Farmers Cheese (Tvorog)

This cheese can be used for a lot of things like filling for crepes, filling for pastries it can be used in a lot of sweet and savory recipes and a lot of people eat it just as is or as kids like to mix it with a little sour cream and sugar.

Ingredients:

1 Gallon of milk

1 cup Kefir

Step by Step:

Pour the milk in to a large pan and cook over medium heat bring to boil

 

Now let it cool a little bit just enough that you can touch the pan without getting burned take the formed skin off and add the kefir mix really well

Now let it stand at room temp for about 4-5 hours

Prepare a strainer line it with either thick cheese cloth or a thin tea towel

When you see it’s thickened turn on the stove to medium heat again and cook till curd starts to separate and wait till just start to boil turn off the stove

Pour the cheese in to the strainer

Then carefully pick up the towel by 4 ends and tie it to something to hang so that all the liquid drips out completely

now the cheese is ready Fluff it up with a fork and your done

Buttery Press Cookies Malutka (печенье малютка)

These cookies are very buttery and soft

Ingredients:

200g Butter (room temp)
200g Powdered Sugar
1 cup Flour

3 Eggs

preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400F Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy

add the eggs beat till all sugar is melted

turn the mixer off and use a spoon to mix in the flour

put the dough in a piping bag or a cookie press with a simple round attachment and pipe circles about 1 inch wide and about 1.5in apart they spread a lot

bake for about 6-10 mins as soon as they turn golden they are ready

Zefir with Fruit Jello and Agar-Agar

Ingredients:

200ml water

2 tsp Agar-Agar

300gr Sugar

2 Egg white

1/2 tsp citric acid

40gr Jello any flavor

Step by Step

Mix Agar with 125ml water, mix the Jello with 75ml of boiling water leave alone for 30mins

No place the agar and with water over med-heat when starts to boil add sugar and boil for 5mins
Beat egg whites with citric acid till stiff peaks form.

Start adding the boiling sugar slowly with a very thin strip and then add the jello mixture

Beat for another 5 mins the mixture should be thick and fluffy

Then put everything in a decorating bag and pipe them on to Wax paper sprinkled with powdered sugar

Also sprinkle some powdered sugar on top let stand to harden preferably in a refrigerator

Then take 2 pcs and stick them together and your done

(you can also just pour the mixture in to silicone molds and let harden in the refrigerator)

Keep refrigerated.

you can find the original Here in russian

Zefir

Ingredients:

1TBsp Gelatin

200ml water

2cups sugar

1TBsp Citric Acid

1stp Baking soda

Step by step:

Mix gelatin and 75g of water and let stand for 2 hours

Pour the rest of the water over the sugar and put it on the stove bring to boil

 

on a separate burner place the gelatin and bring it to boil now mix both in a mixer bowl and turn the mixer on low until the mixture is starting to foam and thicken

 

now add the citric acid and turn the mixer up to high once stiff peaks form add the baking soda and beat again till mixed very well you can also add some food coloring if you like

fill a piping bag and pipe on to parchment paper sprinkled with powdered sugar  and sprinkle the tops of zefir also with powdered sugar let cool and harden then pick up 2 pieces and stick them together like this.

Keep in an airtight container or they will dry out.
you can find the original recipe here (in russian)

Fruit Zefir (Russian version of a marshmallow but tastes different)

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1^st part

250gr raspberry or apple puree (I used Blueberries)

100gr sugar

1 egg white
you can also add food flavoring like raspberry or vanilla for the apple

Syrup:
400gr sugar

150gr water

8gr Agar-agar

Powdered sugar for dusting

1^st part mix the fruit puree with sugar and the egg white and place on a double boiler mix well with a whisk till sugar melts then let cool for about an hour.

Meanwhile for the syrup
mix water with Agar-agar and let it stand for that hour

Then place it on the stove over med heat and stir till it boils then add sugar and cook it for about 10mins or till the syrup is 110F on the sugar thermometer or when you pick up the spatula from the mix the syrup hands like strings of syrup hanging from the spatula

A couple mins in to cooking the syrup place the bowl with the puree on the mixer and start beating it

Once the syrup is cooked start adding it to the puree don’t turn the mixer off keep beating the puree with syrup till stiff peaks form

Then place in a decorating bag with a star tip and pipe them on to parchment paper sprinkled with powdered sugar and sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar too

  let cool and harden witch will only take about 30mins or less. Now your done Enjoy!

You can find the original Here (in russian)

Ant Farm Cake (Muraveynik)

This cake is for about 6-8 people you can always double the recipe for a bigger crowed.

Ingredients:

6 TBsp Milk

6 TBsp Unsalted butter

1 Egg

100g Sugar

1 TBsp Vanilla

½ tsp Baking soda

1 ½ -2 cups flour

1 can Sweetened Condensed milk (boiled for at least 2 hours)

100g walnuts (optional)

 

Step by step:

Preheat oven to 375F

All ingredients need to be at room temperature,

Whisk together  the milk, butter, egg, sugar and vanilla.

Now add the baking soda mix and slowly start adding the flour and mixing it in

Don’t add all the flour just look at the dough once it starts forming a ball add little flour at a time the dough should be soft but not stick to your hands.

Divide the dough in to 4pcs roll each piece in to logs thin enough to fit in to the opening on your meat grinder

Now feed each piece in to the meat grinder like this and just catch it at the opening

Place the strips on to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper

Bake for about 10-20mins depending on how thick you make the strips as soon as it starts turning golden take them out and let cool

Once they cool break them in to little pieces

Place all the pieces and if your using walnuts coarsely chopped in to a big bowl and add the can of condensed  milk mix really well to make sure every piece is covered with condensed milk

Now line a smaller bowl with plastic wrap and place the mixed pieces in to the bowl and press down really well

Cover with plastic wrap and press down again just to make sure its holding together good

Place the bowl in the refrigerator for a couple hours to let everything stick together

Take it out of the refrigerator, open the plastic wrap on top and place a flat plate on top and flip over the cake over then just remove the bowl and the plastic wrap carefully

And you can sprinkle the top of the cake with puppy seeds  if you like it makes it look like there is actual ant on the cake.

Here is the finished product and enjoy!

original recipe can be found HERE  in Russian language