Preparing for the bright Christian holiday - Easter - every housewife wants to prepare an Easter cake and Easter for the festive table, but not every one decides to take this step, being afraid of possible difficulties with kneading and baking.
In reality, there is nothing complicated in making homemade cakes, the main thing is to strictly observe the proportion of ingredients and follow the long-established principles of cooking.
Yeast cakes - general principles of preparation
Kulich will succeed well, if you knead the dough correctly - this is the main principle of cooking a delicious right kulich.
• The dough should be neither thick nor liquid.
• Mass should easily go away from the hands.
• The longer you knead the dough for Easter cakes, the better.
• Before baking, the dough should rise three times: yeast dough, kneaded dough, dough in forms immediately before baking.
Despite the fact that the main ingredients for making Easter cakes on yeast are the same: yeast, eggs, sugar, flour, milk, butter, there are many recipes and methods for making Easter cakes, and they all have their own characteristics. Consider the best of them.
1. Home-made yeast cakes
Ingredients:
• kilogram of flour;
• milk - 370 ml;
• dry yeast - 1 pack;
• 6 eggs;
• butter - 130 g;
• sugar - 400 g;
• salt - 70 g;
• candied fruit - 15 g;
• raisins - 60 g;
• vanilla - a pinch;
• lemon zest - 10 g.
Glaze:
• powdered sugar - 150 g;
• juice from half a lemon.
Cooking method:
1. On a low heat, heat the milk and dissolve the yeast in it.
2. Pour the sifted flour into milk with yeast, stir well so that no lumps form. Cover the cup with a clean cloth and leave for 40 minutes to proof.
3. While the dough is coming, we prepare the raisins: sorting, washing, soaking.
4. We do the same with candied fruits. If they are too large, then cut them into small pieces.
5. In another cup, put the oil and over low heat, heat a little.
6. Separate the whites from the yolks (leave 3 pieces for the glaze).
7. Beat the yolks with sugar, add salt and vanilla to them, again, beat thoroughly.
8. In a separate cup, beat three squirrels with salt into a steep foam.
9. Pour the whipped egg yolks with sugar into the finished dough, as well as warm butter, mix thoroughly.
10. Pour the whipped proteins and the remnants of flour into the resulting mass.
11. Mix thoroughly again. The dough for homemade Easter cakes should not be very thick, but also should not stick to your hands.
12. Cover the cup with the dough with a cloth and leave to rise for 50 minutes.
13. After doubling the volume of the dough, add raisins and candied fruits to it, mix well.
14. We lay out the dough according to the molds, greased with vegetable oil so that the molds were filled into 1 2 parts of the molds. Again, leave for half an hour, so that the dough in the forms rises.
15. Put the dough into the preheated oven and bake at a moderate temperature for about 1 hour.
16. The readiness of Easter cakes is checked in the usual way (with a wooden toothpick).
17. Baked hot cakes are poured with white icing from whipped proteins with powdered sugar and lemon juice.
18. Sprinkle with sprinkle on top.
2. Easter cakes on Mom’s Easter
Ingredients:
• flour - 5 glasses;
• fresh yeast - half a pack;
• sugar - 1 cup;
• 4 eggs;
• margarine - 1 pack;
• milk - 400 ml;
• cardamom grains - 1 teaspoon;
• nutmeg - 5 g;
• vodka or cognac - 20 ml;
• raisins - 60 g;
• vanillin - 10 g.
Cream:
• 3 squirrels;
• powdered sugar - 0.5 cups.
Cooking method:
1. Dissolve the yeast in warm milk.
2. Add margarine at room temperature to milk.
3. Also, break 1 egg into milk, stir, pour sugar, vanillin, cardamom, nutmeg and vodka or cognac.
4. Pour the sifted flour in several stages. Slowly knead the dough until it is easy to move away from the hands.
5. Leave the dough to rise for 6 hours.
6. When the dough rises a little, add raisins, crush it and leave it for a few minutes again.
7. We lay out the dough in greased baking containers, let stand to rise.
8. Put in a red-hot oven and bake at not high temperature for no more than 40 minutes.
9. We pour the baked Easter cakes with protein cream and sprinkle with sprinkles or poppy seeds.
3. Easter cakes without kneading
Ingredients:
• kilogram of flour;
• Saf moment yeast - 15 g;
• yolks from eggs - 10 pcs.;
• half a liter of milk;
• sugar - 360 g;
• butter - 300 g;
• raisins - half a glass;
• lemon peel - 20 g.
Cream:
• 2 proteins;
• powdered sugar - 5 tbsp. spoons;
• juice from one lemon.
Cooking method:
1. Dissolve the yeast in slightly warm milk (200 ml).
2. Pour the prepared flour into milk, stir and leave for 40 minutes, so that the dough is raised.
3. Beat egg yolks with sugar.
4. Put the butter to the yolks, whisk until a thick mass.
5. Pour the creamy-yolk mixture into the risen dough, mix and leave again for 50 minutes.
6. After the first rise, mix the dough again with a wooden spatula and leave for another half hour.
7. Pour the rest of the flour and pour out the remaining milk, mix and let rise a little more.
8. At the end of this time, put washed and dried raisins in the dough. Before laying in the dough, raisins must be dried and sprinkled with flour so that it does not fall to the bottom in the dough.
9. Leave for another half hour.
10. Pour the dough into containers up to half the height. Let's get up a little.
11. Bake for 40 minutes at 190 degrees.
12. Hot baked Easter cakes are poured with a protein cream, which we prepare as follows: beat the egg whites until lush foam for about three minutes. Pour powdered sugar to them and whisk again until a stable mass. Add a little lemon juice to strengthen, mix well.
13. Decorate with a sprinkle.
4. Easter cakes with cottage cheese
Ingredients:
• kilogram of flour;
• half a pack of dry yeast;
• milk - 2 glasses;
• low fat cottage cheese - 360 g;
• 230 g butter;
• 1.5 cups of sugar;
• eggs - 7 pieces;
• 2 tbsp. tablespoons of sunflower oil;
• half a teaspoon of vanillin;
• raisins - less than half a glass;
• 20 g candied fruit;
• salt - on the tip of a knife.
Cream:
• 2 proteins;
• a glass of powdered sugar;
• salt.
Cooking method:
1. Prepare the dough: pour a little warmed milk into a cup and dilute the yeast. Pour a little flour and sugar, stir and let rise 40 minutes.
2. Beat egg yolks with sugar.
3. Beat the whites with salt in a strong foam.
4. In the finished dough, put the heated oil, cottage cheese, vanilla, beaten yolks and proteins, mix well.
5. Pour flour in several stages and knead a dough that is not tight, let rise a little.
6. Put raisins and candied fruits in the risen dough, leave to rise for another half hour.
7. In pans covered with parchment paper, we spread the dough into 0.5 volumes. Leave them for proofing.
8. Bake cakes with cottage cheese in a hot oven for 40 minutes at a low temperature.
9. Lubricate the finished hot cakes with a brush using a protein cream and sprinkle with sprinkles.
5. Easter cakes with raisins
Ingredients:
• kilogram of flour;
• butter - 1 pack, including for greasing molds;
• sugar - 350 g;
• milk - 400 ml;
• fresh yeast - 1 small pack;
• 3 eggs;
• raisins - 50 g;
• breadcrumbs - 50 g.
Cooking method:
1. Pour melted butter half a packet into the sifted flour.
2. Pour sugar into flour with butter and pour boiling milk (1 cup), mix thoroughly.
3. Pour warm milk (half a glass) into a separate cup and dilute the yeast.
4. Bred yeast together with milk is introduced into the prepared dough, left to rise for 40 minutes.
5. After a slight raising of the dough, we introduce separately beaten yolks and proteins, leave for another 30 minutes.
6. Put washed and swollen raisins in the dough, mix thoroughly and leave for another 30 minutes.
7. Raise the dough into the form in which we cover the bottom with parchment, coat with oil and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
8. Put the forms in the heat until the dough is raised.
9. Bake Easter cakes for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees.
10. Ready-made Easter cakes in cold form, pour cream and decorate with sprinkles.
6. Easter cakes on the "Happiness" yeast
Ingredients:
• 10 eggs;
• half a liter of milk;
• margarine and butter - 0.5 packs each;
• kilogram of flour;
• refined oil - 50 ml;
• sugar - 400 g;
• half a liter of sour cream;
• any yeast - 150 g;
Cream:
• milk - half a glass;
• sugar - 150 g.
Cooking method:
1. Beat the yolks with sugar.
2. Melt the butter with margarine.
3. Take an enameled pan, grease the side walls with refined oil and pour liquid butter with margarine, warm milk, whipped egg yolks, add salt and flour in several stages, knead the dough until soft.
4. A few minutes before the dough is ready, pour in the yeast dissolved in the milk. In the case of a very liquid dough, you can pour more flour.
5. Add half a liter of sour cream and more flour, mix thoroughly.
6. Leave the dough for 3 hours to proof.
7. Beat the proteins and put them into the dough, knead well and let stand for another 30 minutes.
8. Put the dough in molds and bake in the oven at a moderate temperature for 40 minutes.
9. When the cakes are fully baked, prepare the cream: pour milk into a metal cup, put on medium heat, boil. In boiling milk, pour sugar and boil another 10 minutes. Stir well until smooth. Pour the cooled cakes with this cream.
Easter cakes - secrets and tricks
• The key to any successful baking is fresh ingredients for the dough.
• Put the dough before baking for "rest" in a warm place without drafts.
• To make cakes on yeast without a specific slightly sour smell, do not put yeast more than specified in the recipe.
• You can diversify any of the presented recipes in your own way: for example, adding dried fruits, nuts, candied fruits to the dough.
• Delicious and tender cakes are made on yeast, if you place a container of water when baking down the oven.
• Decorate ready-made Easter cakes with usually protein glaze and confectionery sprinkles.
