Cover well with a kitchen towel and let the mixture start working (until it gets foamy).
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add butter, yolks and the yeast mixture. Knead well for at least 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a warm place. After the first rise, the dough will still be quite sticky. Knead for about 1 minute, place back in the bowl and cover. Let the dough rise until it at least doubles.
Tip: if the dough is too sticky at any point, add a little flour but only very little.
After the second rise, the dough should be very fluffy.
Sprinkle some all-purpose flour on your table. Scoop small amounts of dough and form balls.
Flatten each ball.
Press a glass into each piece to create a space to fill with the red currant in the koláče. Or you can use your koláče press (důlkovač in Czech).
If you like the edges narrow, press them with your fingers to extend the space for the filling.
Cover and let rise for another 10 – 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the streusel. Combine flour and sugar. Dice the butter and add it to the bowl, it has to be cold! Press and mix with your fingers until well combined.
This is the ideal streusel – when you squeeze it, it holds the shape but it crumbles instantly.
When the dough rises again a little, press the center of each koláč again. Melt the butter and glaze the edges.
Fill generously with red currant (I had a small amount of black currant as well, as you can see).
And sprinkle with streusel. I never but this much of streusel on other koláče but the red currant koláče are an exception. The currant is very sour even ripe and it just needs more of the sweet streusel.
Preheat your oven to 200°C/392°F and bake for 18 – 20 minutes.
When done, the edges should be nicely brown (not yellow).
Take them out of the oven and let them cool down before serving. They taste best when they’re at least a couple of hours old (some argue that after 1 day because the red currant juice has soaked in the pastry) but if you love them too much, there’s a chance they’ll be devoured before cooling down completely 😉
