Ingredients
Dough
- 2000 Grams All Purpose Flour
(12 cups) - 330 Grams White Sugar
- 750 Grams Unsalted Butter
- 4 Eggs
- 20 Grams Fine Salt
(omit if using salted butter) - 6 Yeast Packages
- 1 Tsp Almond Extract
- 750 mL Milk
(warm) - ½ Cups Water
(warm)
Fillings
- 700 Grams Raisins (light)
- 300 Grams Raisins (dark)
- 160 Grams Lemon Zest
- 160 Grams Orange Zest
- 1⅓ Cups Rum
(add extra to Chef's eggnog for best results) - 350 Grams Marzipan
(see Robin's Marzipan recipe) - 300 Grams Almonds
blanched, slivered
Toppings
- ½ Cups Butter
melted - ½ Cups Icing Sugar
- ¼ Cups Milk
Method
Part I
- 700 Grams Raisins (light)
- 300 Grams Raisins (dark)
- 160 Grams Orange Zest
- 1⅓ Cups Rum
(add extra to Chef's eggnog for best results)
Combine the raisins, peel, and almonds in a bowl. Pour the rum over them, toss these ingredients to coat, and leave soak for minimum 1 hour. Note: I added about a cup of rum and stirred this once daily for about a week before I started baking. All rum was absorbed but if any is left, don’t discard it.
Part II
- 2000 Grams All Purpose Flour
(12 cups) - 330 Grams White Sugar
- 6 Yeast Packages
- ½ Cups Water
(warm)
In your largest bowl, put 4 c. of the flour and in one corner sprinkle the yeast, a bit of sugar and 1 1/4 c. warm water. Leave 5 min. in a warm oven which was turned on briefly and then turned off again. Then mix in some more (2 c.) flour, another 1 1/4 c. warm water. Cover with a thin layer of flour. Wait until it rises up (about ½ hour).
Meanwhile pre-measure and cut your butter into pieces and measure 4 c of flour in a small separate bowl. Place both ingredients on the counter where you will be working so they are easily accessible for Part III when your hands will be sticky.
Part III
- 160 Grams Orange Zest
- 300 Grams Almonds
blanched, slivered
In the same large bowl add the eggs, sugar, salt (away from yeast), almond extract, lemon rind and milk (milk should be warned in the microwave). Sprinkle over with 2 c. more flour and stir together as best as possible. Now it is time to roll up your sleeves and use your hands to continue to mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Begin to add in the butter, a few chunks at a time, mixing it in thoroughly. Really knead well until elastic. At this point add the fruit and nuts in one go and mix thoroughly – this will take some real elbow grease!
Continue to add the remainder of the extra flour (from the 4 c. you pre-measured out) as needed. You will also want to transfer the dough to the counter, scrape out the bowl, and continue to knead with hands until a smooth, shiny, elastic dough is achieved. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place until it raises up – not necessarily double (could take an hour or more).
Part IV
- 350 Grams Marzipan
(see Robin's Marzipan recipe)
Knead dough once and then cut into 8 pieces (or 6 -4 small loaves and 2 large). Form each piece into a ball. Flatten and lengthen with hands into an oblong shape and then make a dent lengthwise down the middle by slightly using a rolling pin to make a trench. Brush the middle and closest side with melted butter. Roll marzipan into a log and place in the trench indentation. How fat the log is depends on your love of marzipan – maybe ½” – 1” wide. Then fold the far side over the marzipan and partly on top of the closest raised edge. Push down lengthways along the loaf so that there is a hump on one side and the seam is secured. Leave to raise uncovered – another hour or so.
Part V
- ½ Cups Butter
melted - ½ Cups Icing Sugar
- ¼ Cups Milk
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Brush the loaves with milk and bake for above 25 – 45 minutes depending on the size. When still hot, brush the finished loaves with melted butter and dust immediately with a thick layer of icing sugar. The loaves keep quite well, slowly drying out and becoming firmer as they age. You can also pop them into a plastic bag to freeze as well.
Enjoy!