No. 2768 — Sixty-Layer Sweet Russian Pie (Rich or Fasting)

For the large rich version, break 6 eggs (about 1 glass) into a wooden bowl. Add 3 glasses of sweetened water containing ⅓ pound of dissolved sugar, 1 small glass of vodka and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly. Gradually add 4½ pounds of sifted fine flour and beat with a rolling pin until the dough no longer sticks to it.

Turn onto a table dusted with the remaining ½ pound of flour. Divide the dough into 60 portions and roll each into a ball. Roll every ball into a thin round about the size of a saucer, dust well with flour and stack so the pieces do not stick.

Brush a large round serving plate or baking dish with melted fat. Stretch each round by hand, thinning first the edges and then the middle over clenched fists without tearing, until it covers the dish. Fold in the edges and brush the layer lightly with oil or fat. Add another stretched, brushed layer, continuing until there are 25 sheets.

Spread approximately 1 pound or slightly more of fruit preserves with excess syrup removed over the 25th sheet. Turn up the edges so the filling cannot escape; that sheet must have no holes. Cover with the remaining 35 sheets, brushing each with fat and stretching it to the rim.

Trim away excess pastry around the dish (the scraps can be made into small pretzels), brush the top with fat and bake in a moderately heated oven for about half an hour. Trim the finished edges with a sharp knife if desired and sprinkle with sugar.

For 6–8 people, make half the dough and use 45 layers: 20 beneath the preserves and 25 above, stretched over an earthenware plate. No oil goes into the dough itself; it is brushed only between the layers.

For the fasting version, omit the eggs and add 1 extra glass of water to the full batch or ½ glass to the smaller one. Replace animal fat or butter with poppy-seed or sunflower oil for brushing the layers.

The original also proposes assembling the pie the evening before baking and claims it can keep in a cool place for over a month, to be reheated when served.

To provide