Easter Recipes

Ingredients:

• 6 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup raisins
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Hard-cooked eggs come out perfectly with this four-step process:

• Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
• Bring water to a rolling boil; immediately turn off heat (Don't let the eggs continue to boil. Sulfur compounds into the yolk turn an ugly shade of green when eggs are exposed to high heat.)
• Cover the pan; let eggs stand in the hot water for 14 minutes (small eggs) to 17 minutes (extra large eggs).
• Drain eggs and cool in ice water. Refrigerate hard-boiled eggs for up to one week.

Ingredients:

Sweet bread dough

• 2 cups flour
• 3 eggs
• 6 tbs. sugar
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. oil
• 1 cup milk
• 25 g yeast (1 pkg)
• 1 ts. salt
• 1 tbs. rum
• vanilla extract
• 1/2 lemon peel

Filling

• 500 g fresh Ricotta cheese
• 3-4 eggs
• 5 tbs. sugar
• vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 lemon peel

Make a finger-thick sheet from 2/3 of dough and put it into around a baking tray. Knit the rest of dough and place it over the initial sheet, on the side of the tray. This is the rope of life in Romanian folk tradition. Let it rise for an hour.

Mix all the filling ingredients into a paste.

When the dough has risen enough place the filling in the middle. Brush it with a beaten egg and place it quickly in the oven. Let it bake for 45-55 minutes. Let it cool slowly. Just open the oven's door a little bit.

Easter cake can have a cross from knitted dough over the filling. It's called cross pasca and its taken to the church on Easter to be sanctified.