Paskha
The following post is probably a week too late. But, as they say it is better late than never, and I guess this way you will be well prepared for next Easter. Well actually the reason why I am late with this story is because I wanted to wait and try the genuine thing before I devised my own version and wrote of it. And for this thing I had to wait until Easter Sunday.
What exactly is this “thing”?
It is Paskha. For those who don’t know what Paskha is, allow me the pleasure of introducing you. 
Paskha is Russian for a very rich dessert made from fresh cream cheese, sweetened with sugar and enriched with egg yolk, butter and cream. It is flavoured with citrus zest, spices or vanilla and may also contain dried or glace fruits and nuts. This divinely rich cheese is pressed into a mould and is allowed to drain over night. It is served on Easter Sunday to accompany the traditional yeast raised bread, known as Kulich. The whole thing comes together like a deconstructed cheesecake and is just heavenly. It is possibly the richest dessert imaginable to human kind, and I am so in love with it. Much the same way that I am with my boyfriend.
Even though I had heard of Paskha, Easter Sunday lunch was my first taste. I had the privilege to celebrate Russian Easter with my partners extended family. I also was allowed the recipe and secrets of making Paskha, from the host of the lunch, Christine. Other family members had their own versions of making Paskha, which were communicated to me, along with a few vodka shots. From this family gathering, and through my own independent research during the past week, I devised my own formula. Why? Simply because I like to work on culinary ideas, and to interpret them to my way of thinking, making them my own, if not better than the original.
You will notice I haven’t provided a recipe for the Easter bread. Kulich requires a bit more skill to master than Paskha. I will work on that during the next 12 months. The one you see in the photo, I bought from the local Russian bakery.
In the meantime I hope you enjoy this sweet treat as much as I do. One Russian food writer I came across said, “this dish is so rich that all but the most hardy (or gluttonous) are able to eat more than a few spoonfuls”. I don’t think I need to tell you which one of those two descriptions I am!
Ingredients
500g European style cream cheese (full fat)
115g cultured unsalted butter
220g caster sugar
3 free range egg yolks
160ml sour cream (full fat)
½ tsp very finely chopped lemon zest
½ tsp very finely chopped orange zest
1 very fresh and plump vanilla bean
Method
Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Using a wooden spoon, beat together the butter and caster sugar, until creamy and fluffy. This part does require effort and there is no substitute for this step, in my view. A food processor will not give you a better result.
Beat in the egg yolks, one by one.
Mix in the sour cream.
Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the mix, along with the citrus zests. Taste and add more if you think it needs it. I have stipulated the above amounts as a starting point. I added more as I wanted my Paskha to be very perfumed. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg. You can add cardamom, as well. It is important to not overwork the mixture, as heat will allow the butter to melt and split.
Pass the cheese through the finest disc of the mouli, and incorporate the cheese into the butter/ egg yolk/ cream mixture.
Now, you will need a mould. Traditional Paskha moulds are available from Russian churches. You can fashion one out of any dome or pymarid shaped receptacle by punching a few holes in the base to facilitate drainage. My kind husband (husband is gay talk for long term boyfriend) made one for me, from a plastic milk shake container.
Line your chosen mould with a damp cheesecloth or muslin and spoon in your Paskha mixture. Place a weight on top and refrigerate for 24 hours.
When ready to eat, turn upside down. And remove the mould and cloth.
Serve with Kulich or another dense and enriched yeast dough.
Enough for 6 gluttons.
