Farmer cheese Easter kulich
Farmer cheese kulich is delicious, with a denser, softer crumb that stays fresh longer. It is no harder to make than ordinary kulich, though some experience with enriched yeast dough is helpful. It is a pity we tend to bake it only at Easter.
Bring the ingredients to room temperature before starting so the dough rises well.
Make the sponge first. Dissolve the sugar in warm milk, then stir in the flour mixed with yeast. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 20 minutes, until well risen and covered in bubbles.
While the sponge rises, blend the farmer cheese, eggs, sugar, salt and vanillin or vanilla sugar until smooth.
Add melted and slightly cooled butter. Mix. Gradually add sifted flour and knead the dough.
At the end, add raisins and candied fruits.
The dough turns out thick and sticky.
Cover the container with the dough with a lid or cover it with film and put it in a warm place to rise. Make sure there are no drafts. After 1.5-2 hours the dough doubles in volume.
Punch it down and place it in molds to fill 1/2 the volume. Since the dough is very sticky, I grease my hands with vegetable oil. This makes it easier to distribute the dough evenly. Using a damp hand, smooth the surface of the dough. This will help prevent the top crust from cracking. Cover the cakes with a towel and leave to rise for another 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Large Easter cakes (10-12 cm in diameter) are baked for 30-35 minutes. I got 4 Easter cakes with a diameter of 12 cm, and 4 Easter cakes with a diameter of 10 cm.
Remove the cakes from the oven, let cool completely and decorate. I've been using this recipe for years meringue cream. For 8 Easter cakes I made 2 servings of cream.
I piped and dried the leftover meringue.
The cake turns out soft and quite dense.