Apr 7

Apr 7 Mini Osterfladen

Swiss Easter, Swiss Baking, Swiss Desserts

I’ve made many an Osterfladen in my day, with many a different filling.

It’s been a popular Easter treat in Switzerland since the 19th century, so variations abound.

Old cookbooks have led me to versions that are ubiquitous, like the classic Osterfladen with semolina filling, and some that are a bit more unique like Marianne Kaltenbach’s version with Weggli (little milk buns), and Rosina Gschwind’s version with no starchy filling, just cream.

This year, I tried out the other typical filling, rice, and made them into little bunnies.

The ears don’t take a lot of effort (I just cut them out free hand from extra dough), but they make a definite impression, eliciting plenty of “awww”s at our table (instructions below).

For the dough:

200 g flour

2 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

zest of half a lemon

80 g butter, cold

125 ml water

For the filling:

400 ml milk

1 tbsp vanilla paste or extract

pinch salt

80 g short grain (risotto) rice

zest of half a lemon

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

100 g raisins, plumped in tea or spirits

2 eggs

apricot jam

icing sugar

First make the pastry:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Add the cold butter in pieces and rub into the flour mixture with your fingers until you have small flakes.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the water. Mix this gently until a dough forms. Try not to overwork the dough or it will become tough.

Press the dough into a disc, wrap with plastic, and let cool in the fridge for about an hour.

Roll out your dough and line a muffin tin. Keep the tin in the freezer until you have the filling ready.

Now make the filling:

In a medium sized pot, bring the milk, vanilla, and salt to a boil. Add the rice and stir well. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time until the mixture thickens and the rice is soft. It’s best to taste the rice to make sure it’s cooked through. If the mixture is starting to look a little dry but the rice isn’t fully cooked yet, just add a splash of milk.

Once the rice is cooked, take it off the heat and stir in the lemon zest, butter, sugar, and raisins.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F / gas mark 4.

Using a separate bowl and an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they are stiff.

Once the rice mixture has cooled, mix in the yolks, then gently fold in the whites.

Fill each tart with about a tbsp of apricot jam, then add the filling.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and the bottoms are baked through.

Dust with icing sugar.

To save time, you can use use store-bought dough like Kuchenteig/Pâte Brisée/Pasta per Crostate to line your pan.
I used arborio rice for this dish. Any rice that works for risotto, works for rice pudding too.
I like to plump my raisins in advance. You can use booze or tea to do this, just cover the raisins in the liquid and let them sit for an hour or overnight. Strain and add to the recipe as directed.