Traditionally, these cakes are prepared and consumed at Russian Orthodox Easter to break the fast. Kulich, which resemble Italian panettone, are sometimes served with pashka, a sweet, fruity cheese. They do require some work and time (the entire time includes three and a half hours for rising), but they are absolutely worthwhile. Keep leftovers in the fridge.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 12 hrs |
| Total Time: | 13 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 4 kulich |
Ingredients
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 tablespoon vodka
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 cup white sugar, divided
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup orange blossom honey
- 1 medium lemon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 large eggs, divided
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds, or as needed
Instructions
- Make the kulich: Place raisins into a bowl, drizzle with vodka, and let soften, 8 hours to overnight.
- Heat milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until very warm but not simmering. Stir in cardamom and saffron threads. Remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm.
- Meanwhile, mix 1 teaspoon sugar into lukewarm water in a bowl until sugar dissolves. Stir in yeast and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer yeast mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add milk mixture, 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup sugar; beat until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Zest lemon onto waxed paper. Juice lemon into another small bowl and reserve for frosting. Separate egg whites and yolks, reserving 1 egg white for frosting.
- Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt together in a bowl. Pour into the risen dough and beat until combined. Beat in 3 egg yolks and 2 egg whites.
- Mix in 2 1/2 cups flour. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup flour onto a work surface and knead dough until it holds together, about 5 minutes. Knead soaked golden raisins and sliced almonds into dough until well distributed.
- Form dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl; turn dough around in the bowl several times until coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Coat the insides of four clean 14-ounce cans with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Line cans with parchment paper.
- Punch down dough, knead a few times, and divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a ball, place into a can, and press dough lightly against the inside bottom of can. Cover cans with a cloth and allow dough to rise to the top of the cans, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Place a baking sheet into the preheated oven. Place the cans of dough upright onto the baking sheet and bake until kulich are risen and lightly browned, 45 to 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the cans for about 15 minutes, then gently remove from the cans and finish cooling on a wire rack, 25 to 40 minutes.
- Make the frosting: Beat reserved egg white in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Beat in confectioners’ sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat 1 teaspoon reserved lemon juice into frosting; save remaining lemon juice for another use.
- Frost tops of the cooled kulich and sprinkle with toasted almonds.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 356 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 63 g |
| Cholesterol | 53 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 63 mg |
| Sugars | 36 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve made this recipe for a few years now at Pascha, and it is delicious. The reason I gave the recipe only four stars was that it calls for much less flour than is actually needed; if you followed the directions and tried to turn it out onto a floured surface to knead, you’d have a gloppy mess. I wound up using perhaps five cups of flour total. You want enough that the dough holds its shape but is still a bit tacky. I substitute dried cranberries for almonds due to an allergy, and I bake it in three 28 -oz. cans, so I adjust the baking time somewhat to an hour or 65 minutes. I did not have parchment this year and did not run out to get it due to quarantine; without it, the bread sticks in the cans. So I do not recommend skipping the parchment!
I substituted rum for the vodka. A very fine recipe for kulich, will be in our basket this year! A bit more flour was needed maybe 1 extra cup during the kneading. The dough should be tacky but not sticky if that makes sense. I made one small can kulich, one 32 ounce vintage coffee can kulich and one la creuset soup pot kulich with this recipe. Oh, I used non-stick baking spray and bread crumbs instead of parchment paper. All turned out gorgeous. Thankyou so much for this recipe.
I agree with Celiseev’s comment – the flour requirements are very optimistic. Factor in one or two more cups. The recipe is really good, although different from my family’s in sequencing and timing: much less arduous! It also leads to a much lighter kulich than we used to have, no bad thing in these days of too much chocolate. I would also double or triple the sultana/raisin amount, perhaps soaking them like I did in cognac, not vodka; and my family doesn’t use an egg-white icing, just lemon juice and icing sugar mix. Thanks for the recipe!
We are Russian and make Kulich every year to be blessed in our Easter basket on Pascha (this year on May 5, 2013). Usually making it is an all day, arduous process that is done on Great and Holy Saturday, and there’s a much panic around “will it come out”? I made this recipe last night (a week early) and not only could I make it with ease, it didn’t take all day! Additionally, it was WONDERFUL! It tastes and feels just like the more complicated versions. The only things that I thought were “off” were at step 6 and 8. I needed way more than 2 1/2 cups of flour. It was still more batter than dough until I added another cup (estimated). It was still very sticky when I turned it out to knead, so the kneading in step 6 added another 1/2 cup… All in all, I used 4 cups (which is what my more complicated recipes also calls for). Also, at step 8, I used a variety of can sizes and found that the narrower can produced a nice tall loaf with a “muffin top”, which I like. But the shorter cans made the loaf look more authentic. I will say though, they were much smaller than I expected. Next time instead of 4 small loaves, I will do what I usually make, which are two loaves in 12-16 oz coffee tins.
This is most authentic recipe for a kulich, I am russian and my grandma did not use so many spices, just a vanilla and honey, but your addition certainly does not hurt it! Thank you for posting!