Russian Easter Pound Cake Recipe Kulich

RUSSIAN KULICH FOR EASTER

Steps:

• For the dough: In a large bowl, combine yeast, water, 1/4 cup sugar and milk, mixing until yeast and sugar have dissolved. Stir in 1 cup flour until well blended. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 1 hour.
• In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, combine butter, 1/2 cup sugar and egg yolks. Add yeast-flour mixture from Step 1, stirring well. Add vanilla, cardamom, salt and enough of the 3 to 3-1/2 cups flour to make a soft dough. Stir in raisins, almonds and orange rind.
• In a small bowl, beat 2 reserved egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the dough made in Step 2. Knead by machine or hand until a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 3-5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat both sides. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
• Coat a 2-pound coffee can or kulich pan with cooking spray. Punch down dough and knead a few times. Place it in the prepared can, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until dough reaches the top of the can.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 35 to 40 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
• For the glaze: While kulich is baking, prepare glaze by combining in a small bowl the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, almond extract and enough water to make a smooth, runny glaze.
• Remove kulich from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Unmold from can and cool on a wire rack. While still slightly warm, drizzle glaze over the top. To serve, cut off the crown and slice base into rounds. To keep any leftovers moist, replace the crown.
• Note: You may decorate the top with poppy seeds, sprinkles, or chopped nuts.

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.

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.

PASKA EASTER BREAD RECIPE (KULICH)

Steps:

• In a large Mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups + 2 Tbsp warm milk, 6 eggs, 1 Tbsp yeast, 2 cups sugar, 2 sticks melted butter (just warm, not hot!), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla. Whisk in 4 cups flour. Your batter will be thick like sour cream. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place or a warm oven (about 100˚F) for 2 hours.
• Add 5 more cups of flour; one cup at a time or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands (it will still feel sticky but wont' stick to your fingers). I find it's easiest to fold flour in with a silicone spatula. Dough should be soft. Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups raisins. Cover and let dough rise another 2 hours in a warm oven (100˚F).
• Divide dough evenly into the three paper baking molds; try not to mix it or stomp it down too much. Let dough rise uncovered in a warm 100˚F oven for an additional 2 hours or until the molds are almost full. Remove from the oven and preheat oven to 350˚F.
• Bake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes in the middle of the oven until the top is golden brown. Let cool to room temp or just warm and then tear off the wrapper.
• Once the Breads are at room temperature and wrappers are off, get your frosting ready. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar with 3 Tbsp lemon juice. Add a little water if it's too thick or a little more powdered sugar if it's too runny. Pour the glaze over each cooled Easter bread. Traditionally, these are topped with colorful sprinkles before the glaze sets.

RUSSIAN EASTER POUND CAKE RECIPE "KULICH"

Steps:

• Combine eggs with sugar.
• Add cottage cheese to the egg/sugar mixture. Keep mixing all ingredients together well.
• Add corn starch and melted butter. Continue your mixing, making sure all ingredients are gradually incorporated into the texture of the dough.
• Add baking soda and flour to the above mixture.
• While mixing the above mixture, add raisins and wall nuts.
• The dough will be liquidy, a perfect consistency to pour into the baking forms.
• I use the empty cans from olives (14 oz cans). Make sure the edges do not have the preventative barrier for the cooked cake to fall out of the can.
• Use olive oil or butter on the inside walls of the baking forms.
• Bake at 400F for about 25 minutes.
• Watch your mini cakes after 20 minutes in the oven to prevent the burnt edges.
• Decorate with glaze and sprinkles.
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• Beat up the above two ingredients for a minute or two. Apply the glaze over the "Kuliches'" tops.

RUSSIAN EASTER BREAD (KULICH)

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Heat milk, sugar, butter, saffron, and salt in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.
• Meanwhile, stir together yeast, warm water, and pinch of sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
• Put flour in a large bowl and make a large well in center. Lightly beat 3 eggs and add to well along with milk and yeast mixtures. Carefully stir together with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Put dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, covered with a clean kitchen towel, in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours.
• Punch down dough and let rise again, covered with towel, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Form loaves:
• Generously butter soufflé dishes. Punch down dough and divide in half. Loosely wrap 1 piece in plastic wrap and set aside. Cut away one third of remaining piece of dough and reserve, then roll remaining two thirds into a large ball and transfer to a soufflé dish.
• Roll reserved piece of dough into an 18-inch-long rope on work surface with palms of your hands. Cut rope into 3 equal pieces and lay pieces vertically side by side on work surface, about 1/4 inch apart. Gather 3 ends farthest from you and press them together, then braid strands, pressing together other ends to secure braid. Lay braid over top of dough in soufflé dish (trim braid if using coffee cans). Form another loaf with remaining dough in same manner.
• Cover loaves with clean kitchen towel and let rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours (loaves will rise about 1 inch above rims of dishes).
• Bake loaves:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly beat remaining egg with a large pinch of salt, then brush egg over top of each loaf. Bake loaves until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 1 hour. Turn loaves out onto a rack, then turn right side up and cool completely.