Raw Farmer’s Cheese Easter Cake with Nuts and Dried Fruit

Name: Raw Farmer’s Cheese Easter Cake with Nuts and Dried Fruit
Total time: 720 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Home cooking
Ingredients: Cottage cheese 9% (tvorog) — 70 g; Butter — 12 g; Sour cream 25% — 18 g; Sugar — 11 g; Vanilla sugar — 2 g; Walnuts — 8 g; Dried apricots — 10 g; Raisins — 9 g

A dense, creamy raw farmer’s cheese Easter cake with butter, sour cream, raisins, dried apricots, and walnuts. Pressing it overnight under weight yields a rich, velvety texture.

Time: 12 h
Serving: 399 kcal
Ingredients: ≈ $1.44
Protein: 14 g

Meat-free Sweet

Raw Farmer’s Cheese Easter Cake with Nuts and Dried Fruit

Ingredients

1 Cottage cheese 9% (tvorog)pack 300 g ≈ $3.00 70 g
2 Butterpack 180 g ≈ $1.58 12 g
3 Sour cream 25%pack 300 g ≈ $2.00 18 g
4 Sugar 11 g
5 Vanilla sugar 2 g
6 Walnutspack 150 g ≈ $4.00 8 g
7 Dried apricotspack 200 g ≈ $3.80 10 g
8 Raisinspack 200 g ≈ $2.40 9 g

Grey rows are pantry staples: salt, oil, spices. They are not counted in the serving price.

Method

Rub the farmer’s cheese through a sieve or mash it until completely smooth.
Mix the softened butter², sour³ cream, sugar, and vanilla sugar into a creamy paste.
Fold the butter² mixture into the farmer’s cheese until fully combined.
Chop the dried⁷ apricots finely, roughly chop the walnuts⁶, rinse and pat the raisins⁸ dry.
Gently fold the dried⁷ fruit and nuts into the cheese mixture.
Line a mold with cheesecloth, pack in the filling, cover the edges, and place a weight on top.
Refrigerate for 8–12 hours, then invert onto a plate to release.

Tips

Why it works: Press the curd through a sieve to remove liquid and make the mixture smooth, so the paskha doesn't fall apart and keeps its shape. The weight pushes out air and makes the texture dense, like finished cheese.
Substitutions: Instead of dried apricots, use prunes (10 g), but soak them in warm water for 10 minutes first. Instead of vanilla sugar, add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract or a whole vanilla pod ground with sugar.
Common mistakes: If the paskha crumbles or cracks after you remove the weight, the curd wasn't pressed enough or the weight sat for less than 8 hours. Check the consistency: the mixture should be thick, like dense sour cream.
Storing and reheating: Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, covered with cling film. Cut with a knife dipped in hot water so the edges don't crumble. Don't freeze, as the texture will be ruined.
Serve with: Serve with tea at a festive table or as a dessert after a light lunch with a fruit salad to balance the sweetness.

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Nutrition

Per serving and share of 2000 kcal

Calories	399 kcal	20%
Protein	14 g	18%
Fat	26 g	37%
Carbs	29 g	11%
Per 100 g	286 kcal

Cost

≈ $1.44per serving

Average supermarket prices, BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), October 2026. Your store will differ: products come in packs and each chain sets its own prices. The priciest item here is cottage cheese 9% (tvorog).