Russian Easter Cake

Traditional Russian Easter Cake can be seen on every table in Russia for Easter. Majority of the Russian population is Orthodox, and we celebrate Easter about a week after the Catholic Easter.

The cakes can be made at home, or purchased in any bakery in Russia, and the variations are crazy. On Easter Sunday everyone takes the Easter cakes and prepared colored eggs to church to be blessed by the priest.

Warm up the milk to about 40°C (104°F), it is just warm to the touch.

Mix together 250 grams of flour with the dry active yeast and add to the warm milk.

Mix the mixture through, to split all the lumps made by yeast.

Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place to rise. About 30-40 minutes.

Take out the butter, and allow to warm up to room temperature.

In the meantime, separate the 3 eggs.

Rub egg yolks together with sugar and set aside.

Whisk egg whites into a stiff foam.

Once the dough mixture has risen, add the egg yolk and sugar mixture and salt and mix well.

Mix in the softened butter (make sure the butter is not melted, but softened).

Gradually and carefully add the egg white foam, mixing through well after each addition. Mix gently, with circular motion from bottom up. I used a rubber spatula for this part.

Gradually add the remaining 250 grams of flour, mixing well after each addition.Cover the dough with plastic food wrap or a clean towel, place in a warm place and allow to rise and double in size. This will take about an hour.

In the meantime prepare the chocolate chips and the dried fruits.

Tip: traditionally in Russia you would put raisins in the Easter Cake. If you want to add raisins to the dough instead of chocolate or fruits, you can do so. In order to add raisins, you need to rinse the raisins, then pour boiling water on the raisins and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse them again, dry out with a paper towel and roll in flour to thoroughly coat them.

When the dough has doubled in size (the dough will be wet, not liquid, but not suitable for kneading either) split the dough evenly between two bowls.

Into one batch mix in the dried fruits.

Into the second, mix in the chocolate chips.

Cover each bowl and allow to stand for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the forms. I used a small cake spring form, as you can see in the images above.

Grease the forms with oil for butter, sprinkle with flour, for the cakes to come out easier. I also lined the border of the form with parchment paper, in case the cake would rise too much and to prevent it from coming out the edges of the form.

Pour the dough into the forms, filling only 1/3 of the way, as they will rise.Allow the cakes to stand in forms for another 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 100°C (212°F).

Whisk 2 egg yolks in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the dough.

Bake the cakes in the oven at 100°C (212°F) for no longer than 10 minutes.

Without opening the oven, increase the temperature to 180°C (356°F) and bake the cakes for another 45-50 minutes, or until they have an even golden brown tops.

I only had one form available, so I baked the cakes in two batches. One at a time. If your forms fit on one level in the oven, bake them at the same time, otherwise, its better to bake them separately.

The toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

How to prepare the frosting

While the cakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Add the powdered sugar and whisk until well combined.

Give it a taste, add more sugar if desired.

The frosting will be glossy and have a bit of sticky texture.

Once the cakes are cooked, take them out and brush the frosting all over the tops of the cakes while they are still hot.

Sprinkle with decorative sprinkles.

Allow to cool and take out of the forms.

The cakes will remain soft for about a week in room temperature.

Enjoy!