Three Easter recipes from Yulia Vysotskaya

Julia Vysotskaya. Photo from Instagram.

The actress and TV presenter, who at one time lived in Minsk and worked at the Kupala Theater, shared her favorite paska recipes.

“A few tips: instead of candied tangerines, you can take candied kumquat, and instead of cream cheese, butter, sour cream or very thick cream,” says a popular TV presenter. – It’s good to add lime or orange zest to Easter, and if you like sweets, put more sugar. And do not be alarmed if the curd mass becomes liquid when brewed in a water bath.

citrus easter

preparation time – 25 minutes, waiting time – 48 hours.

6 servings

1 kg dry cottage cheese

200 g cream cheese

3 eggs

120 g sugar

1-2 handfuls of candied tangerines

a handful of candied orange peels,

1 st. a spoonful of orange liqueur

1/4 teaspoon crushed vanilla pods

1. Rub cottage cheese through a sieve.
2. Cut large candied fruits into pieces.
3. Combine the eggs with sugar, add vanilla and beat with a blender with a whisk attachment until fluffy, then, continuing to beat, pour in the orange liqueur.
4. Combine the grated cottage cheese with the egg-sugar mass and cream cheese, mix everything.
5. Add candied fruits, mix once more and transfer to a saucepan.
6. Place the pan in a water bath and, stirring constantly, brew the mass, then remove from heat and continue to knead for some more time.
7. Line the form for Easter with gauze folded in several layers, lay out the curd mass, cover it crosswise with the edges of the gauze so that its ends hang out of the form.
8. Place the form with Easter in a deep plate or baking sheet, put a load on top and leave for a couple of days.

I must say right away that custard Easter is the most difficult, but also the most airy and tender. Why do I not punch the Easter cottage cheese with a blender, but rub it through a sieve (and I do this in all recipes)? To ensure that the curd mass does not turn out to be too liquid.

The cottage cheese pierced by a blender becomes too homogeneous, and when brewed it becomes very watery. In other Easter recipes, I also rub the cottage cheese through a sieve, thanks to which the structure of the finished Easter is more dense.

About the brew time. We boil Easter just to boil the eggs. From brewing, it will not thicken, sometimes, on the contrary, it becomes more liquid (it all depends on the cottage cheese). Boil until the first bubbles. As soon as it starts to boil – remove. To glass the excess liquid, I put Easter under oppression, someone hangs it up – it’s more convenient for someone, it’s more familiar.

And here are two more Easter recipes from Yulia Vysotskaya.

Vanilla Easter with candied fruits and almonds

cooking time 35 min.

ripening time 24 hours.

4 servings

500 g dry low-fat cottage cheese

100 g candied fruits and dried fruits (papaya, melon, pineapple, cherry, cranberry, raisins, etc.)

90 g butter

80 g sugar

50 g almonds

2 yolks

100 ml cream

1 vanilla pod

1. Rub cottage cheese through a sieve.
2. Cut the vanilla pod, remove the grains and add to the curd.
3. Chop candied fruits and dried fruits.
4. Grind the almonds in a mortar.
5. Whip the butter with a fork or small whisk.
6. Add dried fruits, candied fruits and nuts to the oil.
7. Beat the yolks with sugar.
8. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, but do not boil.
9. Add whipped yolks to the cream and, stirring constantly, heat over low heat until the cream thickens, then remove from heat, knead for another 2-3 minutes and cool.
10. Add butter with dried fruits and creamy yolk cream to the cottage cheese. Mix everything.
11. Line the Easter mold with a double layer of gauze and fill it with curd mass. Wrap the edges of the gauze crosswise, put the load on top and put at least a day in a cold place.

Easter with pistachios

Both butter and Easter eggs should be at room temperature, and the cottage cheese should never be wet. It is necessary to mix with a wooden spoon, and the longer the better – the consistency of the mass should be very silky.

cooking time 20 min.

settling time 16 h.

4 servings

500 g dry fatty cottage cheese

300 g powdered sugar

100 g butter

8 quail eggs

a handful of raisins

a handful of dried apricots

30 g pistachios

100 ml heavy cream

50 ml cognac

1. Soak raisins in cognac.
2. Rub cottage cheese through a sieve.
3. Combine cottage cheese with pre-softened butter, mix.
4. Continuing to mix, pour in the cream in batches.
5. Beat eggs with powdered sugar, add to the curd mass and knead.
6. Cut dried apricots into small pieces.
7. Squeeze the raisins and add to the cottage cheese along with dried apricots and pistachios (leave a few pistachios).
8. Line a special form for Easter or a bowl with holes with gauze, put the curd mass. Lay the edges of the gauze crosswise. Place the bowl of Easter in a smaller saucepan so that the liquid can drain, and put something heavy on top.
9. After 4 hours, when the liquid drains, send Easter to the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Garnish the finished Easter with the remaining pistachios.