← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 100 g Raisins
• 3 tbsp dark rum or kirsch
• 500 g plain or bread flour
• 10 g fast-action dried yeast
• 70 g Sugar
• 8 g Salt
• 2 eggs
• 200 ml lukewarm milk
• 160 g Butter, softened, plus extra for the mould
• 20 whole blanched almonds
• icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Soak the raisins in the rum for at least 1 hour.
2. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the eggs and milk and knead for 10 min until smooth. Add the butter in pieces and knead for 8–10 min more until the dough is glossy and elastic.
3. Knead in the drained raisins, cover and leave to rise for 1½ hours, until doubled.
4. Butter a kouglof (or bundt) mould generously and set an almond in each groove at the bottom. Shape the dough into a ring, press it into the mould, cover and prove for 1½ hours, until it reaches nearly to the top.
5. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Bake for 40–45 min, covering loosely with foil after 20 min if browning fast, until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Turn out onto a rack, cool and dust heavily with icing sugar.

Tips

• Even better a day old, and stale slices make wonderful pain perdu. Contains almonds.
• Brushing the warm cake with melted butter before the icing sugar keeps it soft for longer.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

196 Flavors The Daring Gourmet