Elevate your Easter with a cottage cheese Bundt cake

Easter desserts are delightful. We enjoy having Bundt cakes, cheesecakes, and other less traditional baked goods on the holiday table. Every year, I prepare them according to a list. More than once, I've gone overboard with the quantity, which is really not hard to do. I'll admit, I've chosen to forgo cheesecake in favour of an Easter cake and a Bundt cake made with cottage cheese and raisins.

Cheesecake can be baked practically every weekend, but a Bundt cake? It's a typical Easter dessert. So the choice was not difficult. Contrary to appearances, these baked goods have a lot in common. First, I always use the highest quality, full-fat cottage cheese for them. It's what makes the cake fluffy and moist, and it prevents it from drying out quickly. The dough is elastic, which also prevents crumbling and maintains the perfect structure even a few days after baking.

I'm not even considering adding chocolate, nuts, or orange zest to such a cake. Raisins perfectly complement the taste of cottage cheese. I know they can divide fans of cheesecakes or yeast cakes. However, I have a weakness for these dried fruits and think they work excellently in the Bundt cake.

However, it should be remembered to choose raisins that do not contain preservatives, such as sulfur dioxide. They should be labelled "sulfur-free" or organic. Avoid raisins with an unnatural, very intense colour, which may be the result of chemical processes. I soak the dried fruits in warm water or rum, so they are soft and juicy. Then I dry them thoroughly to prevent excess moisture in the cake.

Ingredients:

• 225 grams cottage cheese,
• 350 grams flour (cake flour is ideal),
• 150 grams sugar,
• 4 eggs,
• 150 grams raisins,
• 60 ml oil,
• 2 teaspoons baking powder,
• 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar,
• a pinch of salt.
• butter and breadcrumbs for greasing the pan.

For the glaze:

• 1 egg white,
• 200 grams powdered sugar,
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Instructions:

1. Mix the cottage cheese with sugar and eggs until smooth.
2. Next, add the oil, then the baking powder mixed with the flour and vanilla sugar. Mix just until combined.
3. Finally, add the pre-soaked raisins. Mix.
4. Pour the batter into the greased pan.
5. Bake the Bundt cake for 60 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius (gas mark 3).
6. Prepare the glaze: beat the egg white with powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl for about 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
7. Decorate the cooled Bundt cake with the glaze.