Curd cake

To prepare Easter cakes we will need products such as: wheat flour (highest grade), cottage cheese, milk, fresh (pressed) yeast, butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar, chicken eggs, candied fruits, lemon juice, salt, turmeric, orange zest and a pinch of vanillin.

So, let's start preparing Easter cakes with dough. We need it in order to rise the dough well, because the content of cottage cheese in its composition is almost equal to the amount of flour used. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of granulated sugar in 70 milliliters of warm milk, crumble 15 grams of fresh yeast and add a couple of tablespoons of sifted wheat flour. Mix everything and leave it warm until the dough grows 3 times — for about 30 minutes. By the way, you can use not only fresh (pressed) yeast, but also dry. Then you need exactly three times less, that is, 5 grams — this is a little more than a teaspoon or a heaped spoon. I haven’t tried instant yeast for this recipe, so I can’t say how it will behave in baking, but I think it will work out.

While the dough is growing, let's make other ingredients for the dough. To do this, break 2 chicken eggs and 1 yolk into a suitable bowl (we put the white in the refrigerator — we will use it for glaze). Add 130 grams of granulated sugar and a pinch of vanillin (or a teaspoon of vanilla sugar).

Beat everything with a mixer until a fluffy mass, which increases in volume and turns white.

Add cottage cheese and butter to it, which must first be melted and allowed to cool. Mix everything thoroughly.

Then add turmeric (it acts as a natural yellow dye, so if you don’t have it, you don’t have to use it, but the cakes won’t turn out to be a sunny color) and a tablespoon of chopped orange zest (this is about the size of one medium orange). Mix everything again.

By this time the dough is ready — it has risen perfectly with a fluffy cap with a lot of bubbles and is about to begin to settle.

Pour the dough into the curd-egg base and mix everything.

Then sift the wheat flour into a bowl and add salt. I would not recommend increasing the amount of flour, so as not to clog the yeast dough, otherwise it will not turn out light and airy. The maximum you can afford is a couple more tablespoons, but no more.

Knead a very sticky dough — this is best done using a mixer or food processor with a dough hook. It is better to knead the dough for at least 10-15 minutes, but it will still be sticky. The main point in this case is this indicator: the dough can be mixed with a spoon, but it must be quite elastic. That is, when mixing, the dough resists, it is a little tight, but again sticks to your hands. Now add candied fruits. If they are large enough, cut them into medium cubes.

Mix everything for another 5 minutes. You see, the finished dough for cottage cheese cakes holds its shape and does not spread along the bottom. But it must be STICKY!

Cover the bowl with cling film or cover with a towel and let it proof until the volume increases by 2-2.5 times. A small digression: quite often I come across recipes for Easter cakes (and other yeast baked goods) that say that after kneading, the dough can be laid out in molds, allowed to rise and then baked. DON'T BELIEVE IT! Yeast dough should always be allowed to rise for at least an hour (preferably two with intermediate kneading) before panning and pre-proofing, as the yeast needs to ferment. Only then can you get yeast baked goods with amazing taste and texture!

When the dough has doubled or tripled in size, it needs to be kneaded and can be laid out in molds. This time I used special paper forms for Easter cakes. One I have is 9 cm (height) x 11 cm (diameter), and the second is a little larger — 10 x 13 cm. You can also use tin cans of canned fruit, which are pre-processed (to achieve a smooth edge) and covered with parchment (on the bottom and sides). We spread the dough so that it takes up a little less than a third of the entire form. Cover the pieces with cling film or a light natural fabric towel and place them in a warm place to proof. I usually preheat the oven a little and turn off the oven, release the excess heat and set the pieces in there. The ideal temperature would be no higher than 30-35 degrees.

When the dough has tripled in size and reaches almost to the edges of the molds, you can bake cottage cheese cakes. However, it is important to understand that if the kitchen is very hot, if the yeast is very fresh and active, it is better not to wait for the dough to rise too much (it will simply ferment), so that later the cakes do not fall off when baking.

This is what the blanks look like from the side — there is about 1.5 centimeters left to the edge. The dough is very delicate — if you touch it with your finger, it will stick and may sink in this place. This is fine. Turn on the oven (I have a gas oven, bottom heat) to 200 degrees and bake the cakes at this temperature for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 175 degrees and bake for another 40 minutes. You may need a little more or less time — always guide us on the nature of your oven. If suddenly the top of the cakes starts to brown too much, you can cover it with food foil.

When the cakes are almost ready, let's start preparing the glaze. To do this, take the cold egg white that we had left over when we made the dough and start beating it with a mixer. When foam appears, add powdered sugar, whisking continuously. The egg white icing is essentially the base for the meringue cookies. When it becomes thick and snow-white, add lemon juice and beat a little more.

Take the finished curd cakes out of the oven.

Apply egg white glaze directly onto the hot ones — I like it when there is a lot of it. After it dries, the top will be covered with a thin crust (it does not stick to your fingers), and a delicate meringue will remain inside. I decided to remove one paper form — you can do it this way or that way.

Then all that remains is to decorate our fragrant Easter pastries with multi-colored candied fruits before a crust appears on the glaze. By the way, if you are afraid of raw chicken whites, you can put the cakes decorated with glaze in a warm, switched off oven (the temperature there is still quite high after baking) for 7-10 minutes.

The finished cottage cheese cakes turn out very appetizing, tasty, juicy, and tender. The aroma they simply smell is impossible to describe in words. Try it too, friends!

Easter 2017: our family’s traditional cottage cheese cakes are ready. Decorated with regular glaze (powdered sugar + egg white + lemon juice). Today the dough has grown 4 times!

Easter 2018: today I decorated cottage cheese cakes with gelatin icing. I think it turned out great!

Easter 2020: according to tradition, a double quota of cottage cheese cakes, decorated with gelatin glaze and multi-colored sugar sprinkles.

Easter cakes 2021: double standard of products and gelatin glaze (perfect today, I’m very pleased). I baked it in paper forms, since my chickens will go to the country, and some will become a sweet gift. I'll tell you how I cooked today. I used fast-acting yeast (a packet — 11 grams, since it is double the norm). I didn’t set the dough, but mixed it with flour and salt. Place eggs (5 pieces), sugar, cottage cheese, milk, zest and turmeric into a bowl and beat with an immersion blender. The result was a rather liquid and flowing mass. Using a dough mixer, I mixed everything with flour and added soft butter in parts. Continue with the recipe (mixed candied fruits with dried cherries in half — increased to 250 grams). By the way, it took a little more flour (this happens and it’s normal) — I added about 70 grams. While I was decorating the last cakes, the glaze on the first one had already set and was not sticking. Happy Easter, friends, and good luck with your cottage cheese cakes!