Cheese buns with chocolate cream cheese are a versatile bake that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or with tea. Yuliia Liushneva, an editor at the Styler project (RBC-Ukraine), shares her recipe variant. The main advantage of this version is the absence of yeast and added sugar: the dough is made from quark (cottage cheese), eggs, flour, and baking powder, and the filling can easily be changed from jam to cream cheese with fresh berries. According to the author, the specified amount of ingredients makes eight small buns that fit into the air fryer basket at the same time.
Dough Without Yeast and Excess Flour
The quark is placed in a bowl and mashed with a fork; if there is excess whey in the cheese, it is drained beforehand. Then, eggs and a pinch of salt are added and mixed. The flour is combined with baking powder and folded into the quark mixture, stirring until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough turns out soft and may stick slightly to the hands. The recipe author emphasizes that one should not rush to add too much flour: an excess will make the buns denser.
Shaping and Baking in the Air Fryer
Hands are lightly moistened with water to form small buns of approximately equal size, placing them in the air fryer basket with a little space between them. The buns are placed in a cold air fryer without preheating and cooked at 160 degrees for about 20 minutes. One should focus not only on the golden crust: the center must bake through without raw, sticky dough. Depending on the size of the buns, their moisture content, and the air fryer model, a little more time may be needed.
Filling: Chocolate Cream Cheese and Beyond
The finished bakes are allowed to cool slightly, after which the buns are cut in half, spread with chocolate cream cheese, covered with the top halves, and served. Chocolate cream cheese can easily be replaced with another filling — both sweet and other options go well with the buns. Since there is no added sugar in the dough, these buns can also be combined with savory fillings, expanding their use from dessert to appetizer.
Practical Details and Allergens
The recipe is designed for quick cooking — according to the author's estimate, the whole process takes about 30 minutes. It is important to consider the composition for people with food intolerances: the dough contains wheat (gluten), eggs, and dairy products, and additional allergens depend on the chosen filling, so the composition on the packaging should be checked separately. The Styler project, which provided the material, is positioned as an entertainment lifestyle section of RBC-Ukraine writing about trends, tips, and recipes.
