Curd Easter cake "Tsarskaya"

Ingredients:

• 900 gr. homemade granulated or pressed cottage cheese
• 1.5 cups of sugar
• 225g cream cheese, room temperature, cut into pieces
• 6 yolks from large hard-boiled eggs, crumbled
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 lemon, grated zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon essence
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup yellow raisins
• Chopped candied fruit for decoration

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese or pressed cheese, sugar, cream cheese and egg yolks.
2. Process the mixture in batches in a food processor until smooth, adding an equal amount of cream in each batch. Transfer to the bowl.
3. Stir in ground almonds, lemon zest, lemon essence, and vanilla extract. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the cream mixture along with the raisins. Mix thoroughly.
4. Take a clean, unused 1.9-liter flowerpot and line it with a double layer of cheesecloth. Spoon the curd mixture into the pot, then carefully fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the surface. Place a saucer on top, and then place a 900-gram weight on top, such as a jar of water. Place the flowerpot in a container large enough to catch the water. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
5. Empty the container. Invert the paska onto a serving plate and carefully remove the cheesecloth. Decorate with candied fruit: press it into the letters ХВ (Christ is Risen).