Kulich is the most ancient ritual food for Easter. In Rus', it was believed that if the Easter cake was a success, then everything would be fine in the family all year.
Prepare steam. To do this, pour the yeast with 100 ml of warm water, add 1 tsp. sugar and set aside for 10 minutes. for the fermentation process. In warm milk, add salt, prepared yeast, 1 tbsp. l. sugar and about half of the sifted flour. Knead the dough until the state of thick sour cream. Put the dough in a warm place without drafts for 2 hours.
Mix the remaining flour and sugar, eggs, vanilla essence into the dough. While kneading the dough, add soft butter last. The dough should have a uniform consistency, be elastic and lag behind the hands. Roll the dried apricots cut into cubes in a small amount of flour and knead into the dough. Put the dough for fermentation for 1 hour in a warm place. Then punch it down and let it rise again.
Divide into balls, transfer to molds, greased with oil. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. at 180°C. Remove the cakes from the oven, let them cool at room temperature, cover with icing and sprinkles. Serve with fresh berries and mint.