Pashka (Latvian Easter Cheese)

Note: We received this cheese from Brent Alderman Sterste, whose Grandmother and Great Aunt used to make the cheese. It's a quite different recipe from the one in our book, Home Cheesemaking, p. 205.

My father's family is Latvian and we make a sweet Easter cheese called Paska -- my aunt presses hers in a sterilized flower pot with canned goods on top!

Ingredients:

4 lbs. Farmers cheese (biezpiens), store-bought or home-made

1 lb. Unsalted butter, room temperature

4 Egg yolks, hard-boiled

4 Egg yolks, raw (optional, but traditional)

2 1/2 c Sugar

1-2 Tbls Pure vanilla extract

Dried fruit, (optional) e.g. currants, pineapple, glace fruits

Recipe:

Put boiled egg yolks and farmers cheese through a grinder or sieve.

Combine butter with sugar, raw yolks, and vanilla. Beat well.

Add butter mixture to cheese. Mix well.

If adding fruits, stir in.

Press cheese in double layer of cheese cloth. This can be done either by tying the ends of the cheese cloth and placing it under a weight such as a heavy can, or by placing cheese in a sterilized flower pot, topping with a small saucer, and pressing under a weight. If available, one can also use a cheese mold and press, with fairly light pressure.

Press in refrigerator for 24 hours. Unmold and slice to serve.