Buberts may not be uniquely Latvian, but it it is one of the desserts that many remember from their childhood. If the cookbooks and internet can be trusted, there are two distinct buberts loving camps – one camp believes semolina buberts is the way to go, while the other camp states that flour buberts is the real deal. I tested both and, in my opinion, semolina buberts is just a glorified porridge (so may as well just make plain porridge to save eggs). My preference was flour buberts which turned out like milk mousse: it was light and fluffy, not excessively sweet and delicious with raspberry sauce.
Buberts
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 tbs white sugar
- 4 tbs plain flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 500ml milk
- 500g raspberries, strawberries or blackberries
- 2 tbs sugar
Buberts
Berry sauce
Instructions
- Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Mix the yolks with sugar and vanilla extract.
- Mix the flour with 100ml milk.
- Heat the rest of the milk in a medium saucepan on low heat. Once the milk reaches boiling point, add the flour mixture and mix well with the milk. Be careful, as the milk may boil over or burn quite fast.
- While constantly stirring, add egg yolk mixture. Then fold in whipped egg whites. Heat for further 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- To prepare the berry sauce, blend the berries in a blender with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
- To serve, place 4-5 heaped tablespoons of buberts in dessert bowls and pour over the sauce.
September 10, 2015
[…] this particular recipe uses flour instead, giving the Buberts a nicer texture. So, with thanks to Liva from Latvian Eats, here is the recipe I used and very slightly adapted to create these authentic […]
December 20, 2015
My husband was born in Latvia, and he and his parents and sister escaped during WW II.
I fell in love with all the wonderful dishes my mother-in-law made, and one was Bubert.
Her adaptation here in America was to use cream of wheat made with milk, and the egg yoke and a little sugar added during cooking. When cooled, add the vanilla and fold in the beaten egg whites.
She had tons of raspberry bushes and made a strong raspberry juice from them. This juice was used for the sauce by adding some cream of tartar for thickening, a little sugar and cinnamon. The sauce was passed around so everyone could add as much as they liked.
I’ve served this many times to accolades and surprise when I told them it was cream of wheat.
Yummmmmm.
December 22, 2015
Thank you for sharing your story! Partly I created this website to collect stories like this; a lot of Latvian culture and traditions are linked to the food.
December 27, 2015
My father and grandparents were from Latvia also escaped during WWII. My grandmother made this dessert for every family gathering using cream of wheat. I always assumed it was something she had invented with her frugal and creative mind! Who knew it was a traditional dish! I shared your site with my brother and mother. We are very excited to get some recipes lost with the passing of my grandmother.
December 27, 2015
I am happy to hear that my website brings back memories to people and allows to reconnect with their heritage. More recipes will come, and there are so many of them!
December 25, 2016
Bubbert was my favorite dessert when I was growing up in Riga (1929-1939) and I was utterly delighted when I found it on your website the other day. Since there seemed to be a controversy as to contents I dug out my mother’s cookbook which is in German (since German was one of the three languages spoken in Riga at the time): HAUS UND HERD by M von Redelien, Fifth Edition, Riga Verlag Von N. Kummel, 1913. It uses milk, 1/2 vanilla bean (scrapings), 5 eggs, separated, a small cup of sugar, 5 level Tbsp. flour and cleaned and chopped almonds. Once the dessert is cold you serve it with a fruit sauce (raspberry was the usual in my family). This recipe, by the way is number 813 in the cookbook and there are still many others after that; it is an amazing collection.
May 27, 2017
My grandmother was from Latvia and made something like this but it had rice in it. I loved it and wished she would have written down her recipe before passing. It’s one of those things from childhood that has escaped.