Easter pie
Description
The pastry is simple and quick to prepare. Today I suggest making a festive cake with candied fruits, although you can use nuts, raisins, or any other dried fruits according to your taste. This soft, rich cake will be a wonderful addition to your Easter table. The Easter wreath symbolizes eternal life, and sharing it with the whole family promises peace and harmony in the home. You can place a kulich, a candle, or brightly colored Easter eggs in the center of the cake. Serve warm or chilled. Perfect with tea.
Instructions
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Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients. Use room temperature ryazhenka. Slightly warm the milk.
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Step 2
First, prepare the starter using part of the sugar and flour from the total amount. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, one teaspoon of sugar, and half (75 ml) of warm milk. Stir well until the yeast dissolves. Then add 35 grams of sifted flour and gently whisk until you get a smooth, lump-free mixture.
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Step 3
The result should be a mixture with a consistency similar to that of liquid sour cream. Cover the bowl with the sponge with a light towel and leave it in a warm place for 15–20 minutes, until it rises.
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Step 4
Add the egg, salt, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Mix well.
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Step 5
Pour in the remaining milk, ryazhenka, and melted butter.
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Step 6
Mix and add the sifted flour.
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Step 7
First, mix the dough with a spoon. Do not add all the flour at once—its amount may vary slightly, so add it gradually to achieve the desired consistency.
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Step 8
Add the remaining flour gradually, carefully controlling the amount to prevent the dough from becoming too dense. Knead the dough by hand until it becomes soft and smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. Then cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 60–90 minutes.
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Step 9
The dough has risen, increasing in volume by 2.5 times.
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Step 10
Carefully knead the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangular sheet about 0.5 cm thick.
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Step 11
Brush the dough with soft butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar. You can substitute regular sugar for brown sugar.
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Step 12
Place the candied fruits over the entire surface of the dough sheet.
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Step 13
Roll the dough up lengthwise into a log.
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Step 14
Roll the log into a ring and carefully transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pinch the ends of the roll together.
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Step 15
With a sharp knife, cut the ring into 4 parts, leaving the ends uncut.
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Step 16
Divide each piece of dough into 3–4 segments, without cutting all the way through to the end. You should end up with an even number of segments. Carefully lift adjacent dough pieces and twist them in opposite directions so that the cut side ends up on top. As a result, the shape will resemble a heart, similar to a soft bun, and the finished pie will look like a wreath.
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Step 17
Repeat the same actions with all the dough pieces. Cover the future pie with plastic wrap or a light towel and let it rise for about 20 minutes.
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Step 18
Using a pastry brush, brush the pie with beaten egg before baking. Before using the egg for glazing the top of the pie, separate half of the egg white for the glaze.
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Step 19
Bake the Easter pie in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Be sure to consider your oven's specific characteristics when choosing the baking mode and time. Let the baked pie cool on a wire rack.
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Step 20
If desired, decorate the cake with icing. To do this, sift the powdered sugar to remove lumps. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork until smooth, then add the powdered sugar and mix. Gradually, drop by drop, add lemon juice, continuing to stir the mixture until you achieve the desired consistency. The icing should be fluid: if it's too thick, add a little more lemon juice; if too thin, mix in some additional powdered sugar. Finally, I added a drop of blue food coloring for tint.
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Step 21
Decorate the completely cooled cake with icing. Leave it for a few minutes to let the icing dry. Optionally, you can sprinkle the cake with sprinkles or wafer decorations.
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Step 22
Cut the pie into portion pieces and serve.