Easter cake in a classic, time-tested version of preparation is described in detail in the book about tasty and healthy food from 1952. The recipe has been tested by several generations of women, so it can be safely recommended for cooking on the bright holiday of Easter. The cake dough is prepared in several stages and will take time and attention, but the cake turns out to be incredibly rich, soft and does not crumble when cut.
It is necessary
- Dough products:
- - wheat flour (preferably with a high protein content) - 500 g;
- - milk of any fat content - 1, 5 glasses;
- - fresh pressed yeast - 40-50 g.
- Products for addition (the main part of the test):
- - wheat flour (preferably with a high protein content) - 500 g;
- - fresh selected chicken eggs - 6 pcs.;
- - butter or margarine - 300 g;
- - salt - 3/4 tsp.
- Additives for flavor:
- - raisins - 150 g;
- - vanilla sugar or a few drops of vanilla essence
- - grated lemon (orange) zest –1 tsp;
- - candied fruits or almonds (optional), can be replaced with raisins - 50 g.
Instructions
Step 1
First you need to prepare the ingredients and make the blanks. Remove the butter from the refrigerator, chop with a knife to the size of a medium cube and let stand at room temperature. The yeast should be chopped in advance. To do this, simply crush the yeast with your hands on a small plate. The flour must be sifted through a sieve, thereby saturating it with air. The presence of microscopic air bubbles is very important in butter dough. They will help the baked goods rise and acquire the desired porous structure.
Step 2
Milk needs to be slightly warmed until slightly warm. Wash the eggs and carefully divide them into whites and yolks. At this point, one yolk can be set aside. It is used to lubricate the top of an approaching cake. Rinse the raisins, pour boiling water if necessary and let stand for a while.
Step 3
They begin to prepare the cake with the preparation of dough. To do this, milk is mixed with yeast and flour. The thoroughly mixed mixture is carefully folded into a ball, covered with a towel or a lid and set to come up in a warm place without drafts and noise. Dough can be suitable for different times, it depends on the quality of the yeast and flour. The time for raising the dough is about 40–90 minutes.
Step 4
While the dough is being prepared, you can do the rest of the products. Beat the egg whites with a whisk or mixer. At the stage of whipping, salt can be added to the whites, they will beat better. Then egg yolks with sugar and vanilla are ground to a whitened state. According to the original recipe, the yolks should be "wiped off with sugar", that is, to achieve a homogeneous white mass, which will drain from the whisk in a narrow path.
Step 5
Combine all the ingredients: a suitable dough, whipped whites, crushed yolks, soft butter and the rest of the flour (500 g). The dough must be kneaded thoroughly, so that it freely lags behind the sides of the bowl and hands. The finished dough is rounded and placed in a warm place for the second rise. At this time, you need to prepare baking dishes. To do this, it is recommended to lay the bottom of tall forms for cakes with baking paper, and grease the sides with soft butter or margarine.
Step 6
After the volume of the muffin has increased at least 2 times, prepared additives are mixed into it: candied fruits, nuts, raisins. The dough is divided according to the number of baking containers, while the dough should occupy about 1/3 of the total volume of the form. A neat ball is formed from the dough, rounded into a bun, which is then carefully placed on the bottom of the mold.
Step 7
The molds with the dough are removed to rise 2/3 of the height in a warm place and left there for about 1 hour. Before baking, the top of the risen cake is smeared with yolk whipped with water. The oven must be preheated to 180-200 degrees. Easter cake is baked for 30-35 minutes. Completely cooled cakes are covered with glaze, candied fruits and colored decorations.
