Weigh out the flour, sugar and butter.

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. The egg whites are not needed for the recipe. You can store them in a screw-top jar or similar in the fridge for 1-2 days and simply add them to your next ham and eggs.

Heat the milk and dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the lukewarm milk.

Caution: the milk must not be too hot, as this will kill the yeast and prevent the dough from rising.

Gradually add the flour, warm butter, egg yolks, vanilla sugar, rum, lemon zest and a pinch of salt to the milk in the bowl and mix well until you have a smooth dough.

Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes until the dough has approximately doubled in volume.

Knead the yeast dough well on a floured work surface. If necessary, work in a little more flour, until the dough is not too sticky anymore, but not too dry either.

Roll the dough into a rope and cut into 12 equal pieces.

How to fill the Buchteln with jam:

Shape each piece of dough into a round disc (approx. thick as a thumb). This can be done either by hand or with a pasta roller.

Place a spoonful of jam in the center and seal the edges well.

Brush all sides with a little melted butter and place in a baking dish with the seal side down.

Leave to rest for another 30 minutes.

Bake for 30 minutes at 170°C (~ 340°F) top and bottom heat.

In the meantime, make the vanilla sauce: pour 5 tablespoon of the cold milk into a bowl and mix well with the starch.

Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the vanilla seeds.

Place the remaining cold milk in a pan with the vanilla, egg, sugar, salt and rum and mix well with a whisk. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Adjust the temperature on the stove so that the milk does not boil over.

To kill off any potential salmonella from the egg, leave the sauce to simmer at a low temperature for approx. 10 minutes (no longer boiling). Always stay close by and stir frequently to prevent the sauce from burning.

Add the mixed starch-milk-mixture and bring to the boil again briefly. Serve while still warm.

As the sauce cools, it will thicken in consistency. To reheat, heat on the stove at a low to medium temperature, stirring constantly with a whisk, probably add a bit mor milk if necessary.

Sprinkle the Buchteln with powdered