One of the oldest Christian holidays, Easter, is just around the corner. In 2021, according to the Orthodox calendar, we will celebrate it on April 8. Not only the history of the origin of this holiday is interesting, but also such traditions as preparing beautiful Easter cakes, painting eggs and making various crafts for holiday decor.
Another of the most delicious traditional dishes, which is prepared only once a year, is cottage cheese Easter. A delicious dessert with deep religious meaning. Its shape resembles the Holy Sepulcher, in the form of a truncated pyramid. To prepare it, use special tablets or a plastic mold with the inscription on the sides “XB” - Christ is Risen.
The first time I tried delicious cottage cheese Easter was in my childhood with an old lady I knew, a student at the Institute of Noble Maidens and a wonderful housewife. I was so amazed by the extraordinary taste of this dish that, when I grew up, I began to try different recipes for its preparation.
Later I realized why this dish turns out delicious - butter, cream, eggs, sour cream, raisins, candied fruits, poppy seeds or even honey are added to the cottage cheese. With such a set of various additives, the dish is just right for a holiday. There are a great many recipes, and each housewife adds her own “zest”. Easter is prepared both custard and raw, without baking. Today we will look at several interesting recipes for raw Easter, which is easier and faster to prepare than custard.
Useful tips for preparing delicious Easter
In principle, Easter cannot turn out tasteless. But personally, I didn’t immediately get a beautiful and elastic shape of the curd mass.
To ensure that you have a fragrant, beautiful and delicate dessert the first time, use these useful tips.
- Use the freshest ingredients possible, especially for no-bake Easter.
- Buy full-fat cottage cheese - 9%, it is better to take sour cream at least 20%, cream at least 30%, and butter - at least 82.5%.
- If you are preparing homemade cottage cheese, be sure to put it under pressure for several hours to remove excess liquid. The cottage cheese must be dry, otherwise the pyramid will fall apart.
- Be sure to rub the cottage cheese 2 times through a sieve or beat with a blender until smooth. There should be no grains, then the dessert will turn out tender.
- Remove the eggs and butter from the refrigerator in advance, they should be at room temperature, and if you use cream, then cool them, on the contrary.
- To add a special taste, add vanilla, raisins, dried cranberries, candied fruits, poppy seeds, cocoa or nuts to the cottage cheese.
- If you want to get an appetizing golden color, add a little turmeric to the curd.
- Press the curd mass tightly into the pan, and place pressure on top. Place the pan on a plate and periodically drain the whey that will be released from the curd. Leave it like this overnight, or even better for 10-12 hours.
- If you are preparing a custard dessert, then it is better to brew the ingredients in a water bath, without bringing it to a boil.
Now choose a recipe and good luck!
How to make Easter at home
Cottage cheese Easter is prepared only once a year, on Maundy Thursday, so that it can settle for Easter Sunday. Housewives make homemade cottage cheese and take out special detachable molds in the form of a truncated pyramid - a pasochnitsa, on the walls of which the letters XB and Christian symbols are carved. Then the drawings are imprinted on the finished Easter, and it looks very bright and impressive. It is interesting that Easter from cottage cheese is prepared only in the central and northern regions of Russia, and in the South, Easter or paska is called an ordinary Easter cake. The shape of Easter is a symbol of the Holy Sepulcher, so it reminds Christians of the suffering and torment of Christ. There is an opinion that this dish is very difficult to prepare, but, as one Russian proverb says, the eyes are afraid, but the hands do the work. Let's talk about how to make Easter at home so that it turns out not only tasty, but also beautiful and appetizing.
Classic cottage cheese
Classic Easter is made from homemade cottage cheese. I confess to you that I use store-bought, but rather fatty cottage cheese. We all know that tasty (but not dietary) dishes come from fatty foods. Preparing such a festive dessert is quite simple, without cooking.
We will flavor any Easter with ingredients such as nuts, raisins, and dried fruits. They will give our dish a whole palette of different tastes.
We will need:
- cottage cheese - 800 gr.
- butter - 100 gr.
- sour cream - 130 gr.
- powdered sugar - 150 gr.
- dark raisins - 100 gr.
- light raisins - 100 gr.
- dried apricots - 100 gr.
- walnuts - 100 gr.
- vanilla sugar - 1 tsp.
Cut dried apricots into small pieces.
Place in a deep bowl, add raisins, pour boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. During this time, the dried fruits will become soft and fragrant.
It is advisable to rub the cottage cheese through a sieve or mince it through a meat grinder. There is a more modern way - grind the cottage cheese using a blender.
Add softened butter, sour cream, powdered sugar and vanilla sugar to the grated cottage cheese. Mix everything well.
Keep the butter at room temperature until it softens before cooking.
We drain the water in which we soaked the dried fruits, and place the raisins and dried apricots on a paper napkin. Dry them a little, and only then add them to the main dish. Mix the whole mass with raisins and dried apricots.
We cover the Easter pan with clean gauze folded in two layers. Spread the gauze well over the sides and leave the edges protruding. Place the curd mixture into the mold and compact it quite tightly so that there are no voids.
Cover the top with gauze and place some weight. The most convenient way is to cover it with a plate and place a jar of water on top. The liquid from the cottage cheese must come out, then the Easter will retain its shape. Leave it like this overnight in a cool place. Then turn the mold over and carefully remove the mold and gauze.
Easter is ready, store it in a cool place until the start of the meal.
Poland: Mazurka (Mazurek)
In Poland, they can’t imagine Easter without a mazurka - a shortbread cake with fruit or nut filling. Initially, mazurka was prepared with plums and apples, but in modern recipes oranges or lemons are more often used. It is also customary to add chopped almonds or walnuts to the filling, and the top of the pie is sprinkled with powdered sugar or decorated with icing.
A good recipe for mazurka is in Stalika Khankishiev’s LiveJournal.
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"Boyarskaya" with cream
Truly boyar Easter, with delicate cream, sweet and very tasty. It's easy and quick to prepare. Almonds, candied fruits and raisins give this dish a truly rich taste.
We will need:
- cottage cheese - 500 gr.
- butter - 200 gr.
- cream 30% - 0.5 cups
- sugar - 1 glass
- egg yolks - 2-3 pcs.
- raisins - 1 tbsp. l.
- almonds - 1 tbsp. l.
- candied fruits - 1 tbsp. l.
- vanilla sugar - 1 tsp.
- cardamom to taste
Grind the softened butter with sugar until white and add the yolks. Grind until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add vanillin (vanilla sugar) and cardamom to this mass.
Grind the cottage cheese through a sieve or grind with a blender until smooth. Try to grind until the lumps disappear.
Add raisins, almonds and candied fruits.
Whip the cream until fluffy and add it to the curd mass. Stir everything thoroughly, trying to mix from top to bottom. The result is a tender and homogeneous curd mass.
We put it in a mold, which we first cover with two layers of gauze. Be sure to put pressure on top so that excess liquid is removed from the cottage cheese. We keep it under pressure for 5-6 hours, but it’s better to leave it overnight.
We take Easter out of the mold and carefully remove it from the gauze. If desired, decorate with chocolate chips, cranberries or other berries.
Lazy Easter for busy housewives
It happens that there is no time to cook a real classic Easter, but how can you leave your family without an Easter treat? Let's try to cook a quick Easter using an unusual recipe - it turns out very tender and aromatic.
So, carefully grind 2.5 kg of sour cream with 10-15 tbsp. l. sugar, add vanillin, 150 g of any toasted nuts and 150 g of dried fruits, well washed and dried. Easter is especially delicious with dried cranberries and pine nuts.
Now we put the fabric in the pan - either 12 layers of gauze, or 4 layers of chintz, or 2 layers of calico. Pour in sour cream, collect the corners of the fabric and hang the mass in the refrigerator using a cup stand, a basket with a high handle or other devices - you will have to use your imagination and be smart. The sour cream should hang for a day, but every 6 hours it is necessary to untie the fabric and mix the contents, since the outside of the sour cream thickens, but the inside remains liquid. You can’t put it under a press, otherwise all the Easter will flow out along with the whey. You can decorate this amazing Easter dessert with grated chocolate, nuts, berries and fruits.
Delicious recipe from cottage cheese with condensed milk
I tried to make the task a little easier and prepare cottage cheese Easter with the addition of condensed milk. I can say that it turned out very tasty; last year, this festive dessert was swept off the table very quickly by the family and guests.
We will need:
- cottage cheese - 600 gr.
- butter - 100 gr.
- sour cream - 3 tbsp. l.
- powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
- condensed milk - 200 gr.
- raisins - 100 gr.
- vanilla sugar - 1 tsp.
You will need to soak the raisins in hot water 20 minutes before cooking.
Remove the butter from the refrigerator in advance and warm it to room temperature.
In a blender, beat cottage cheese and sour cream until smooth.
Try to ensure that there are no curd grains left, then Easter will turn out very tender.
Add sugar, vanilla sugar to the curd mass and pour in condensed milk.
By this time the butter has softened, add it to the main mass in the blender and stir everything until smooth.
All that's left is to add the raisins. According to your taste, you can also add dried apricots to Easter (you will also need to pre-soak them in hot water).
Cover the bean box with gauze, preferably in two layers, straighten the gauze well. Don't forget to leave free edges of the gauze so you can cover the Easter later.
Spread the curd mass, press with pressure and leave overnight.
We release the finished Easter from the mold, remove the gauze, turn the pyramid over and decorate it according to our mood and taste.
Red Easter recipe
Delicious Easter in milk with yogurt - very interesting in its preparation.
You will need:
- Milk – 1.5 liters
- Yogurt - 1.6 liters
- Sour cream - 3 cups
- Egg yolk - 1 pc.
- Vanilla, sugar - to taste
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven and simmer the milk in it until it turns red.
2. Let the milk cool so that you can then pour in the yogurt, sour cream and egg yolk. Mix all ingredients.
3. Boil the entire resulting milk mass until the whey is gone.
4. Then strain everything through a sieve and place in a wooden mold.
5. Place a press on top and put the mold in the refrigerator.
"Royal" Easter without baking
Tsar's Easter was named because of the presence of rather expensive ingredients in it - sugar, sour cream, cream, butter, nuts, which ordinary people could not afford. These ingredients actually enrich the flavor of this cheesy holiday dessert. Now they are present in many recipes, so almost all recipes can be called “royal”.
- cottage cheese - 500 gr.
- butter - 200 gr.
- cream - 150 gr.
- chicken egg yolks - 3 pcs.
- powdered sugar - 200 gr.
- raisins - 50 gr.
- candied fruits - 50 gr.
- dried cherries - 50 gr.
- roasted almonds - 50 gr.
- chocolate - 50 gr.
- vanilla sugar - 1 tsp.
Pour boiling water over raisins and candied fruits in advance.
We will need almonds, which must first be fried. Chocolate can be cut with a knife, or even better, grated on a coarse grater.
Drain the water in which the candied fruits and raisins were soaked and place them on a paper napkin to dry.
We rub the cottage cheese through a sieve. You can grind it using a blender, which is even more convenient and faster.
It is advisable to keep the butter at room temperature or even heat it a little. Mix soft butter with powdered sugar and beat with a blender until smooth. Add the yolks one at a time and beat again.
Add candied fruits and raisins to the oil mixture and mix well. Then add the cottage cheese in parts.
Separately, beat the cream using a blender. To make the cream whip better, cool it first.
Add the whipped cream to the curd mixture and mix.
Pour the cottage cheese into the mold and compact it well. Cover the top with a weight and leave it overnight, or even better, for a day. Then we remove the form and gauze, turn the Easter over and decorate.
Italy: Colomba Pasquale or Colomba di Pasqua
As with pizza, you won’t find two identical colombas in Italy—each has its own recipe. This tall, dryish pie is made from yeast dough with the addition of grated orange zest, candied fruits or raisins, and sprinkled with sliced almonds and sugar on top. They bake it in the shape of a dove: the name translates as “Easter dove”). It turns out to be a sweet symbol of peace and resurrection.
A good recipe for colomba pasquale is in yuliana_ni’s LiveJournal.
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Lemon raw Easter with poppy seed filling
An original dish that looks very beautiful when cut because of the poppy seed filling. The lemon in the recipe adds sourness, and the turmeric gives it a beautiful color. At the same time, Easter is prepared quite simply.
We will need:
- cottage cheese - 600 gr.
- butter - 100 gr.
- sour cream - 100 gr.
- sugar - 100 gr.
- lemon zest - 1 tsp.
- turmeric - 1/2 tsp.
For the poppy mass:
- poppy seed - 150 gr.
- almonds - 50 gr.
- water - 1 glass
- brown sugar - 50 gr.
- honey - 25 gr.
- vanilla sugar or vanilla stick
- Mix cottage cheese, sugar, softened butter and sour cream and beat with a blender until the lumps disappear. The mass should be homogeneous and tender.
2. Divide the resulting curd mass in half. To one we will add grated lemon zest and turmeric. It will turn out light yellow.
3. For the second part we will need poppy seed filling. To do this, fill the poppy seeds with cold water, wash the seeds and drain the water.
4. Now fill the poppy seeds with clean cold water and bring to a boil, but do not boil. Add vanilla sugar for flavor. Hot poppy seeds should stand for 20 minutes in a saucepan with a lid.
5. Pre-fry the almonds and grind them with a blender, but not until they become flour, but so that pieces of nuts remain.
6. We will need to chop the steamed poppy seeds further. The easiest way for me is with a blender. But you can put it through a meat grinder.
Crushed poppy seeds are much tastier and don’t get stuck in your teeth.
7. When the poppy seeds have cooled completely, add sugar, honey and nuts. The poppy mixture is ready, mix it with half the cottage cheese.
8. Cover the Easter pan with gauze. We got 2 fillings - lemon and poppy seed.
9. First, spread the lemon curd and level it on the sides. To help Easter keep its shape better, do not add the filling for 5-10 minutes.
10. Press the poppy seed filling into the middle of the mold.
We wrap Easter in gauze, place a weight on top and leave for 10-12 hours, or even better, stand for a day. During the entire time, you will need to drain the resulting whey 3-4 times.
11. After the time has passed, remove the gauze and turn the plate with Easter over. We free our dessert from the mold and gauze and decorate.
This Easter looks especially beautiful in cross-section
Easter eggs are painted in different ways:
a) They are painted in scraps of silk fabric of different colors. These shreds need to be plucked, mixed, the eggs should be washed thoroughly, wiped clean, then moistened again, wrapped in silk, and cut out pieces of blue sugar paper should be placed on the eggs in patterns. Cover it all with a rag, tie it with thread, put the eggs in a saucepan with cold water. From the minute they boil, cook for 10 minutes, remove, cool, then remove the rag and silk. b) Wash the eggs clean, wipe them, wrap them in a rag, tie them with threads and drip ink on top in places with a wooden stick; put in water and when it boils, cook for 10 minutes, remove, cool, then remove the rag. c) Paint it with red paint, namely: pour 100 g of sandalwood into a medium-sized pot, pour in cold water, leave until the next day, then put on the stove. When it boils, add alum, stir, lower the eggs, hold on the edge of the stove until the eggs are colored, then put on high heat, boil for 10 minutes, then cool, remove from coloring, wipe with cotton wool soaked in Provençal oil (olive oil. - Ed.), then wipe dry with a towel, place on a dish, on a napkin. You can paint eggs two or three times with the same paint. d) They paint it in the same way with yellow paint, and boil the eggs in the husks of onions or in the leaves of young birch.
Recipe from Elena Molokhovets’ book “A Gift for Young Housewives, or a Means for Reducing Household Expenses”, 1897
After breaking the fast, they ate porridge and snacks made from vegetables and mushrooms. Traditional sauces were also served on the Easter table - horseradish and mustard, herbs and a variety of meat dishes. Among them could be pates, cold veal, stuffed poultry, aspic, boiled pig's head, and even a boiled or baked whole pig. At the same time, it was not customary to serve hot dishes on the Easter table.
Recipe with dried apricots and prunes
Dried fruits and cottage cheese go well together, so feel free to cook according to this recipe. And any novice housewife can prepare such a festive dessert. Easy to prepare and delicious.
We will need:
- cottage cheese - 500 gr.
- butter - 100 gr.
- sour cream - 60 gr.
- sugar - 100 gr.
- vanillin - 1 tsp.
- dried apricots
- prunes
For dried fruits I don’t specifically indicate the quantity; some people like to have a lot of them, and some prefer more cottage cheese. But before cooking, you need to pour hot water over the dried fruits for about 20 minutes. After that, squeeze out the water and put the dried fruits on a paper towel.
Grind the cottage cheese through a sieve or using a blender.
Add vanilla sugar, sugar, sour cream and softened butter to the cottage cheese. Mix everything well using a blender.
Cut the dried fruits into small pieces and add them to the curd mass. Stir well again.
Place the curd mass in a mold, compact it, cover it with gauze and leave it under pressure for 10-12 hours.
All that remains is to decorate and serve our dish. Easter is served cold, so keep it in the refrigerator until your guests arrive.
So, I hope that in my selection you have found the recipe you need. There are a lot of preparations and troubles ahead, but the holiday is worth it.
I wish you a delicious holiday table, many guests and a Happy Easter!
Author of the publication
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How to serve Easter
Cottage cheese Easter can be decorated with gelatin figures, pieces of chocolate, candied slices of berries and fruits. The simplest decor is cinnamon, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, poppy seeds and colorful coconut flakes. For decoration you can use nuts, dried fruits, roasted sesame seeds, rose petals, mint sprigs. Easter decorated with edible beads, flowers and mastic figures looks very beautiful. The dessert can be decorated with whipped cream, especially chocolate, M&M's, confectionery powder, melted chocolate or caramel. Or you can just put a church candle in the middle, because Easter is beautiful in itself. You should cut Easter with a warm knife, constantly dipping it in warm water and wiping it with a napkin so that the pieces turn out smooth and beautiful when cut.
Now you know how to make Easter with your own hands, how to decorate it and serve it correctly. Don’t be afraid of complex recipes and get ready for a bright spring holiday, when not only nature, but also our hearts come to life. May your Easter table always be generous, rich and delicious!
Rules for preparing for Easter
First and most important: we must celebrate Easter with peace in our hearts. If there are old grievances, it is best to reconcile. But if you don’t have such an opportunity, then forgive this person at least with your heart. Forgive and pray for him.
Easter dishes should be symbolic. Think over an Easter menu with traditional dishes: Easter, Easter eggs, Easter cake. The Easter table should not be a “feast of the belly.”
Preparing for Easter
In the first half of Holy Week, put your house in order so that you don’t have to do anything in the last days before the holiday.
On Maundy Thursday, prepare a festive cake and color the eggs.
On Saturday morning, start preparing cottage cheese Easter.
The consecration of Easter treats is carried out in Orthodox churches on Holy Saturday after the liturgy.
No one forces you to bless food for the Easter table - this is a pious tradition. Easter cakes are placed on a dish, tray or in an Easter basket, and a festive church candle made of red wax is placed in the center of each, which burns throughout the prayer.
Painted eggs are placed around the Easter cake and a plate with Easter is placed. You can also place a candle in the Easter curd mound. Napkins with Easter symbols look very festive.
As soon as the table is full, the priest begins to read a prayer, walks around the table and sprinkles holy water on everything on it. Believers fall under the sprinkling, receiving a blessing.
Recipe for 1 liter of milk
Ingredients:
- Flour – 3 kg
- milk – 1 l
- sour cream - 400 gr
- chicken eggs – 15 pcs
- butter – 500 gr
- sunflower oil - for greasing molds
- sugar - 1 kg
- yeast – 100 g
- vanillin – 2-3 sachets
- raisins – 300-500 gr
- glaze and decorative elements.
Cooking method:
1. First of all, we prepare all the products needed on the list. After that, in a saucepan over the fire, slightly heat the milk, then remove from the stove, add 200 grams of softened butter, add yeast, sugar and a small part of the sifted flour so that you get a consistency in the form of liquid sour cream, cover with a lid and let it brew for 40 minutes. .
2. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter, pour boiling water over the raisins, and beat all the eggs until smooth.
3. Now that the dough has steeped, add vanillin, sour cream, melted butter and flour. Drain the water from the raisins, add them to the total mass and knead the dough.
4. Cover with a lid and towel and leave to rise. So it should rise three times.
5. Grease the molds with vegetable oil and place the dough in them.
6. Place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes. We check for readiness using everyone’s favorite method - with a match.
7. All that remains is to decorate the Easter cakes with icing and confectionery sprinkles.
A very tasty and aromatic Easter with incredibly tender and airy dough is ready!
