How To Make Perekladanets (Ukrainian Christmas Cake)?
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Rising time: 90 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Cook Time: 50 mins
Rising time: 90 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients:
For the Sweet Yeast Dough (Zdobne Drizhdzhove Tisto):
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup water (lukewarm)
- 2 ounces (1/4 cup) unsalted butter3/4 cup scalded milk (still hot)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
For the Poppy Seed Filling (Nachinka z Maku):
- 1/2 pound poppy seeds (ground with a spice grinder)
- 3 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 tablespoon lemon or orange juice)
- Optional: zest of 1 lemon or orange
For the Date Filling (Nachinka z Daktiliv):
- 2 packages/16 ounces dates (pitted, chopped)
- 1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
For the Walnut Filling (Nachinka z Voloskikh Horikhiv):
- 3 large egg whites
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 pound walnuts (ground, not chopped, in a food processor)
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg (beaten with 1 teaspoon milk)
Directions:
Step 1:Gather the ingredients for the dough.
Step 2:Mix the yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the water in a small bowl. Let the yeast rise until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
Step 3:Add the butter to the hot milk and stir until melted. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cool the mixture to lukewarm (no warmer than 110 degrees).
Step 4:Beat the eggs in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for a few minutes until thick. Add the vanilla, lemon zest and milk-butter mixture and mix briefly.
Step 5:Add the yeast mixture and mix well. Add the salt and 1 cup of the flour. Beat until incorporated. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix until the dough is moistened. Replace the whisk with the dough hook and knead on medium-low speed for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will be sticky.
Step 6:Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap or a linen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
- Gather the ingredients.
- Make the poppy seed filling. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.
- Gradually beat in the sugar.
- Add the vanilla or juice and lemon zest, if using.
- Fold in the ground poppy seeds.
- Prepare the date filling. In a medium bowl, mix the dates and apricot jam.
- Prepare the walnut filling. Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until stiff.
- Gradually beat in the sugar.
- Add the vanilla and fold in the ground walnuts.
- Assemble the cake. Divide the risen yeast dough into four equal pieces.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a thin rectangle as large as possible – between 13 x 9 inches and 18 x 13 inches – and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Spread the poppy seed filling to within half an inch on all sides.
- Roll the second piece of dough to the same size as the first and place it on top of the poppy seed filling.
- Spread the date filling on all sides to within half a centimetre, as before.
- Roll out the third piece of dough to the same size as the first and place on top of the date filling.
- Spread the walnut filling as before, to within half a centimetre on all sides.
- Roll out the last piece of dough about 1 cm larger than the others on all sides. Place it on top of the walnut filling, press the edges together and turn them down so that no filling escapes.
- Cover with a lint-free towel and leave to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. It will rise just a little.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prick the cake with a fork and brush with egg white.
- bake for 40 to 50 minutes until golden brown. If the cake browns too quickly, cover the top loosely with foil.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
- When cool, wrap in foil and place in the fridge. A cold cake is much easier to cut into squares or diamonds. Some cooks dust the cake with icing sugar.
- Serve and enjoy!
