Chocolate kulich
Description
The recipe won't take much time. In order to get a tasty pastry, you need to use fresh and quality ingredients. High‑grade flour will do, butter with a fat content of at least 82 %, whole milk, good quality cocoa powder, and fresh yeast. I use dry yeast, but you can replace it with fresh yeast at three times the weight. Adjust the sugar, amount and variety of dried fruits to your taste. It can be served with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients on the list.
- 2
Step 2
Activate the yeast: pour warm milk into a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of sugar from the total amount and the dry yeast. Stir and leave in a warm place for 5–10 minutes. During this time a “cap” will appear on the surface — that means the yeast is fresh and can be used.
- 3
Step 3
In a separate deep bowl, sift the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.
- 4
Step 4
In a separate bowl, place the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla. Cream into a homogeneous mixture.
- 5
Step 5
Beat the eggs into the butter mixture and whisk together.
- 6
Step 6
Add the reactivated yeast with milk to the flour and cocoa powder.
- 7
Step 7
Pour the egg‑butter mixture.
- 8
Step 8
Knead a soft, slightly sticky-to-the-hands dough. Cover with a clean towel and let it rest in a warm place for 40‑60 minutes.
- 9
Step 9
During this time, the dough will rise well.
- 10
Step 10
Add the pre‑washed and dried raisins and orange zest to the risen dough. Thoroughly fold the dried fruits into the dough.
- 11
Step 11
Place the dough in the cake molds up to half. Cover with a towel and let it rest in a warm place for another 30-40 minutes.
- 12
Step 12
When the dough rises almost to the edges, place it to bake in a pre‑heated oven at 170 °C for 35–40 minutes. About 10 minutes before it’s done, cover the tops of the cakes with foil so they don’t burn.
- 13
Step 13
Check the doneness of the kulich with a wooden stick—it should come out of the middle of the cake completely dry. Let the kulich cool in the pan for a while, then carefully remove it and let it cool completely.
- 14
Step 14
Prepare the ingredients for the glaze according to the list.
- 15
Step 15
Mix the sifted powdered sugar with cocoa powder.
- 16
Step 16
Add egg white and lemon juice.
- 17
Step 17
Whisk or blend until you have a smooth, uniform glaze.
- 18
Step 18
Dip the kulichs in the glaze or coat them using a spatula.
- 19
Step 19
Turn the cakes onto a plate and garnish as desired. I sprinkled them with almond petals.
- 20
Step 20
Happy Easter, friends!