Pashka

This is a Russian Easter dessert that I make every year. Its name actually means Easter and it is an integral part of the traditional festivities which hold huge significance within  Slavonic culture.
Pashka is  essentially a cheesecake without a crust: rich, sweet and  decorated with candied fruit. Normally it would be eaten in conjunction with a rich buttery cake called kulich  but I never bother with that.
To make it you combine the ingredients and pour the mixture into a cloth-lined pyramidal mould called a pasochnitsa, formerly made of wood, now plastic. (You can use a flower pot instead.) It is pressed overnight under a weight to drain away excess moisture. The mould has embossed on its sides the Russian cross and the letters XB which stand for Christos Voscres, Christ is Risen, so that when the pashka is turned out it bears those signs.

Some people may think it strange that I, as an atheist, perpetuate this religious tradition but, as an anthropologist as well, I am interested in belief systems  as part of the social structure. It's not hard to recognize that the urge to celebrate  the arrival of spring warmth, growth and birth predated Christianity. In the northern climes especially the return of the sunlight represented survival of the rigours of winter which routinely claimed the lives of the weak and sickly, and brought people to the edge of starvation. Now, once again larders could be replenished, crops sown and young animals reared. It's a good opportunity to rejoice and  celebrate. All of which seems a good enough reason to enjoy eating pashka when this time of year comes around.