Pasca cu Branza - Easter cake filled with cheese

When Easter arrives, we enter a time when we are invaded by a lot of wonderful and extraordinary sweet recipes, such as torrijas. But, there is a great variety of sweets scattered around the world that are also consumed at this time of year and that we should not miss. Like this Pasca cu Branza: Easter cake filled with cheese.

To give you a brief introduction, this is a cake made with a soft and spongy dough, together with a filling made with cheese, subtly sweet and flavoured. An incredible delicacy of Romanian gastronomy.

Origin of Pasca cu Branza

In Romania, when Easter comes, it is traditional to prepare many recipes such as the famous Cozonac. But another of the preparations that are part of their tables is this preparation that combines a spongy dough and a creamy filling.

This cake is said to be related to a bread eaten by Jews during Passover, called in Hebrew "mat" - מצה. It was an unleavened dough made with a mixture of water and one of the 5 grains; wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt.

In Jewish tradition, Passover is nicknamed "the bread of the poor" לחם עוני, due to the fact that poor Jews continued to eat it even after Passover.

The Book of Exodus tells us that the Jews left Egypt so quickly that they did not have time to prepare leavened bread. In memory of that time and experience, the Jews eat only Passover for eight days (instead of the usual leavened bread).

The custom of eating lamb and Pasca during the Passover season is related to the Jewish Passover ritual. In Jewish tradition, lamb is ritually eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (maror in Hebrew מרור), to remind us of the hardships suffered in Egyptian slavery.

At the Last Supper, Jesus and the apostles ate lamb according to the Jewish ritual, and the unleavened bread is represented by the Passover. For Christians, the lamb, the Passover and the wine are symbols with new meanings: the Lamb is Jesus Christ, who accepts his sacrifice, the broken or chopped Passover and the spilled wine signify Christ's sacrifice.

Pască is prepared on the eve of the Resurrection. The real Pască is the one that is cut into small pieces and taken to church to be sanctified (it may be related to the consecrated host). The pieces of Pască are taken home and kept so that believers can participate in God's blessing, which is believed to have the power to ward off illness and trouble.

Its adaptation to Christian tradition and gastronomy has turned it into a preparation that not only consists of a leavened dough, but also a sweet cheese filling seasoned with raisins.

De Buyer perforated round mould

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 560 g of strong flour, W=290
• 125 g whole milk
• 125 g of water
• 4.5 g dry yeast or 13.5 g fresh yeast
• 3 large eggs (approximately 167 g)
• 125 g of sugar
• 65 g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 7.5 g salt

For the filling:

• 500 g of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
• 45 g of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder or booster
• 35 g semolina divided into 2 parts (one half for the filling and the other for sprinkling)
• 50 g raisins
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 g of salt

To brush:

• beaten egg

Pack of 2 Thermic Luigi Bormioli glasses , Thermic Luigi Bormioli milk jug

Preparation

1. In the bowl of the mixer or KitchenAid, add all the ingredients except the butter.
2. We knead until we obtain a smooth, developed dough. We will start kneading at speed 1 and increase to speed 2. It will take us about 15-20 minutes.
3. Once the dough is developed, add the cold butter. Do this in two batches and wait to add the second one when the first has been fully integrated. The dough you will obtain will be soft, elastic and perfectly developed.
4. We form balls and place them in an airtight container, previously greased.
5. We do the bulk fermentation. We leave the dough at room temperature until it grows 1/3 of its volume. In my case it was at 21ºC for 1 hour.
6. We refrigerate until the next day.

Second day:
Temper the dough and divide the dough for the Pasca cu Branza.

1. We take the dough out of the fridge and let it cool down before we start working with it. The dough should have more than doubled in size overnight.
2. It should be left for more or less time depending on the outside temperature. In my case it was 1 hour and 10 minutes at 20ºC.
3. We turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and gently deflate it.
4. We cut approximately 1/3 of the total dough to make the base. In my case it weighed 380 g.
5. We gently pre-shape it to ensure it has a round shape. Using a rolling pin, we stretch the dough until it reaches the diameter of our removable perforated mould from Buyer (24 cm).
6. We place the base inside the mold and adjust gently.
7. From the remaining dough, we cut approximately 1/3 again. In my case, I divided the dough into two portions; a large one of 480 g to make the outer braid and a smaller one of 220 g to make the decorative braid on top.

We form the decoration:

1. We take the largest piece and divide it into two equal parts.
2. We stretch and form a cord with one of the pieces until it reaches a length of 95 cm. To do this, we will shape the piece into a cylinder by sliding both hands over the surface to give it length.
3. We repeat the same process with the other piece.
4. We braid the two cords and place them inside the mold, making sure that the braid is stuck to the mold. We seal the ends.
5. We cover the mold with film.
6. To braid the upper decoration we proceed to follow the same steps.
7. We divide the small piece into two equal parts and stretch each of them, this time giving a length of 60 cm to each of them.
8. We braid the same way as the previous time.
9. Once it is braided, cut it in half and place it on a tray lined with Teflon or Silpat. Cover it with cling film.

We do the final fermentation:

1. We let the dough double its volume, the final rising time will depend on the outside temperature. In my case it was 2 and 1/2 hours at a controlled 27ºC.
2. The small braid must rise separately from the mold. For this reason, we place it on a separate tray.

De Buyer perforated round mould

We make the filling:

1. We place a cheesecloth over a bowl and put the ricotta cheese inside.
2. We take the cheesecloth, joining the corners, lift it and begin to apply a little force to drain the cheese.
3. We will press until the serum is almost completely removed.
4. We tie a knot in the cloth and let it rest on a strainer or tied to the sink for 30 minutes. We must control the rise of the dough in advance.
5. We put the cheese in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
6. We mix with the help of some rods until obtaining a homogeneous mixture.

We add the filling:

1. When we see that there are about 15-20 minutes left to finish rising, we fill the pasca.
2. Preheat the oven to 160ºC with heat from above and below.
3. Sprinkle two tablespoons of semolina on the inside of the mould, not on the braiding. Pour the filling into the centre hole and smooth the surface.
4. Using a spoon, create a hole in the filling.
5. We place one of the parts of the braided leavened dough that we have on the tray.
6. We create a space again to place the other braided piece and create a cross. Press gently on the central part that joins the cross.

De Buyer perforated springform round mould and T&G pastry brush

We bake:

1. Using a pastry brush , brush the entire surface with beaten egg.
2. Place in the oven at medium height and bake for 70 minutes or until the dough is pricked with a digital kitchen thermometer and the temperature reaches 88º-90ºC.
3. It is important to monitor the color of the dough and, if necessary, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent it from browning excessively.
4. Remove the mould from the oven and place it on a rack. Let the dough rest inside the mould for 30 minutes.
5. After this time, remove from the mould and allow to cool completely on a rack. Ideally, let it rest for 5-6 hours before eating to allow the filling to cool, cook and set correctly.
6. We cut and serve.

De Buyer perforated removable round mould and T&G pastry brush .

GRADES :

• In my case I used a flour with a strength of W=290. If you use a flour with a lower strength, you should adjust the amount of liquid in the recipe to avoid obtaining a dough that is too hydrated. The consistency of the dough is slightly sticky, but easy to work with and manipulate.
• The process is divided into 2 days to make it more bearable.
• When forming the dough strings, we must do so on a clean work surface. If we sprinkle with flour, it will be very difficult, almost impossible, to stretch the dough. If it sticks to the work surface, sprinkle very lightly with flour.
• There is no need to grease or dust the mould with flour. It comes with a Teflon interior which prevents the dough from sticking to the mould, as well as making it much, much easier to remove later.
• For the filling, it is best to use granulated ricotta cheese, it is drier and the result is much better. In my case, I only found this creamier variety.
• Whether we use granulated or creamy ricotta, we must drain the whey with the cheesecloth to remove as much liquid as possible.
• The raisins can be substituted with any other dehydrated fruit of your choice.
• The filling can be flavoured with vanilla or you can use some liquor, such as rum for example.
• I recommend monitoring the entire cooking process to prevent over-browning or overcooking the dough and making it dry. The result is a very soft, silky and tender dough.
• It can be stored, wrapped in film, for 24 hours at room temperature. After this time, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

This Easter, don't hesitate to make this Pasca cu Branza and surprise your family. Because I assure you that you will surprise them a lot.
The preparation process, despite appearing otherwise, is quite simple to carry out. There are many steps, but they do not require much difficulty. The cooking process, thanks to the perforated Buyer mould, is impeccable.

When we use moulds to bake dough, the material they are made of and the way they distribute heat is very important. In this case, the mould we have used helps distribute heat evenly, achieving perfect cooking that also does not burn the dough. For me, this is something very important to highlight, because it makes the final result glorious or, on the contrary, not so good.

I hope you like it a lot, so much so that this Easter we fill the networks with this Pasca cu Branza ;)