Russian Easter Dessert Cyrnaya Pascha Recipes

Steps:

• Mix egg yolks and whipping cream in heavy saucepan.
• Stir in sugar and salt.
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just coats a metal spoon, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract.
• Place saucepan in cold water until custard is cool.
• If custard curdles, beat with hand beater until smooth.
• Place 3 cups of the cottage cheese and 2 tablespoons of the butter in blender container.
• Cover and blend on medium speed, stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth.
• Repeat with remaining cottage cheese and butter.
• Stir custard into cheese mixture until smooth.
• Stir in candied fruit and almonds.
• Line a 2-quart non-clay flower pot (or any form dish WITH OPENINGS IN THE BOTTOM, like a flower pot has) with double layer dampened cheesecloth.
• Pour cheese mixture into pot; fold ends of cheesecloth over top. Place pot on cake rack in shallow pan; place weights on top.
• Refrigerate 12 to 24 hours, pouring off any liquid that accumulates in pan.
• To serve, unmold onto serving plate; remove cheesecloth.
• Garnish as desired with additional candied fruit and blanched almonds.
• Refrigerate any remaining dessert.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese or farmer's cheese, sugar, cream cheese, and egg yolks, stirring to mix.
• In batches, process the mixture in a food processor, adding an equal amount of cream to each batch, until completely smooth. Transfer back to the bowl.
• Stir in the ground almonds, lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the cheese mixture along with the raisins. Mix thoroughly.
• Line a clean, unused 8-cup flower pot with a double layer of rinsed and squeezed-dry cheesecloth. Spoon the cheese mixture into the lined pan, then fold the ends of the cheesecloth neatly over the top. Place a saucer on the cheesecloth, then a 2-pound weight, such as a can, on the saucer. Put the flower pot in a bowl large enough for the liquid to drain into. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
• Empty the bowl. Unmold the pashka onto a serving plate and carefully remove the cheesecloth. Decorate with candied fruit, pressing some of the fruit into the pashka to form the letters XP, which stands for Khristos voskres ("Christ has risen").

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.

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:

• Melt butter.
• add sour cream and eggs.
• Stir constantly over a low heat until it looks like loosley scrambled eggs.
• Remove and cool.
• In a large size mixing bowl, mix egg mixture with sugar, vanilla and farmer's cheese. Beat well on a low speed.
• Drape a cheese cloth over a large cheese mold or clay flower pot with hole on the bottom.
• Put weights on top to squeeze out excess water.
• Refrigerate 24 hours.
• Unmold.

Steps:

• Place golden raisins into a bowl, drizzle with vodka, and allow raisins to soften overnight.
• Mix 1 teaspoon sugar into lukewarm water in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir yeast into the water and let stand until the yeast mixture is frothy, about 10 minutes.
• Heat milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until very warm but not simmering. Stir in saffron threads and cardamom, remove from heat, and let the milk mixture stand until lukewarm.
• Transfer yeast mixture into a large mixing bowl. Stir milk mixture, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 cup flour into the yeast mixture, beating until the batter is smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
• Mix melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, orange blossom honey, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt together in a bowl. Beat butter mixture into the batter, then beat in eggs and egg yolk.
• Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour into the dough. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup flour onto a work surface and knead dough until it holds together, about 5 minutes; knead soaked golden raisins and 1/2 cup almonds into the dough until well distributed.
• Form dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl; turn dough around in the bowl several times to coat outside of dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down dough, knead a few times, and divide dough into 4 pieces. Coat inside of clean 14-ounce cans with butter. Line cans with parchment paper. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, place into a can, and press dough lightly against the inside bottom of can.
• Cover cans with a cloth and allow dough to rise to the top of the cans, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place a baking sheet into the oven; place the cans of dough upright into oven on baking sheet. Bake until kulich are risen and lightly browned, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Let kulich cool in the cans for about 15 minutes before gently removing from cans to finish cooling on racks.
• Beat egg white in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy; beat in confectioners' sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Beat lemon juice into frosting.
• Frost the tops of the kulich and sprinkle tops with 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds. Refrigerate leftovers.

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:

• Mix yolks and whip cream over double boiler until it coats the spoon. Stir in vanilla sugar.
• Press cottage cheese, cream cheese, and butter through a ricer or sieve.
• In batches, place cheese mixture in mixing bowl and slowly add yolks until smooth. Add fine sugar and blend into mixture.
• Combine bowls and mix.
• Place in small containers, loosely cover in plastic, then a cheese cloth and a weight. For the weight, we use a plastic margarine container filled with water.

Steps:

• Make the Bread Dough:.
• In a mixing bowl add 1 cup flour, 1 cup warm milk, and 2 tsp of dry yeast and stir to combine. Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour on top and let sit for 10-15 minutes until the mixture increases in volume and the flour on top is cracked looking.
• To the same bowl, add melted butter, oil, egg, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix until well combined.
• Slowly add the remaining 3 cups of flour while continuing to mix, adding only enough for the dough to clear the sides of the bowl, no more. Adding too much flour will cause the dough to be dry.
• Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. If kneading by hand, use only enough flour to keep dough from sticking to hands and surface, being careful not to add too much.
• Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and leave to rise until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. I like to let dough rise in a closed (off) oven.
• Divide the dough into 4 sections.
• Roll one piece into a 10-inch circle and place it in the bottom of a well-buttered 10 inch springform pan.
• Shape the remaining pieces into thin ropes about 2.5 feet long and braid them together.
• Place the braided pieces in the springform pan, braiding the ends together to form a sealed circle.
• Cover and let rise for another 40 minutes.
• Make the Cheese Filling:.
• When is the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 375F and make the cheese filling.
• In a new mixing bowl, whisk together the cheese, eggs, sugar, raisins, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
• Assemble and Bake:.
• Beat egg with water, and brush the braid with the egg wash.
• Pour the cheese filling into the middle of the braided circle.
• Bake for 15 minute sat 375°F.
• Without opening the oven door, lower the oven temperature to 325F and bake for 45 more minutes or until the crust is deep brown.
• Turn off the oven and crack open the oven door a little bit. Allow the bread to cool slowly inside the oven.
• Slice and enjoy with a hot cup of tea!