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Easter Cake with Orange Zest and Juice
Instructions
Before starting to prepare the cake, prepare all the ingredients in advance. At least an hour beforehand, place them on the table and measure by weight or quantity. This golden rule allows the ingredients to reach the same temperature and ensures everything is at hand during cooking.
First prepare the sponge. Heat the milk to 30-35°C, add the yeast. From the total amount of ingredients, add one tablespoon of flour and one teaspoon of sugar. The sponge gives the yeast a friendly environment to wake up before facing the full dough.
Mix the sponge thoroughly. Both fresh and dry yeast can be used — see the recipe for calculations. The bowl with the sponge needs to be placed in a warm place without drafts. The microwave can work perfectly. Place the sponge inside and put a cup of hot water next to it. Do not turn on the microwave — just use it as a draft-free chamber.
While the sponge rises, prepare the dough. Place the cottage cheese and soft butter in a blender cup. The smooth blended mixture gives the kulich its signature tender, fine crumb structure.
Blend the mixture until smooth. The combination of cottage cheese and butter should be completely homogeneous with no visible lumps. This step takes only a few seconds with a good blender.
In a large bowl, beat two eggs and one yolk. Save the egg white for the glaze if you want to use it instead of the orange-juice version. Both glazes work; the orange one is bolder and more colorful.
Add salt, vanilla sugar, and a pinch of turmeric to give a rich color. Start beating. The turmeric is optional but adds a beautiful golden hue that makes the kulich look like it has even more egg yolks than it does.
Gradually add all the sugar while beating until the mixture becomes fluffy and pale. The gradual incorporation prevents the eggs from collapsing under the weight of all the sugar dumped in at once.
Add the blended cottage cheese and butter mixture along with the prepared orange juice to the egg mixture. The wet ingredients now form the rich, fragrant base of the dough.
Add the grated zest to the egg mixture as well. The zest carries the most concentrated orange flavor and aroma, far more than the juice alone provides.
Carefully mix everything with a spatula. By this time, the yeast has started working well and the sponge has risen. Add the sponge to the main mass and fold it in gently to preserve the air bubbles already developed.
Gradually introduce the sifted flour, mixing thoroughly. The amount of flour may vary slightly more or less, depending on the size of the orange and the resulting juice volume. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky rather than firm.
Knead the mixture well with a spoon or spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise. The dough should increase two and a half to three times in volume. This may take two hours, sometimes more depending on the yeast strength and room temperature.
During this time, prepare the citrus candied fruits and raisins. Wash the raisins in warm water and dry them. Once the raisins are dry, toss them in flour so they distribute evenly throughout the molded kulich instead of sinking to the bottom.
The dough has risen in the microwave for two and a half hours; it has risen well. We did not turn on the microwave — it simply served as a closed, draft-free space. A cup of hot water next to the dough kept the temperature mildly warm and accelerated the rise.
Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl and add the candied fruits and raisins. Mix the dough with a spatula, folding the additions through evenly without deflating the airy structure.
Grease paper molds with vegetable oil using a silicone brush. Fill the dough halfway up the mold, leaving space for the dough to rise further during the final proof and the initial oven spring.
The kulich bakes for exactly one hour at 170°C. Check readiness with a wooden skewer, and only then take the cake out of the oven. Leave the kulichs on a rack to cool for about an hour before glazing.
For the orange kulich, prepare an unusual glaze without egg white. Take one hundred grams of powdered sugar and add only two teaspoons of orange juice. Mix well. To keep the glaze from becoming too runny, add only one teaspoon of juice initially, mix thoroughly, and add more if needed. Sometimes only half a teaspoon is required.
Add a pinch of turmeric to the glaze to give it a brighter orange color. Food coloring works too but is optional. The natural turmeric color looks more authentic and matches the citrus theme of the cake.
Cover the kulichs with glaze. This icing hardens quickly, so if decorating with sprinkles, work fast to apply them before the surface sets. Sprinkles should adhere to the still-wet glaze for the best stick.
Leave the orange kulichs on the rack until the glaze is completely dry. The kulich with orange zest and juice is ready. Such kulichs delight children and citrus lovers alike. Definitely worth making this recipe; it might just become your family’s new traditional Easter cake. Wishing everyone a bright Easter!
Tips
- 1
Use the freshest, juiciest orange you can find. The flavor of this cake depends almost entirely on the quality of the citrus — a tired, dry orange will produce a dull cake even with perfect technique elsewhere. Choose oranges that feel heavy for their size with bright, taut skin. Organic when possible since you are using the zest which carries any pesticide residues from conventional citrus.
- 2
Tossing the raisins and candied fruits in flour before adding to the dough is non-negotiable. Without the flour coating, the heavier fruit sinks to the bottom of the mold during baking and creates an uneven cake with no fruit in the upper portion. The thin flour coating provides just enough friction for the dough to suspend the fruit evenly. The same trick works for studded fruit in honey cake with prunes and other studded baked goods.
- 3
Do not over-knead the dough. Kulich dough is meant to be soft and slightly sticky — over-working it develops too much gluten and produces a tough, bread-like cake instead of the soft, tender crumb that defines a great kulich. Mix just until everything is combined, then let the long fermentation do the structural work.
- 4
Place the warm kulichs on their sides on a folded towel during cooling, rotating periodically. This prevents the tops from sinking under the weight of the rest of the cake while still warm. Once completely cool, the cakes hold their shape upright. Serve with cottage cheese Easter cake, dyed eggs, and slices of homemade bread for the complete traditional Easter spread.
FAQ
Why did my kulich come out dense? +
Three usual culprits: old yeast that lacked rising power, dough that was over-kneaded developing too much gluten, or insufficient rising time. Test yeast freshness by dissolving a teaspoon in warm water with a pinch of sugar; it should foam within 10 minutes. Mix the dough just until combined, never beat it. And let the dough rise until truly doubled, even if it takes longer than the recipe says — ambient temperature affects rising time significantly.
Can I make this kulich without cottage cheese? +
The cottage cheese is part of what makes this version different from traditional kulich, contributing tenderness and a subtle tang. Removing it changes the cake fundamentally. If you cannot find cottage cheese, substitute equal weight of mascarpone or strained Greek yogurt — both have similar fat-to-moisture ratios. The flavor will differ slightly but the texture stays close to the original.
How long does Easter cake keep? +
Properly wrapped in clean cloth and stored at room temperature, kulich keeps for 4-5 days. Refrigeration extends life to about a week but slightly dries the crumb. For longer storage, slice and freeze portions for up to 2 months. Thaw frozen slices wrapped in foil to retain moisture. The glaze becomes slightly tacky after the first day; this is normal and not a sign of spoilage.
Can I bake the kulich in regular muffin tins instead of tall molds? +
You can, but the appearance will be quite different from traditional tall kulich. Muffin-shaped kulichs still taste good but lose the iconic mushroom-cap profile. Paper kulich molds (panettone-style) are widely available online for a few dollars and produce the proper shape. If using regular pans, line tall narrow molds with parchment paper to create homemade tall molds. The taste stays the same regardless of shape.
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