Kulich Russian Easter Cake Recipes

RUSSIAN KULICH

Steps:

• Stir together yeast, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and warm milk in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Beat 4 yolks with remaining sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at TK speed until mixture is thick and pale, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in brandy and salt.
• Stir yeast dough to deflate. Add yolk mixture and butter and stir until well blended. Beat 3 egg whites in a bowl with cleaned beaters until they hold soft peaks. Fold whites into batter, then stir in remaining 2 1/2 cups flour. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
• Stir dough to deflate, then stir in almonds and raisins.
• Butter 4 clean (10 1/2-ounce) coffee cans. Line bottom of each with a round of parchment or wax paper. Dust insides with flour, knocking out excess. Divide dough evenly among cans. Let dough rise in cans, covered with a towel, until about 1/2 inch from rim, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk together remaining yolk and water, and lightly brush over tops of dough. Bake loaves in cans until tops are golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Turn loaves out onto a rack, turn right side up, and let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Sift powdered sugar into a bowl, then stir in lemon juice. Spread glaze over tops of loaves, letting it drip down the sides. Let loaves stand until icing is set, about 15 minutes.

KULICH (RUSSIAN EASTER CAKE)

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.

RUSSIAN EASTER CAKE RECIPE FOR KULICH

Steps:

• Optional: if children won't be eating this, soak the sultanas and raisins overnight in vodka, cognac or brandy.
• Use a sieve to sift the flour into a big mixing bowl, then add the salt and butter and combine, before adding the sugar and yeast.
• In a separate bowl or measuring jug, beat the egg, add the tepid milk and mix, then add this to the mixing bowl of flour, etc., and combine everything until you have a soft dough.
• Dust flour onto your kitchen counter, transfer the dough, add the dried fruit, knead until well combined (about 3-5 minutes) and the dough is smooth, then form it into a ball.
• Butter a large mixing bowl, transfer the ball of dough, cover it with a clean cotton tea towel, and leave it to rise for one hour.
• Cut baking paper into rounds to fit in the bottoms of three 400 ml tin cans and to wrap within the interior of each can; the larger interior pieces of baking paper should be large enough so that the pieces poke out above the tin by about a third of the size of the can.
• Using a pastry brush, butter the bottom of the tins, place the paper rounds on the base and butter the top of the round, then butter the larger interior pieces of baking paper.
• Dust your kitchen counter with a little flour again, transfer the dough, knock back the dough, then form it into a ball again, place it back in the bowl, cover it once more, and leave it for half an hour.
• Transfer the dough for the last time to the kitchen counter, lightly dusted with flour, roll the dough into one long cylindrical shaped piece, which you should cut into three equally-sized pieces or around 5cm in length.
• Place each piece of dough into the tin cans that you earlier lined with buttered paper, cover the cans with the clean cotton tea towel, leave them to rise for around 20-30 minutes, and preheat your oven to 240°C.
• When the dough has risen to 7-8cm up the tin can, transfer the cans to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or so (check them at 20 minutes) until you have pale golden-brown loaves. To check that they are completely baked, turn the can upside down and tap on its base with a knife; it should sound hollow.
• Wearing oven mitts, gently shake each Easter cake out of the can into your hand, then leave them on a wire oven rack on the kitchen counter to cool.
• Once the cakes are cool, prepare the icing: use a sieve to sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then slowly add the lemon juice, continually stirring until completely combined and thickened. If too thin, add a little more sugar and combine.
• Transfer the cakes to a serving plate, spoon the icing onto the top of the cakes, allowing the icing to drip down the sides, then place pieces of dried fruit on the cake tops and sprinkle around the base. Serve with quality butter.