I am sharing with you another recipe for Easter cakes - today we will cook them on the so-called Alexandria or Vienna test. A very unexpected (for me personally) dough kneading technology and a predictably fabulous result. Predictably, because Alexandria Easter cakes have been baked by many hostesses for many years and are always satisfied with the finished pastries. The most delicate crumb, very fragrant, juicy and rich in taste - in general, perfect, you can’t say otherwise!
Let me explain a little what was unusual for me. The fact is that, as a rule, dough is made with the addition of flour, depending on the amount of which its density varies. And here there is no flour at all, not a gram! But there is a large amount of butter, which is part of the dough. This is the second thing that surprised me, because it is customary to introduce fats into the dough at the final stage, and here at the very beginning (and long before the flour).
Yeast dough for Alexandrian Easter cakes is not much different from the dough for this kind of homemade baking: it is just as tender, very soft and very sticky to your hands. There is no need to succumb to the temptation and fill the dough with flour to make it easier to mix - in this case, the finished pastries will not be fluffy and airy. As additives and flavors, you can use whatever you want: I used lemon zest and vanillin for aroma, and light raisins for taste.
Ingredients:
Opara:
Main batch:
Icing:
Cooking step by step with photos:
Here are all the products that are included in the recipe for Alexandrian Easter cakes: premium wheat flour, baked milk, granulated sugar and powdered sugar, chicken eggs, butter, raisins, lemon juice and zest, fresh yeast, salt and vanillin (can be replaced with a teaspoon of vanilla Sahara). Baked milk can be easily prepared on your own - on the stove or in a slow cooker (). I used eggs of medium size (about 55 grams each), with 1 protein left for glaze, and 2 proteins and 3 yolks went into the dough. Choose any raisins - I have a golden one, it is sweet and very tasty. It is not necessary to use fresh (pressed) yeast - dry yeast is perfect (about 12 grams or 2 teaspoons with a slide).
In the evening we will prepare a dough (if this mass can be called that). In a fairly large bowl, combine 3 egg yolks, 2 whites and 230 grams of granulated sugar. Thoroughly mix everything with a spoon or with a mixer (whisk) - let the sugar crystals dissolve.
Next, add 125 grams of soft butter, which we either cut into small pieces or simply break with a spoon. Mix it into the egg mixture.
During this time, the dough will rise and begin to fall, while the oil layer will be clearly visible on the surface, and fermentation will take place under it (many, many air bubbles). My dough wandered for 9 hours.
It's time to move on to kneading the dough for our Alexandrian Easter cakes. Choose a suitable container, pour the dough into it. Add 600 grams (may need a little more or a little less depending on the moisture content of the flour) of sifted premium wheat flour, mixed with a pinch of vanilla and a quarter teaspoon of fine table salt. We immediately put 1 tablespoon of chopped lemon (you can orange, if you want) zest there - this is about 1 large lemon.
Mix all the ingredients to make a sticky cookie dough. It does not look like yeast dough for bread - the dough for Easter cakes is much softer and very sticky to hands. Now it's time to add 100 grams of raisins, which must first be washed and dried. If the raisins are too dry, soak them in water for 10-15 minutes, then pat dry.
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes with your hands, which can be slightly oiled. We round the dough, tighten the bowl with cling film or cover with a towel and leave to ferment warm for 1.5 hours. Where is it better to ferment the dough and what does a warm place mean? There are several options. First of all, in the oven with the light on (it turns out about 28-30 degrees - the ideal temperature for fermenting yeast dough). Then we tighten the bowl with the dough with cling film or cover it with a towel made of natural fabric (linen is best) so that the surface does not wind up and become crusty. You can also let the dough ferment in the microwave, in which we first bring a glass of water to a boil. The dough will rise with the door closed, and the glass will stand there. Then you don’t need to close the bowl with anything, as the water will evaporate, thereby maintaining the necessary humidity. Just make sure that no one inadvertently turns on the microwave, otherwise the dough will disappear and there will be no Easter cakes.
After about an hour and a half, the yeast dough will at least double in size, and maybe more. Gently punch it down and place it in a baking dish.
I got a test for 3 cakes. Each blank weighs 460 grams. I used paper forms (12 centimeters on the bottom and 10 centimeters in height). It is important to apply the dough no more than half the volume so that the Easter cakes do not run away during the baking process. We cover the blanks with cling film so that the dough does not wind up and does not become covered with a crust. We send for proofing in a warm place until the dough grows one and a half to two times. It took me 1.5 hours.
This amazing recipe for Easter cake has two features - it is prepared with baked milk, which gives it a special incomparable creamy taste and a very unusual method of kneading.
I made this recipe for the first time last year. Attracted and at first alerted by the unusual technology of dough preparation. Therefore, today I decided to show you the Alexandrian dough for Easter cakes step by step in all its beauty and unusualness.
The recipe, I would say, is paradoxical - against all the rules of rich yeast baking - and they mixed fat and sugar with yeast at once, we don’t add flour at all at first ... And the Easter cakes turned out to be excellent - lush, fragrant and very tasty.
I still don’t know for sure whether I will bake Easter cakes on the Alexandrian dough this year - I just want to please my loved ones with new Easter baking recipes that I recently “trained on”. Although everything is possible :).
I was very pleased with this unusual method in terms of its practicality and saving time on the hectic pre-holiday days of Holy Week. After all, there is a lot to be done, and time is usually not enough ...
In the same version, it is very convenient that all the ingredients are mixed except for flour, salt and raisins. It turns out such a dough without flour :), which is left in a moderately warm place for the whole night. Opara slowly “sings” and, in principle, the process itself is not laborious when mixing, and also does not require special attention later (“dancing with a tambourine”, as my husband sometimes comments on my jumps around the dough).
In the morning it remains to knead the dough (it turns out quickly), let it rise once and bake Easter cakes. But first things first.
Products for kneading:
- Baked milk - 200 ml
- Chicken egg - 2 pcs.
- Yolk -1 pc.
- Sugar - 200 g
- Fresh yeast - 20 g
- Butter - 100 g
- Raisins - 40-50 g
- Vanillin - 1/3 teaspoon
- Salt - ¼ teaspoon
- Wheat flour - 500 g ("plus", "minus" - 50 g)
- Zest of two lemons
Step by step cooking
- Step one. Mix yeast with warmed baked milk. You can buy it, or you can make it yourself in a slow cooker.
- Step two. Beat the eggs with sugar until it is completely dissolved, but without much fanaticism (in the sense you do not need to beat into foam, as for a cream :))
- Step three. The butter does not need to be melted, it is enough that it is slightly softened.
- Step four. Mix all these ingredients in a bowl, cover with a lid or wrap with cling film, cover with a towel on top and leave in a warm place for 8-12 hours. I put the "dough", if you can call it that, at six o'clock in the evening. In the morning at six I kneaded the dough, after two hours and fifteen minutes (I specially timed it :)) I had already set the first batch of Easter cakes to bake. One of the few recipes when you have the feeling that everything was prepared very easily and turned out by itself 🙂
- Step five. In the evening, I prepared raisins: I washed them and steamed them with boiling water (you can use tea) for 5-7 minutes. Then left until the morning on a paper towel to dry. In the morning I “powdered” the raisins with flour so that they would not settle in Easter cakes.
- Step seven. Let the dough rise in a warm place. I sent it to the oven heated to 50 degrees and turned off. (As the oven cools down, turn it on again for a short while) The dough should double in size.
- Step nine. We bake Easter cakes at a temperature of 170-180 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
- Cool cakes completely, cover the top with icing. You can find recipes for successful glaze for every taste on the pages of this site. Or in this video:
Try it, Alexandrian dough for Easter cakes is just a bomb! I showed you how to do it, told you about all the secrets. The method is not capricious, it should work well for beginner Easter baking masters. Happy holidays to all 🙂 Share the recipe with your friends - click on the social media buttons, I will be very grateful to you!
Alexandrian dough for Easter cakes is an unusual, against the rules way of preparation and a very tasty result.Once I found on the Internet the recipe "Alexandria dough for Easter cakes - it's just a bomb!" Naturally, I could not pass by, and tried it. This recipe makes classic cookies. The dough rises very well, I would say, they are distinguished by increased airiness. Perhaps because of the fact that the dough is made outside the box - it stands longer than in other recipes. At the same time, a delicate creamy taste. The dough is tender and soft. And today I will tell you how to make Alexandrian dough for Easter cakes step by step.
Please note that the recipe for a large number of Easter cakes. I made one-fifth of the dough, and a large cake came out, weighing about 1 kg. So calculate your strength, from one fifth of the ingredients you will get one very large Alexandrian Easter cake or three medium ones. But, if you bake on an industrial scale and give gifts to all relatives (or make Easter cakes to order), then you can safely bake about 5 kg of Easter cakes from one batch of Alexandrian dough, so this is also a bomb in terms of volume!
I made this recipe last year and I really liked it. Therefore, I will cook it for Easter 2018 as well. Because it turned out very tasty, and my friends tried it and wrote good reviews.
Alexandria cake stays fresh for a long time. And the longer it goes on, the tastier it gets!
Alexandrian dough for Easter cakes step by step at home
Products:
baked milk - 1 liter,
sugar - 1 kg,
butter - half a kilogram,
eggs - 10 pcs.,
yolks - 3 pcs.,
pressed yeast - 150 gr,
salt - 1 tsp,
raisins - 200 gr.,
vanilla sugar - 3 sachets or vanillin,
cognac - 2 tbsp. l.,
flour - 2.5 kg
How to bake Easter cake in the oven
- Beat eggs and yolks a little, add butter cut into pieces, add sugar. Break the yeast into small pieces and also add to the dough. Heat the baked milk to a pleasant temperature, pour in the same.
2. Put to reach in a warm place for 10-12 hours (it is convenient to leave it overnight).
3. When the dough rises, add salt, raisins, pre-soaked with boiling water, vanilla sugar, cognac. Mix. Sift flour.
4. Knead the dough, if necessary, lubricating your hands with vegetable oil. The dough should be soft and sticky.
5. Leave again in a warm place for an hour and a half, so that the Alexandrian dough rises. Then knead and lay out in the form, I laid out less than half of the form.
6. Leave for proofing. The dough will rise again.
7. Put in a cold oven. The baking time depends on the size of the mold. In general, the algorithm is as follows: turn on 100 degrees, bake for 10 minutes. Then turn on 150 degrees, bake for 15 minutes. And increase to 200 and bake for another 15 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time. Then check readiness with a wooden skewer. For small and medium cakes, this time is usually enough. But this one I have is gigantic, and the skewer turned out to be damp. Therefore, I left it for another 15 minutes at a temperature of 200. But then watch out, smell the air so that there are no burnt notes. If the top of the cake has already become quite fried, and the baking is not finished yet, then put wet parchment on top (which I did). At the end of baking, turn off the oven and leave the cake in it for 40 minutes. When you pull it out, then put it on its side, it should cool on its side, you can turn it from side to side. Kulich is ready!
Every day this great holiday is approaching closer and closer - the Day of Easter. This year we celebrate it on April 28th.
The attributes of Christ's Resurrection are: cottage cheese Easter, and. Each of them has its own meaning and is a symbol of famous events. We will not dwell on this, since I have already written about them more than once. This pastry is always baked for this holiday to eat by yourself and treat your family and friends. They are a decoration of the table and delight us with their appearance. After all, they can be decorated not only with confectionery powder, but also with ribbons and symbolic figures.
Today I will tell you how to cook Alexandrian Easter cake and a great icing for it. Of course, you can go and buy them in the store, but I'm not sure if they will be as tasty. In addition, baking yourself is always more profitable than overpaying. So take your good mood and get down to business!
The dough for this recipe is very easy to make. This is probably the easiest recipe, as it does not require much effort from you and a lot of time. And, of course, it tastes amazing.
Ingredients:
- Chicken egg - 6 pcs.;
- Butter - 250 gr.;
- Baked milk - 500 ml;
- Sugar - 0.5 kg;
- Pressed yeast - 70 gr.;
- Flour - 1.2 kg;
- Salt - 0.5 teaspoon;
- Vanillin - 2 pinches;
- Lemon zest - 2 tablespoons;
- Raisins - 100 gr;
- Candied fruits - 100 gr.
Cooking:
Usually, the preparation of the Alexandrian Easter cake is divided into two stages: dough and dough kneading. As a rule, for convenience, the first is done at night. Since it should be infused for 8 - 12 hours. And in the morning they knead it.
All foods must be at room temperature. Therefore, remove the ingredients in advance from the refrigerator.
1. Whisk two yolks and 4 eggs in a deep bowl. The remaining proteins will be useful to us in the preparation of the glaze. We cover them with something so that they do not dry out, and put them in the refrigerator.
Pour the sugar into the eggs and continue beating until it dissolves.
2. Crumble the pressed yeast with your hands into another cup. But you can crush them with a fork. Add a little warm baked milk to them and mix until all the yeast lumps are dissolved. This is much easier to do if the mixture stands a little.
3. Butter should be very soft and melted. If it is not, then prepare it by melting it in a water bath or microwave until soft. Just don't overdo it! Since it should only melt a little and be warm. If guarded, then let it cool down because our yeast will boil in hot.
Add the butter to the egg mixture while continuing to stir.
4. Then, little by little, pour in the yeast mass, as well as the remaining baked milk. We mix everything well. Keep in mind that the oil does not completely dissolve. It comes in lumps and that's okay.
5. We cover the container with the dough with cling film or a clean towel and put it in a warm place for 8-12 hours.
6. We pass to the second stage. Let's prepare our stuffing. To do this, wash the raisins through a sieve under running water and pour boiling water over them. Let it steep for 20 minutes. During this time, he will be able to swell well.
The filling will look better in Easter cake if for this you take raisins of different colors: white, brown or black. But it's okay when you only have one color.
Drain the water and dry it with paper towels. First blot it, then leave it to dry.
7. Pour the brew into a large container and add salt.
8. Flour must be sifted several times. This will saturate it with oxygen for the splendor of our products. Add it to the dough in portions and mix. You can use a spoon or a mixer with special nozzles for this. When it becomes difficult to use it, then grease your hands with vegetable oil and continue to work with them on a table sprinkled with flour.
9. If you have already used half the flour, add vanillin, raisins, candied fruit and lemon zest grated on a fine grater to the dough. It gives Easter cakes an elusive fresh citrus aroma. Continue kneading as you add the rest of the flour.
10. Cover the container with a towel or cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1.5 - 2 hours. The flour mass should double in size.
11. Prepare baking dishes. Disposable paper and silicone do not require lubrication. Grease the metal ones with vegetable oil and sprinkle with flour.
12. Fill them with dough for 1/3 of the volume. We cover with a napkin and wait for it to settle and rise. The volume will double again. This will take approximately 40 minutes.
13. We heat the oven to 180 degrees and send our forms into it. The baking time depends on their size. Do not open the oven for 20 minutes. Then cover the tops with parchment and continue baking. It all takes about 40-50 minutes.
Check readiness with a toothpick or skewer. Pierce pastries with it. If it is dry, then everything inside is perfectly baked. Take them out and leave to cool. Then we take it out of the molds and decorate with icing and confectionery powders.
To prevent the dough from falling off when cooled, lay the products in the molds on their side and periodically roll until completely cooled.
Alexandria cake recipe with cognac and dry yeast
For some reason, most housewives avoid pressed yeast and prefer to use only dry ones. They probably think it's easier with them. But really, it's the same for everyone. And dry ones can also be unusable and spoiled. But in any case, the right yeast is always delicious pastries.
Ingredients:
- Chicken egg - 2 pcs.;
- Sugar - 100 gr.;
- Dry yeast - 1 teaspoon (fresh - 15 gr.);
- Baked milk - 125 ml.;
- Butter - 80 gr.;
- Raisins - 50 gr.;
- Flour - 300 gr.;
- Vanilla sugar - 0.5 teaspoon;
- Salt - 1 pinch;
- Cognac - 1 tablespoon.
Cooking:
1. Milk should be warm, so warm it up a little on the fire or in the microwave. Pour yeast into it and stir until dissolved.
2. We need one egg and one yolk. Leave the white for icing. Cover it with something and put it in the cold. And pour sugar and soft butter into the yolks. Stir until smooth.
3. We send washed and dried raisins to the mixture, as well as milk with yeast. Mix and cover with cling film. Leave to infuse for 8 - 12 hours at room temperature.
4. After the lapse of time, remove the film and stir the dough. Don't be afraid if it has a yeasty smell. It will all go away with the kneading. Add salt, vanilla sugar and cognac to it. We beat with a whisk.
Alcohol is added so that the baked goods are porous, fluffy, soft and crumbly.
5. Add the flour sifted through a sieve in portions and stir after each addition. The dough should not be very thick, otherwise it will not rise well.
6. We prepare forms. Lubricate them with oil and lay out the dough in them, filling only up to half. Leave to proof for 1 hour, covering them with cling film.
7. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce to 180 °. Total baking time 40 - 50 minutes. Time depends on the size of the molds. Readiness is checked with a wooden stick.
8. We take out of the oven and leave to cool. It is not necessary to pull out paper forms. After all, they are beautiful and it is just right for table decor. It remains only to grease them with icing and decorate with confectionery decorations.
Video on how to cook Alexandria cake
I also suggest watching a video that I came across on the Internet. I am sure that someone will not only like it, but also come in handy. After all, it shows in detail how to prepare the dough and the dough itself. They also indicate in what proportions to do it. If you cook Easter cakes on it, then please share your impressions with us.
I hope everything was clear in this video, if not, then ask questions and I will be happy to answer them. And we will move on to the preparation of the glaze.
Easter cake icing
For this glaze you need a minimum of products. In addition, almost everyone has them in the kitchen. It can be used not only for decorating Easter cakes, but also for any pastries.
Ingredients:
- Chicken egg - 1 pc.;
- Powdered sugar - 120 gr.;
- Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon.
Cooking:
1. For whipping, we need a deep container. It just has to be dry. Put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Eggs are also false to be cold. In it, we separate the protein from the yolk. We will use only protein. We begin to beat it with a mixer at a minimum speed of 20 seconds.
2. Then, little by little, add powdered sugar. When you've used it all up, add lemon juice. We continue to work with the mixer. This may take 5 to 10 minutes. The mass is ready when it does not drain from the spoon, but remains in the position in which you left it.
The mass turns out so lush and beautiful that one kind of saliva flows. By the way, marshmallows are made from this mixture.
I hope you enjoyed the recipes and you will cook Easter cakes according to them. This delicious pastry will delight you on such a wonderful day.
Happy Easter to you!