Top 10 Best Easter Cake Dough Recipes

Kulich is a must-have treat on the festive Easter table. Every housewife wants to surprise and delight her family with a delicious and unusual baked good. I offer a selection of the most successful recipes using the most delicious dough.

In this article, you'll find recipes for yeast-based, yeast-free, and choux pastry, as well as doughs made with cottage cheese, whey, and cocoa. I'll also explain how to bake in the oven and in a bread machine, as well as how to make a trendy craffin.

A rich Easter cake made from Alexandrian dough with dry yeast

If you've decided to make an Alexandrian kulich using dry yeast, this recipe is ideal. Kulis baked this way are fluffy, airy, and very light. The alcohol in the recipe helps loosen the yeast dough, allowing it to rise better. Cognac is most often used, but it can easily be substituted with an equal amount of vodka, rum, or liqueur.

Ingredients

• Baked milk - 500 g
• Flour - 1250 g
• Butter - 250 g
• Sugar - 500 g
• Eggs - 7 pcs.
• Cognac - 1 tbsp.
• Dry yeast (fast-acting) - 15 g
• Raisins - 250 g
• Vanilla sugar - 1 tbsp.
• Zest of 1 orange - 1 tbsp. l.
• Salt - 1/2 tsp.

Cooking time: 2 hours plus 8-12 hours for the dough

Servings: 3 large and 6 small

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Make the dough. In a deep bowl, combine 5 eggs and 2 yolks, sugar, and softened butter. Mix.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, combine warm milk (30-36 degrees) and yeast.

Step 3

Combine both mixtures. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours or at room temperature for 8-10 hours.

Step 4

Grate the orange zest. Wash the raisins and sprinkle them with a little flour.

Step 5

Transfer the dough mixture to a deep bowl. Add raisins, zest, cognac, vanilla sugar, and salt.

Step 6

Gradually add flour. Knead the dough until it stops sticking.

Step 7

Place the dough in a saucepan, cover with a towel and leave in a warm place to rise.

Step 8

Knead the risen dough and divide it into the molds. Fill them halfway. Let them rise for an hour. Bake the kulichi at 180 degrees Celsius for 40-45 minutes.

Step 9

These are the Easter cakes we got. Decorate them as you wish.

Recipe for cottage cheese yeast-free dough

Cottage cheese pastries have a wonderful flavor and aroma, and are moist and tender. Yeast-free dough is easy to make, requiring no fiddling or time-consuming preparation. So, if you want quick and easy Easter cakes, try this recipe for yeast-free cottage cheese dough. Everyone who tries it is sure to love it!

Ingredients

• Eggs - 3 pcs.
• Sugar - 160 g
• Butter - 100 g
• Cottage cheese (9%) - 300 g
• Flour - 250 g
• Raisins, candied fruits - 100 g
• Salt - a pinch
• Soda - a pinch
• Vanillin - a pinch
• Zest of one lemon
• Baking powder - 12 g (1 tbsp)

Cooking time: 60-90 minutes

Servings: 5 Easter cakes in a mold with a diameter of 7 cm and a height of 8 cm

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Pour the eggs into a deep bowl and beat with a mixer.

Step 2

Continue whisking until the mixture turns white and doubles in volume.

Step 3

Pour in the softened butter. Continue whisking.

Step 4

Add the cottage cheese in two stages and beat again.

Step 5

Add lemon zest, baking soda, salt and vanillin.

Step 6

Add raisins and candied fruits.

Step 7

Add sifted flour and baking powder.

Step 8

Grease paper muffin tins with sunflower oil and fill them about halfway with dough. Smooth out the surface of the dough.

Step 9

Bake at 180 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

Step 10

These are the beautiful yeast-free Easter cakes made with cottage cheese dough!

To achieve a stunning result, it's essential to know the right consistency for your kulich dough. Yeast is quite finicky, so the wrong consistency can ruin your baked goods. If the dough is too thin, the kulich won't hold its shape, will spread out, and won't rise; if it's too thick, it won't rise, will remain dense, and will quickly go stale. The right kulich dough meets the following criteria: it's as fluid as possible, yet doesn't stick to your hands or surfaces, and it can be cut with a knife without being stretchy.

Choux pastry for Easter cake: a simple recipe

If you prefer moist and heavy baked goods, you'll love this recipe. The kulich made this way turns out quite moist and delicious. It's quite simple and quick to make, without any dough. If you've been looking for a similar recipe, be sure to give it a try!

Ingredients

• Milk - 300 ml
• Sugar - 200 g
• Egg yolks - 5 pcs.
• Flour - 600 g
• Butter - 100 g
• Live yeast - 40 g
• Sunflower oil - 20 ml
• Raisins - 70 g
• Lemon and orange zest
• Cinnamon - 0.5 tsp.
• Vanilla sugar - 1 tsp.
• Salt - 1 tsp.

Cooking time: 6-7 hours

Servings: 2

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Prepare the custard base. Take 3 tbsp. l. flour (from the total amount).

Step 2

Bring the milk to a boil and pour it into the flour. Mix. Let cool.

Step 3

Add sugar.

Step 4

Lemon and orange zest.

Step 5

Add yeast.

Step 6

Place the yolks.

Step 7

Add cinnamon, salt, and vanilla sugar. Mix everything well.

Step 8

Begin adding flour. Sift it in small portions. First, mix with a spoon, then with your hands.

Step 9

Add softened butter. Knead the dough.

Step 10

Pour in the sunflower oil. Knead the dough. Leave it to rise for 1-2 hours.

Step 11

After the dough has risen, punch it down and let it rise again.

Step 12

After the dough has risen again, punch it down, place it on a table greased with sunflower oil, and knead it well. Gradually stir in the raisins.

Step 13

To make the dough flaky, grease its surface with butter and knead it well again for 10 minutes.

Step 14

Divide the dough into portions, place into molds, and let rise.

Step 15

Brush the risen dough with egg and place in the oven. Bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 30-35 minutes.

The Best Pastry for Easter Cakes: Raisin Cruffin

If you're looking to make a beautiful, unusual, delicious, and original Easter cake, a craffin is just what you need. This festive pastry has become incredibly popular among home cooks in recent years. If you haven't made a craffin yet, now's the time to give it a try! This recipe is tried and true. The cakes will turn out delicious and beautiful.

Ingredients

Dough:

• Milk - 80 ml
• Sugar - 1 tbsp.
• Live yeast - 18 g
• Flour - 2 tbsp.

Dough:

• Egg - 1 pc.
• Egg yolk - 2 pcs.
• Flour - 350 g
• Orange juice - 2 tbsp.
• Butter - 140 g
• Sugar - 100 g
• Salt - a pinch
• Orange zest
• Raisins - 100 g
• Almond petals - 50 g

Cooking time: 2-3 hours

Servings: 1

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Prepare the dough. Pour milk (37-40 degrees) into a deep bowl.

Step 2

Add sugar.

Step 3

Crushed yeast.

Step 4

Add flour. Mix. Leave for 10 minutes.

Step 5

Place the eggs in a separate bowl.

Step 6

Add orange juice and sugar.

Step 7

Melt 40 g of butter (from the total amount) and pour into the dough.

Step 8

Add the zest and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Step 9

Pour in the dough.

Step 10

Add sifted flour.

Step 11

Knead the dough, first with a spatula, then with your hands. Place it in a deep bowl and let it rest for 40 minutes.

Step 12

Dust the surface with flour. Divide the dough into two parts. Roll out one half into a thin layer and grease with butter. Arrange raisins and almonds on top.

Step 13

Carefully roll the dough into a “sausage”.

Step 14

We do the same with the second half of the dough. As we roll it, we wrap it around the first "sausage."

Step 15

Using a sharp knife, cut the "sausage" in half lengthwise (without cutting all the way through). Roll it into a "snail," as shown in the photo, turning it inside out.

Step 16

Place the dough in a greased baking pan. Let it rise for 20 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius, then 40 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.

A simple recipe for fluffy Easter cakes: dough with whey

To get tender and airy Easter cakes, you don't have to bake them with milk. You can achieve porous and flavorful baked goods using whey. This recipe is simple and the ingredients are readily available. And the cakes turn out incredibly delicious and beautiful.

Ingredients

• Egg yolks - 5 pcs.
• Dry yeast - 11 g
• Sugar - 150 g
• Butter - 150 g
• Whey - 250 g
• Flour - 600 g
• Raisins - 70 g

Cooking time: 2-3 hours

Servings: 4 Easter cakes in 9 cm diameter molds

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Separate the yolks from the whites.

Step 2

Break the yolks and add the yeast.

Step 3

Add whey and leave for 15 minutes.

Step 4

Pour in melted butter, cooled to room temperature.

Step 5

Add sugar and stir with a spoon until the sugar dissolves.

Step 6

Add the pre-sifted flour in portions, mixing well each time. First with a spoon, then with your hands. Knead the dough for at least 15 minutes, until it no longer sticks to the counter or your hands.

Step 7

Roll out the dough on the table. Place the pre-washed, soaked, and dried raisins on top. Stir the raisins into the dough.

Step 8

Place the dough in a deep bowl and leave for an hour and a half.

Step 9

Knead the risen dough well. Divide into 4 equal parts.

Step 10

Roll each portion of dough into a ball and place it in the mold. Let the molds rest for 40 minutes.

Step 11

The Easter cakes have risen and are ready to bake. Bake them at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes.

You can buy whey for making Easter cakes at a store, a market, or make it at home. The latter option is the most reliable. It also doesn't take much time or effort to prepare. Take a bag of fresh kefir and place it in the freezer. Then, place a colander over a saucepan, line it with cheesecloth, and pour in the completely frozen kefir. When it thaws, the curds will remain in the cheesecloth, and the saucepan will contain fresh whey. This whey isn't exposed to high temperatures and retains its flavor completely.

How to make dough for Easter cake using a sourdough starter

Easter cakes made with yeast dough are airy, porous, tender, and delicious. Although many cooks are wary of using yeast dough, there's nothing scary or difficult about it. Just follow the step-by-step photo recipe carefully, and you're sure to succeed!

Ingredients

Dough:

• Yeast - 17 g
• Sugar - 20 g
• Milk - 125 g
• Flour - 100 g

Dough:

• Sugar - 250 g
• Butter - 180 g
• Chicken yolk - 150 g
• Egg - 100 g
• Flour - 450 g
• Cream 33% - 140 g
• Raisins, cinnamon, zest - optional

Cooking time: 3-4 hours

Servings: 4 medium-sized Easter cakes

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Prepare the dough. Combine the sugar and yeast in a deep bowl.

Step 2

Add milk (37-40 degrees).

Step 3

Add flour. Mix well with a whisk. Let the dough sit for 40 minutes.

Step 4

Let's start preparing the dough. Pour sugar into a deep bowl.

Step 5

Add soft butter. Beat with a mixer.

Step 6

Add the yolks and egg. Beat again.

Step 7

Without stopping whisking, pour in the cream.

Step 8

Add a third of the flour and beat again.

Step 9

Transfer the risen dough. Whisk again. Let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes.

Step 10

After half an hour, add the remaining flour to the dough. Add cinnamon, lemon zest, and salt. Mix again with a mixer.

Step 11

Add raisins and mix again with a spoon or spatula.

Step 12

Transfer the dough into the molds, filling them no more than 1/3 full. Let the dough rise in the molds for 30-40 minutes. Then place the cakes in the oven and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes. Cover the finished cakes with icing and decorate as desired.

Recipe for Easter cake dough with dry yeast for a bread machine

If you're the lucky owner of a bread machine, making Easter cake won't take much time or effort. Simply pour the ingredients into the machine in the correct order and remove the fragrant baked goods when the beep sounds. Intrigued? I'll tell you how to make Easter cake in a bread machine using dry yeast.

Ingredients

• Milk - 150 ml
• Eggs - 3 pcs.
• Sugar - 130 g
• Butter - 100 g
• Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp.
• Flour - 450 g
• Vanillin - 1.5 g
• Salt - 1/2 tsp.
• Yeast - 7 g
• Baking powder - 1/2 tsp.

Cooking time: 4 hours

Servings: 1 kulich weighing 1000 g

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Prepare the ingredients: melt the butter, sift the flour, heat the milk to 37 degrees, lightly beat the eggs with a whisk.

Step 2

First, transfer the liquid ingredients into the bread machine's bowl. Add the milk.

Step 3

Add eggs.

Step 4

Melted butter.

Step 5

Sunflower oil.

Step 6

Let's move on to the dry ingredients: add sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and yeast.

Step 7

Close the bread maker. Select the baking mode depending on your bread maker model. In this case, we'll bake on the "Whole Grain" setting for 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Step 8

Let the finished kulich sit in the turned-off bread machine for 10 minutes. Then remove it and let it cool. Decorate the kulich as desired and enjoy this delicious and fragrant Easter pastry.

Chocolate dough for Easter cake

This Easter cake recipe is sure to please any chocolate-loving lover. It's also perfect for those looking for something interesting and new. Try baking Easter cakes using this recipe and delight your family with delicious, airy, and aromatic pastries.

Ingredients

• Milk - 300 ml
• Sugar - 200 g
• Dry yeast - 7 g
• Vanilla sugar - 10 g
• Eggs - 2 pcs.
• Sunflower oil - 120 g
• Flour - 600 g
• Cocoa - 50 g
• Raisins, candied fruits (to taste) - 150 g

Cooking time: 5-6 hours

Servings: 6 Easter cakes in 10 cm diameter molds

Step-by-step recipe

Step 1

Prepare the necessary ingredients: heat the milk to 37 degrees, sift the flour and cocoa.

Step 2

In a deep bowl, combine flour and yeast.

Step 3

Add cocoa. Mix with a whisk.

Step 4

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla sugar. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Step 5

Without stopping whisking, add sunflower oil.

Step 6

Pour in the milk.

Step 7

Add dry ingredients to the egg and milk mixture.

Step 8

Change the whisk attachment and mix at medium speed until the ingredients are combined.

Step 9

Add the candied fruit. Change the mixer attachment again and mix in the candied fruit.

Step 10

Let the dough rise for 2 hours.

Step 11

Knead the dough. Grease your hands with sunflower oil and divide the dough into the molds, filling them no more than 1/3 full. Let them rise for 1-1.5 hours.

Step 12

Place the risen dough pieces in the oven and bake at 180 degrees for 25-40 minutes.

Video: Delicious Easter cake dough with sour cream

Moist, tender, and airy Easter cakes that stay fresh and delicious for a long time—isn't that what every housewife dreams of? Making these Easter pastries is quite simple. All you need to do is carefully follow the recipe.

In this video, renowned YouTube blogger and chef Olga Matvey will explain how to make sour cream dough, line baking pans with parchment paper, and bake the most delicious Easter cakes. She'll share the secrets of holiday baking with viewers and demonstrate every step of the Easter cake-making process in detail. If you've been searching for a great yeast dough recipe, be sure to check this video out.

There are many recipes for Easter baking. Choose your favorite and share the results of your culinary experiments in the comments!