Valašský frgál: thin pear streusel yeast cake that bakes in 15 minutes

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Cook the pears for the filling

   30 min

   Cut the dried pears into smaller pieces, add 300 ml water, and cover. Simmer over low heat for 25–30 minutes, until soft and the water has almost evaporated. Blend into a thick puree, stir in the plum butter and cinnamon, and let cool.

2. Knead the yeast dough

   1 hr 10 min

   Crumble the yeast into 100 ml lukewarm milk, add a teaspoon of the measured sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes until foamy. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the remaining sugar, salt, egg yolks, melted butter, remaining milk, and yeast mixture. Knead into a smooth, soft dough that no longer sticks to the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

3. Make the streusel

   5 min

   Rub the flour, sugar, and cold cubed butter together with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form. Refrigerate.

4. Roll out two circles

   15 min

   Divide the risen dough into 2 portions and roll each into a thin circle about 30 cm in diameter. Transfer the circles to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Gently pull up a rim about 1 cm wide around each circle to keep the filling from spilling out.

5. Fill and let rise again

   20 min

   Spread the cooled pear filling over the dough all the way to the rim and sprinkle with the streusel. Brush the edges with melted butter and let the cakes rise for 15 minutes.

6. Bake

   15 min

   Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (400 °F) for about 15 minutes, until the edges and streusel are lightly golden. Let the cakes cool on the baking sheets, then cut each into 8 wedges.

Tip: You can soak the dried pears in water overnight so they need only 10 minutes of cooking the next day. Let the filling cool completely before spreading it on the dough, as warm filling would make the thin dough soggy. Read more: How to adjust a recipe for your baking pan

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Tenký valašský frgál s hruškovou plnkou: kysnutý koláč s posýpkou, ktorý v rúre stačí 15 minút