What Is Paska And What Does It Taste Like?

With Easter just around the corner, many of us have begun planning our perfect holiday table spread. While we might opt to include the classics, like a glazed ham or tray of scalloped potatoes, serving the same menu each Easter can burn out the best of us (via Food Network). If the thought of making another pot roast or array of deviled eggs has you dreading the traditional menu, spice up your celebration by checking out how other parts of the world celebrate this holiday and explore what foods come with the festivities. 

As Easter celebrations roll around, Eastern Europe pulls out all the stops when it comes to food. One of the most beloved baked goods you can get comes in the form of either a paska or a kulich. Described as a mix between an Italian Panettone and French Brioche, paskas and kulichs refer to an Easter cake-like bread glazed with a light sugar icing and sprinkles (via Let The Baking Begin). Russians refer to this cake as a kulich, while Ukrainians and other Eastern Europeans refer to this traditional baked good as a paska. If you ever order a paska and expect the cake, make sure you double check your order — paska also refers to another traditional Easter dish featuring farmer's cheese filled with raisins in some parts of Eastern Europe.

Whether you bake your own sweet paska or buy one at a bakery, your taste buds are in for a treat. Expect the paska to have a texture closer to a bread than a cake, as the dough requires yeast and time to rise before it gets baked in the oven (via Natasha's Kitchen). The dough takes butter, milk, sour cream, and eggs, giving it a very substantial body and includes raisins for an extra sweet and chewy texture. Once the bread comes out of the oven, you can then glaze it with a thin icing made from sugar and lemons to help give each bite a sweet and tart kick. 

It truly stands in a league of its own and deserves a taste if you need to break out a new Easter dish. When you need to kick your seasonal menu up a notch, take a page out of the cookbooks of Eastern Europe and try out this festive bread that keeps everyone coming back for more. It not only can impress anyone who gets a glimpse of it, it can satisfy anyone who has a sweet tooth. Give it a shot, and the paska will stick around your seasonal menu for years to come.