Russia: Pashka

Name: Russia: Pashka
Yield: 8-10
Cuisine: Russia
Ingredients: butter: 1/2 stick (8 Tbsp); sugar: 1/2 cup; cottage cheese: 2 cups; mascarpone: 1 cup; egg yolks: 2; honey: 1/4 cup; lemon juice: juice of 1/2 lemon; vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp; raisins: 1/4 cup; amaretto: 1/4 cup; dried fruit; dried nuts

Cuisine:

Russia

Ingredients

1/2 stick (8 Tbsp) butter
room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups cottage cheese
small curd
1 cup mascarpone
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup honey
juice of 1/2 lemon lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup amaretto
dried fruit
you can use any nut you want - I used Trader Joe's honey sesame almonds
dried nuts
1/2 mixed in and the other 1/2 to decorate - I used dehydrated raspberries and sweetened dried orange slices

Directions

So, I was trying to decide what to make for Easter, and I started seeing all sorts of Facebook ads persuading me to make Paskha – a Russian Easter dessert typical across many Eastern Orthodox countries. It’s traditionally made during Holy Week using foods forbidden during Lent (dairy, eggs), and then brought to be blessed after the Paschal Vigil (hence the name “paskha”).

It’s formed in a special mold, traditionally in the shape of a truncated pyramid representing Christ’s tomb. I’d considered this dish last Easter, and actually posted on Facebook to see if by some long shot any of my friends had a mold. What I learned was that there are many alternatives! My friend from the Ukraine said her family used to make it in a large mug or can, and my grandmother mentioned that she had a recipe that suggested using a thoroughly cleaned flower pot. In the end, I used a large domed soup/salad bowl which worked just fine. Paskha is decorated with the letters “XB,” the Cyrillic letters standing for Христосъ Воскресе: the Slavonic form of “Christ is Risen!”

The main ingredient is typically “tvorog” (aka quark, aka farmers cheese), but a small curd cottage cheese is a similar and easier to find alternative. I found so many recipes with so many different combinations of dairy product (quark, cottage cheese, mascarpone, sour cream, yogurt, heavy cream, butter, egg – the list goes on) and mix-ins (pretty much every nut and dried fruit imaginable) that I ended up combining my favorite parts of many recipes. The result is a crustless cheesecake, typically served with an Easter bread called paska, but we just ate it straight!

Steps

1 Done	Soak the raisins and 1/2 the dried fruit in amaretto while you prepare the cheese.
2 Done	Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add egg yolks one at a time. Mix in cottage cheese, mascarpone, vanilla, lemon juice and honey. Remove your beaters and lick.
3 Done	Drain your raisins fruit but save the amaretto because that shit is delicious. Chop half of your dried fruit and nuts. Stir the raisins and chopped fruit and nuts into the cheese mixture until well distributed.
4 Done	If you don't have a pashka mold (WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A PASHKA MOLD?!), you can use a bowl, (clean!) flower pot, large soup can - pretty much anything. Line said thing with a doubled up cheese cloth and spoon your cheese mixture in evenly, leveling the bottom. Lick the spoon. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator. CHILL FOR 8 HOURS OF MORE!
5 Done	Once it's had a chance to sit, turn out onto a plate and remove the cheese cloth. Feel free to lick it before discarding. Decorate your pashka with the remaining nuts and fruit. If you want to do the traditional "XB" an orange peel or slivered almonds will work well. Refrigerate until ready to serve (covered so it doesn't start to taste like your leftover Indian food).