Pasca is a traditional Romanian Easter cheesecake or Easter bread. It's made from sweet yeast dough and filled with a smooth cheese and raisin filling.
What is pasca?
This is a traditional Romanian Easter recipe: Pasca de pasti or Easter cheesecake. Basically, a cheesecake made with the so-called “cow's cheese – branza de vaci”, but untypically baked in a sweet bread case.
Pasca, the sweet bread filled with walnuts - cozonac, the roasted leg of lamb, and the eggs are the most important culinary and spiritual components of Orthodox Easter.
The sweet bread represents the joy of celebration, which is why it is something that is baked not only for Easter but also for Christmas, weddings, or christenings.
Traditionally, the sweet bread is brought to the church on Easter night to be blessed by the priest. He sprinkles it with red wine, and through this ritual, the bread becomes a representation of Jesus' sacrifice. The Easter bread is normally adorned with a dough crucifix on top, but I didn't want to overdo it.
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Ingredients
Cheese:
- Pasca is made with branza de vaci or cow's cheese in Romania.
- The name of the cheese doesn't only mean that it is made with cow's milk; it is the name of a certain kind of cheese, some kind of light, mild-tasting cheese similar to quark or cottage cheese.
- As you will probably not be able to find that cheese outside Romania, you can replace it with low-fat quark, cottage, or farmer's cheese, which are all similar in taste, although the consistency of the cottage/farmer's cheese is different.
- If you decide to use cottage or farmer's cheese, blend it with an immersion blender until smooth before you add it to the filling.
- Some people also use ricotta to make pasca. I am not a fan, in this case, I think the ricotta is too bland and doesn't have the acidity that the other kinds of mentioned cheese have.
Yeast: I use active dry yeast, which needs to be activated/proofed/bloomed before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients.
- Instant dry yeast is a good substitute, and it doesn't need to be activated. Just mix it with the flour and continue with the recipe.
Semolina is needed to bind the cheese filling; don't leave it out.
Vanilla: A fresh vanilla pod is wonderful, but if you don't have it, you can replace it with more vanilla extract. Add the vanilla extract to the lukewarm milk.
Raisins: I love raisins, but I know many people who don't care for them. If you are not a fan, you can just leave them out, although I highly recommend you use them.
Other ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, oil, eggs, lemon zest.
Tips for making pasca
Making the yeast dough in a stand mixer is definitely easier.
If you don't have one, knead the dough as long as possible with the kneading attachments of a hand-held mixer and continue to knead with the hand.
You will need some flour to help you here because the dough is rather sticky.
Add only very small amounts of flour to help with kneading. The dough should remain soft and slightly sticky.
Knead the dough long enough so that the gluten forms. This will make the bread rice nicely and have the right consistency.
I used only 3 tablespoons of sugar for the filling. However, if you would like the filling to be sweeter, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar more.
How to store?
- Keep the sweet bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will be fine for at least 5-6 days.
- Due to the cheese filling, pasca is not suitable for freezing; the filling would become soggy when thawed.
More Romanian Easter recipes
And check out these Easter Baking Recipes as well.
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Pasca - Romanian Easter Bread
Equipment
- springform about 26 cm/ 10 inch
- Stand mixer or mixer with kneading attachments
Ingredients
Yeast dough:
- 1 vanilla pod
- 250 ml milk 8.5 fl.oz/ 1 cup + 2-3 tablespoons more if necessary
- 1 sachet active dry yeast 7 g/ 0.2 oz/ 2.5 teaspoons
- 500 g all-purpose flour 4 ¼ cups
- 120 g granulated sugar ½ cup
- 55 g unsalted butter ¼ cup
- 50 ml vegetable oil scant ¼ cups
- 2 egg yolks
- zest of 1 organic lemon
- a pinch of fine sea salt
Filling:
- 400 g Romanian cow's cheese / low-fat quark/ cottage cheese/farmer's cheese, 2 cups, Note 2
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar more to taste
- 100 g raisins ½ cup
- 3 tablespoons semolina
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 organic lemon
- 1 small egg for brushing
- some sugar to sprinkle on top
Instructions
Yeast dough:
- Prepare vanilla milk: Scrape the seeds of the vanilla pod. Set aside. Add the empty pod to the milk and bring to a boil. Leave to cool until lukewarm.1 vanilla pod + 250 ml milk/ 1 cup
- Proof yeast: Place the dry yeast in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and 3-4 tablespoons of the lukewarm milk, enough to stir a paste. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 10-15 minutes in a warm place.1 sachet active dry yeast
- Sieve: In the meantime, sieve the flour in the bowl of your kitchen machine/stand mixer.500 g all-purpose flour/ 4¼ cups
- Combine: Add the remaining sugar to the remaining lukewarm milk and stir until dissolved. Melt the butter, add the oil to the butter, and mix. Leave to cool until needed.120 g granulated sugar/ ½ cup + 55 g unsalted butter/ ¼ cup + 50 ml vegetable oil/ ¼ cup
- Stir: Pour the yeast mixture over the flour, add the egg yolks, vanilla seeds, and lemon zest. Mix shortly, then start adding the milk little by little to form the dough. Stir for a couple of minutes and add a little more milk if necessary to obtain a softer dough. I added about 3 tablespoons more.Add the salt and, little by little, the melted and cooled butter oil mixture. Only add the next splash when the previous one is completely incorporated.2 egg yolks + zest of 1 organic lemon + a pinch of fine sea salt
- Knead the dough in the stand mixer for about 10 minutes. The dough will be pretty soft and sticky. Transfer it to a clean bowl and bring it briefly in shape with the hands. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Filling:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Butter the springform and cover its bottom and walls with baking paper.
- Blend: If using cottage or farmer's cheese, blend it with an immersion blender until smooth.400 g Romanian cow's cheese/ 2 cups
- Mix the cheese, eggs, semolina, raisins, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Taste and add more sugar if you find it necessary.2 eggs + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar + 100 g raisins/ ½ cup + 3 tablespoons semolina + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + zest of 1 organic lemon
Assemble:
- Make the plait: Oil your hands lightly and take the dough out of the bowl. Divide it in two. Form one half into a fat sausage and cut this sausage into 3 parts. Roll each of these balls into long, thin strings about 40 cm/ 15 inches long. Plait these strings into a braid.
- Assemble: Take the other half of the dough and place it in the springform. Press it down to cover the bottom of the pan completely. Prick it with a fork all over to ensure that the dough will not rise too much in the oven.Take the plait and place it in the pan to form a nice rim. Pour the filling inside.
- Egg wash: Brush the top of the plait with the whisked egg and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.1 small egg + some sugar
- Bake for 40 - 50 minutes until the cheesecake has nicely risen and is golden.
Notes
- Scale: Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Cheese: Traditionally, you will use Romanian branza de vaci – cow's cheese. However, low-fat quark, cottage, or farmer's cheese are very similar. If using cottage or farmer's cheese, blend it until smooth before making the filling.
Jutta Holden says
Wish I could find Quark here!
Love that kind of cheesecake!
The yeast, can you please tell me in teaspoons or tablespoons. Not sure how much 0.2 oz is?
Thanks!
Adina says
Hi Jutta. You need 2.5 teaspoons yeast. Enjoy baking and I hope you like it. ??
grace says
i definitely don't have that kind of patience, so i'm glad you found a recipe that could be made in a mixer! this looks delicious. 🙂
Priya says
In am very newbie in desserts and I have never seen any such kind of recipes.... That sweet braed combination makes me excited..
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
Adina, thank you for the history of this cake (which I found interesting) and for such a great recipe. I am a cheesecake fanatic and love how this is baked in a sweet dough. It looks spectacular! Thanks for a beautiful recipe.
Brie says
This cheesecake looks like it's straight out of a high end bakery Adina! I hope you and your family enjoyed a lovely Easter.
Adina says
Wow, Brie, that is nice to hear. 🙂 Thank you.
Anca says
It looks very good. I found Romanian types of cheese at Turkish/Arabic shops.
Adina says
You're lucky, the only Romanian thing I find at the Turkish/Russish store here is ceai de tei. 🙂
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says
Wow, this cheesecake looks so delicious! I just wanna grab that slice!
Adina says
Thank you, Marsha!
Adina says
Thank you, Allie. Wow, that's great, I hope your family enjoyed Romania, it is a beautiful country.
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
Dear Adina, what a gorgeous cheesecake and I loved to hear the history as well. My husband and older boys were in Romania this past summer on a missions trip. I loved looking at all the beautiful pictures and people! Super job on this cheesecake, the third time was the charm.
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You says
Holy moly! It's a bread filled with cheesecake -- a must try for me for sure. I hope your Easter was wonderful, Adina... I see that was quite delish.
Adina says
That is a good combination, isn't it, cheesecake and sweet bread in one. 🙂 I hope you had a nice Easter too.
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table says
What a beautiful cheesecake and a beautiful story/history to it as well! I hope you had a wonderful Easter!
Adina says
Thank you, Kathryn. We had a nice, peaceful Easter. I hope you had a good one too.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
Cheesecake with a sweet bread crust looks and sounds amazing, Adina! I love its uniqueness. I so want to have a nice big slice of it!!
Adina says
I'd love to invite you, Thao. So anytime you feel like visiting Germany, let me know, I'll make some cheesecake for you. 🙂
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
I have never had Romanian Cheesecake Pasca. But you pictures are making me drool and I bet it was super delish. Can't wait to give it a go! 🙂
Adina says
I hope you try it, Anu, let me know if you liked it.