Easter cakes are cakes or sweet breads traditionally prepared and served during the Easter season. They are traditionally associated with the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Russian Orthodox churches and also with some other Christian churches in Northern Europe.

Types

Babka

Easter

babka A babka is a sweet braided bread (not a cake) which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It is popular in Israel (often referred to as simply a yeast cake: ) and in the Jewish diaspora. It is prepared with a yeast-leavened ...

() is a

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

cake that is part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

's Easter traditions. Made with raisins, and other dried and candied fruits, the cake is soaked in rum syrup before it's served.

Choerek

Chorek is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

sweet Easter bread flavored with aniseed and braided into the shape of snails or wreaths.

Hot cross buns

In England the most popular Easter bread is the

hot cross bun A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun usually made with fruit, marked with a cross on the top, and has been traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, Pakistan an ...

Kulich

In Russia ''

kulich Kulich, be, куліч, kulich, hy, կուլիչ, kulich (from Ancient Greek , , "roll of coarse bread"); ka, პასკა, paska, uk, пáска, páska is the Russian name for Easter bread. For the Eastern Slavs, festive bread was r ...

'' is baked on

Holy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( la, Sabbatum Sanctum), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday), the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory, Sabado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter ...

is strictly a fast day; nothing is eaten and there is a church service at midnight and

Easter Mass Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

at dawn. The ''kulich'' is blessed and it is taken home and eaten with ''

paskha Paskha (also spelled ''pascha'', or ''pasha''; russian: па́сха; ; "Easter") is a Slavic festive dish made in Eastern Orthodox countries which consists of food that is forbidden during the fast of Great Lent. It is made during Holy Week an ...

'' and other foods for a big breakfast with the family. According to Alan Davidson it is "the most famous Russian Easter bread."

Lamala

''Lamala'' is an Alsatian paschal lamb cake that is a traditional Easter cake of the Alsace region of France. It is made using a special mold.

Mazurek

Mazurek is a Polish easter cake made with short pastry with

butter cake A butter cake is a cake in which one of the main ingredients is butter. Butter cake is baked with basic ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and leavening agents such as baking powder or baking soda. It is considered one of the quintessent ...

"glued" together with a layer of

marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

Simnel cake

Simnel cake Simnel cake is a fruitcake widely eaten in the United Kingdom, Ireland and other countries with patterns of migration from them, associated with Lent and Easter. It is distinguished by layers of almond paste or marzipan, typically one in the middl ...

has become associated with the Easter season, but according to Davidson it was not always traditional to Easter.

Literary mentions

Anton Chekov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's '' The Cossack'' is a story about a newly married couple and a blessed loaf Easter cake.

References

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