Cheese Paska
Raw cheese paska is delicious right up until you remember the raw yolks in it. The cooked version settles that for good: yolks and cream are taken to 82 °C, which also makes the mixture thicker, more stable and longer keeping. The rest is dry curd, cold and patience.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 12 h
- Total
- 12 h 55 min
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 430 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: one 1.5 kg paska, 10 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Drain the curd
Tie the cheese in muslin and leave it under a weight in the fridge for 2 hours. Wet curd will not hold the shape and the paska slumps on the plate.
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Step 2: Get the curd ready
Use ready-made smooth curd from a block, so there is nothing to sieve. Keep the blender away: the blades tear the protein and the mass goes stringy and loose.
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Step 3: Cook the custard base
Whisk the yolks with the sugar, add the cream and heat gently, stirring without stopping, to 82 °C — it thickens and a finger drawn across the spatula leaves a clean line. Never let it boil or the yolks scramble.
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Step 4: Cool the base
Pour it into a cold bowl and cool to room temperature, stirring now and then. A hot base melts the butter and the paska separates.
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Step 5: Beat the butter
Beat the soft butter with the vanilla sugar for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy; this is what holds the shape once the paska is chilled.
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Step 6: Bring it together
Add the cheese to the butter, then the custard base in stages with the pinch of salt, mixing until smooth. Fold in the raisins and candied peel last.
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Step 7: Fill the mould
Line the mould with two layers of damp muslin, pack the mixture in spoon by spoon, tapping the mould on the table so no air pockets remain, and fold the cloth over the top.
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Step 8: Weight it overnight
Stand the mould narrow end down in a bowl, put a weight of about 1 kg on top and refrigerate for 12 hours. The whey drains out and the paska firms up. Turn it out, peel off the cloth and decorate.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Use dry, smooth pressed curd at around 9% fat from a block, not a soft spreadable tub. How wet the cheese is decides whether the paska stands up.
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Swap
No traditional mould? A new clay flowerpot with a drainage hole, or a colander, works — what matters is somewhere for the whey to go.
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Variation
For a chocolate version stir 80 g of melted dark chocolate into the custard base and swap the candied peel for toasted almonds.
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Storage
Up to 4 days covered in the fridge. Do not freeze it: thawed, the mixture turns grainy and weeps water.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 430 kcal | 4,300 kcal |
| Protein | 13 g | 130 g |
| Fat | 28 g | 280 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31 g | 310 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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