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The bright Easter holiday is filled with a special meaning. And the faithful prepare for it with their soul and body throughout the entire Great Lent. The culinary traditions of this holiday are also special. According to a long-standing custom, the main place on the table full of goodies is occupied by homemade cakes. That’s why it’s so important that it turns out without a single flaw. The secrets of the perfect test and other important subtleties are shared by the experts of the brand “36 kopecks”.
A cake with the taste of childhood
Baking an Easter cake is a whole art. And it starts with the right products. The most delicious yeast dough is obtained with milk. In this regard, milk “36 kopecks” with a fat content of 3.2 % is the optimal choice. Interacting with yeast, flour and eggs, milk gives the dough the desired viscosity and elasticity, improves the loosening process. Thanks to this, the finished pastry acquires a unique rich taste and the most delicate texture.
First of all, we prepare the sourdough. In a large saucepan, lightly heat 500 ml of milk — the temperature should not exceed 30-35°C. We breed in it 50 g of live yeast, 5 tbsp. l. flour and 2 tbsp. l. vanilla sugar. Cover the pan with a towel and put the sourdough in the heat to ripen. It should double in size and be covered with a foam cap.
Beat the softened butter, 4 chicken eggs and 2 large yolks, 400 g of sugar, 0.5 tsp of salt with a mixer. As a result, you should get a lush homogeneous mass. Sift here in several stages 270 g of flour and continue to beat with a mixer.
Now we introduce the dough and knead the dough. This should be done carefully, preferably manually. Sift another 650-700 g of flour and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes. We transfer it to a large basin, cover it with a towel and put it in the heat for an hour. After that, add 150 g of candied fruits rolled in flour, knead the dough with your hands for a couple of minutes and put it back in the heat for an hour. Having kneaded the dough for the third time, we distribute it over the oiled forms by about a third and let it stand for half an hour.
The cakes are baked in the oven at 180°C for about 30-40 minutes, taking into account the size. Do not open the door for the first half of the time in any case. The remaining 2 proteins are whipped with 100 g of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt in strong peaks. We lubricate the tops of the cakes with protein glaze and sprinkle with colored confectionery sprinkles. The main Easter treat is ready!
Bake me a lamb
A cupcake in the form of an Easter lamb will become a favorite treat for children and will cause smiles of adults. An excellent basis for the dough will be kefir “36 kopecks” with a fat content of 3.2 %. Thanks to this component, the dough will turn out especially lush, soft and will retain an airy texture much longer. And it will also emphasize the taste of sweet ingredients. Do not forget to get kefir out of the refrigerator in advance so that it warms up to room temperature.
We steam 80 g of raisins in boiling water. Beat 4 eggs and 240 g of sugar into a light mass with a mixer. Continuing to beat, gradually pour 180 ml of kefir. Next, in small portions, sift 350 g of flour with 1 tsp of baking powder and knead the dough. We dry the steamed raisins, roll them in flour and add them to the dough together with 1 tsp of orange zest.
Molds for a lamb cake, silicone and metal, are sold everywhere today. If you don’t have it, cut out a lamb template from cardboard and mold a flat shape on it. Using a brush, we smear each corner of the mold with butter, sprinkle generously with semolina, shake off the remnants. Now the finished lamb will easily separate from the mold. Fill it with dough and send it to the oven at 180°C.
Beat 150 ml of cream with a fat content of 33 % with 2 tbsp. l. powdered sugar into a lush dense mass, cover the whole ruddy lamb, and sprinkle with coconut shavings on top. Do not forget to make eyes out of dark raisins. Such an unearthly creature will become an ornament of the Easter table.
A pie with a delicate nature
Many housewives certainly bake piles of pies with a variety of fillings for Easter. If there is no time left to do yeast dough, knead it on a ryazhenka “36 kopecks” with a fat content of 2.5 %. Thanks to the traditional sourdough, the dough easily rises in the oven, and the finished pastry turns out ruddy, tender and does not stale for a long time.
Rub 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons of sugar, add 80 g of pre-melted and cooled butter. Beat the mass well with a whisk, pour in portions of 200 ml of ryazhenka. Then gradually sift 550-600 g of flour with 1 tsp of soda and a pinch of salt. We knead a soft plastic dough and give it a little rest.
Now it’s the filling’s turn. Melt 50 g of butter in a frying pan and fry 70 g of flour until golden brown. We dissolve 100 g of sugar in 200 ml of water, pour the syrup into a frying pan. Pour out 50 g of crumbs from walnuts and simmer the mass for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. At the end, add 100 g of dried apricots with straws — the filling is ready.
We roll out the dough into a layer 5 mm thick, cut out the mugs with a glass, put 1 tsp of filling on each, we make neat oblong pies. Lubricate them with egg yolk and place them in the oven for 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 180°C. Guests will sort out such a delicacy instantly.
Sweet letters of happiness
Muffin envelopes with jam are a suitable treat for an Easter tea party. Try to make a dough on sour cream “36 kopecks” with a fat content of 20 %. It is made from fresh natural cream with the addition of traditional sourdough. Due to the incredibly thick and delicate consistency, the finished pastry acquires an exquisite taste and literally melts in the mouth. In addition, the dough from such sour cream is kneaded simply and quickly.
In one bowl, beat 200 g of sour cream and 180 g of melted butter into a smooth cream with a mixer. In another bowl, sift 300-350 g of flour with 0.5 tsp of baking powder, put a pinch of salt and vanilla on the tip of a knife. We connect both parts together, knead the dough, form a lump and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour.
We roll out a rectangular layer of dough with a thickness of 4-5 mm, cut into squares with a side of 8-10 cm. In the center of each spread 1 tsp of any fairly thick jam, sprinkle with grated hazelnuts and bend the corners of the squares to the center in the form of envelopes. Bake them in the oven at 180°C for 15-20 minutes.
Fresh honey tradition
Honey cakes in Russia have been baked for holidays since time immemorial. We suggest adding an unusual ingredient to the traditional recipe — a snowball “36 kopecks”. The delicate sweet taste of this fermented milk drink sets off the rich taste of honey, and it gives the right texture to the gingerbread dough itself.
Melt 100 g of honey and 80 g of butter in a water bath. Periodically stir with a spatula to get a homogeneous mass. Make sure that it does not heat up above 75°C. Add 1 tbsp.l. cognac and a mixture of aromatic spices to taste. It can be cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla-combine them at your discretion. Separately, beat 2 eggs and 150 g of sugar with a mixer, and then gradually pour in 200 ml of snowball and cooled liquid honey with butter. Sift 400 g of flour with 1 tsp of baking powder and knead the dough. We form a lump, wrap it with a film and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
We roll out the layer with a thickness of 3-4 mm, cut out the gingerbread with curly molds and send it to the oven for 10-12 minutes on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Ready-made gingerbread can be decorated with protein glaze for cakes and lay out patterns from confectionery sprinkles in the form of large mother-of-pearl beads.
Easter baking does not tolerate fuss. And you need to approach its preparation with a special attitude. However, you can’t do without a set of the right products here, too. The brand “36 kopecks”is always happy to help housewives with this. For many years, he has been delivering to your table dairy products of impeccable quality, created according to traditional recipes and meeting the highest standards. Thanks to them, homemade cakes will always be impeccable, and your family holidays will become more sincere and will be remembered by guests for a long time.