Nabokova Paskha Recipes

Steps:

• Put cheese through a sieve twice. Cream butter until white (preferably with an electric mixer). Cut up vanilla very fine and mix with sugar. Beat egg yolks well and add sugar, beating until almost white. Combine egg yolk mixture and butter and beat until smooth and well blended. Add butter-egg mixture to the cheese and beat with a wooden spoon. Whip cream and add it gently to the mixture, turning from bottom to top slowly to fold in the cream. Wrap paskha in cheesecloth (damp gauze may be used) and place it in a paskha from or a clean terra cotta flower pot with a hole in the bottom. Close cheesecloth or gauze over the top of the paskha and place either a wooden square of paskha form or a weight on top (a small, heavy casserole or two or three cans will do). Leave in the refrigerator on a plate for one day so that the liquid can drain off the paskha. Before serving, remove the paskha from the refrigerator, remove the weight, unwrap the cheesecloth ends, place a large round platter over the top, and quickly invert the paskha onto the platter. Remove cheesecloth.

Steps:

• Drain farmer's cheese of all moisture by placing cheesecloth in colander and weighting down with bricks or other heavy items. Drain overnight in refrigerator.
• Beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until creamy.
• Whip 1/2 cup sugar with the 5 egg yolks until white.
• Add the insides of 2 vanilla beans to the egg yolk. (cut in half and scrape inside out.) Chop the outside of 1 vanilla bean as finely as possible and add to egg yolk mixture.
• Mix the butter-sugar mixture and the yolk mixture together. Add cheese and mix thoroughly.
• Whip the whipping cream until firm and fold into above.
• Line container of choice (wooden mold, clay flower pots or kitchen colander with damped cheesecloth.
• Fill mold with cheese mixture, wrapping excess cloth over top. Make sure to place plate to catch drips underneath mold.
• Refrigerate at least 6 days before you unmold the Paskha (I have never waited this long -- ) Paskha should be firm to touch in order to hold the shape well.
• Turn mold upside down onto decorative plate and gently pull the cheesecloth off.
• Decorate with candied fruits, nuts, raisins or any other edible item you choose. Traditional decorations includes Christian symbols such as crosses, etc. This dish is only served during the Easter season in Russia.

Steps:

• Press cheese through a medium strainer set over a bowl.
• Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk yolks with sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; add cheese, butter, nutmeg, zest, and peel and mix until very smooth. Still mixing, add cream in a slow, steady stream just until combined. Stir in vanilla.
• Line a 5 1/2-by-7-inch paskha mold, flowerpot, or strainer with dampened cheesecloth; add batter. Fold cheesecloth over top. Top with two stacked plates weighted with 2 to 3 cans (or 2 to 3 pounds of pie weights). Place filled mold over a wide, empty cooking pot in refrigerator; let drain overnight.
• Remove weights and plate; pull back cheesecloth from base. Carefully invert mold onto a serving plate and remove paskha; remove cheesecloth. Decorate with dried fruits; serve.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream and butter.
• Gradually fold in sugar, lemon extract, vanilla extract, almonds and currants.
• Transfer the mixture to a shallow medium dish. Cover with a cloth, and chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.