The Recipe

Serves: 4
Preparation: Overnight
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

In Russia, they make Pashka, a type of cheesecake without the base, full of fruit, nuts, cream, and cheese shaped to look like a tomb.

Growing up in a non-religious household, Easter to me was all about the basket of chocolate eggs some mysterious bunny left outside my bedroom door and eating toasted hot cross buns with a slathering of salted butter for breakfast. No religious reference of Christ rising or the pagan spring equinox festival was part of my Easter vocabulary – only food.

From breaded wreaths in Greece, hot cross buns in Australia or Simnel cake in the UK, there’s always an excuse for some Easter indulgence. In Russia, they make Pashka, a type of cheesecake without the base, full of fruit, nuts, cream, and cheese shaped to look like a tomb. Here’s my version, less tomb like with a touch of red wine and chocolate!

INGREDIENTS

Pashka

60g cranberries
4tblsp red wine
2 egg yolks
60g caster sugar
100g thickened cream
30g/2 tblsp honey
Zest of 2 small orange
4 tsp lemon juice
Pinch cinnamon powder
400g cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tsp good vanilla essence
50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50g toasted almonds, roughly chopped

Cranberry Sauce

80g cranberries
40g sugar
4tblsp red wine

METHOD

Soak cranberries in red wine for 20 minutes
Whisk egg yolk and sugar until creamy and pale in colour
Slowly heat cream until almost boiling
Reduce heat, mix in egg yolk slowly (don’t scramble the eggs!) Set aside to cool
Whisk cream cheese until smooth
Mix in honey, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, orange zest, and lemon juice
Strain cranberries, reserving the wine
Add the cooled egg custard mix to the cream cheese
Add nuts, chocolate & strained cranberries
Line yoghurt containers with cheesecloth and pour in mixture to the top
Place in fridge overnight on stand so liquid drains out
Cook cranberries, sugar, and wine until syrupy
Turn out pashkas, and decorate with cranberry jam & flowers