Mmm. Pasha.

Gotta love pasha.

It's a Russian traditional Easter food, and it's absolutely yummy. Last year we bought about half a kg or so off a large kitchen which made it; this year I made my own. (Really. Making low-fat pasha, when the whole idea is to stuff yourself until you're cross-eyed? I just don't get it.)

The essentials: it needs quark, butter, egg yolks (or eggs), and sugar. If your pasha doesn't contain those ingredients (especially the butter), you have a quark dessert, not pasha. You can heat it or not, as you like - either way is right.

Here's my recipe:

5 dl quark
100 g butter, melted
2 eggs
1 dl sugar (still too sweet. I think less than ½ dl would work better.)
2 dl cream
50 g powdered almonds
50 g almond slices
1 dl raisins
the juice of an orange

Whip eggs and sugar for, oh, this long, or until you tire of whipping them. Whip your cream until it's stiff (but not until it's butter). Mix the quark into the egg-and-sugar mix. Add the cooled-off melted butter, the almonds, the raisins, and the orange juice. Add in the whipped cream.

Wet a towel and drape it over your pasha form, your cheese form, or your sieve. Pour your pasha mix into that towel, and let drip overnight in the fridge.

You can, if you so like, decorate your pasha, but I didn't bother, cos the minute it's served it's gone anyway. Enjoy!

Oh, and if you wish to avoid cleaning your fridge: put something under your dripping pasha. A bowl or similar would be practical.