Royal Crown Kugelhopf

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14 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Prepare the raisins and butter

   Pour 100 g of raisins into a bowl, cover with warm water and let them swell for 20 minutes. Drain them in a strainer and spread them on a clean cloth and dab them: they must be flexible but no longer drip. Cut the 120 g of butter from the dough into cubes and leave them to soften; keep the 20 g of butter for the mould separately.

2. Measuring milk and breaking eggs

   Heat the 120 ml of milk to about 30 °C: it should be barely hot, never hot. Break the two eggs one by one in a small bowl, remove any shell and beat them with a fork for 20 seconds. Check how to use the 7 g of dry yeast; if it needs to be rehydrated, use some of these 120 ml of milk, not extra milk.

3. Assemble the dough before kneading

   Pour the 350 g of flour into the vat of the robot equipped with the hook, then add the 7 g of yeast, the 70 g of sugar, the 4 g of salt, the beaten eggs and all the milk provided. Avoid leaving the yeast in contact with the pure salt before mixing. Spin for 2 minutes at a small speed to gather the ingredients; stop and scrape the flour left on the walls with a spatula.

4. Knead and then incorporate the butter

   Knead another 6 minutes at low speed, about 8 minutes in total before butter. Then add the 120 g of soft butter in four servings, until the previous one is absorbed before the next one. Continue about 8 minutes: the dough becomes supple and elastic, even if it remains a little sticky. Do not pour extra flour to make it dry; scrape the tank once if necessary.

5. Add the raisins and make the first rise

   Add the drained and dried raisins, then crochet at low speed for 30 to 60 seconds, just to distribute them. Gather the dough in the center of the bowl and cover it with a clean cloth or lid. Let rise for about 1 hour 30 minutes in a room around 24°C, until its volume has doubled; if the room is cool, rely on the volume rather than the clock.

6. Butter all the grooves of the mold

   With a clean brush or fingers, spread the 20 g of butter from the mould in a 22 cm kouglof mould, up to the grooves and around the central chimney. Place the 20 whole almonds at the bottom, distributing them in the hollows; if the mold has less than 20 grooves, put the remaining almonds between the first. They have to stick to the butter and stay at the bottom.

7. Install the dough around the fireplace

   Gently press the dough with the fist to bring out the big bubbles: it is the degassing. Lay it on a sheet of baking paper, form a ball and then open a hole in the middle with your fingers. Lift this ring with both hands and place it around the mold chimney. Spread the thickness with your fingers without moving the almonds from the bottom.

8. Let the dough rise in the mold

   Cover the mold without tightening and let rise about 1 hour in the same room, until the dough reaches about three-quarters of its height. Preheat the oven to 175 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan) for the last 15 minutes of this rise. The dough should be inflated and flexible; do not bake it very dense simply because the hour has passed.

9. Cook the kouglof to heart

   Place the pan in the bottom third of the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes. From 35 minutes, sting the thickest part, avoiding a grape: the sting must come out without raw dough. The surface should be golden and firm to the light touch. If it colors too quickly, protect it with baking paper without touching the heating elements.

10. Unmold and cool completely

    Let the kouglof rest for 10 minutes in its mould, then put a wire rack on it and turn the whole with oven gloves. Gently lift the mould; if the brioche resists, wait a few minutes and gently take off an edge without pulling on the grooves. Let cool for about 1 hour 30 minutes on the rack, until the center is no longer warm, before adding sugar and chocolate.

11. Preparing the chocolate of the spikes

    Chop 90 g of milk chocolate and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing a little hot water, keeping the bowl clear of the water. Melt over a very low heat, stirring. Remove the bowl when the chocolate has almost melted and stir off the heat until smooth. Wipe the bottom of the bowl; no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Spread this portion on baking paper into a baking tray about 3 mm thick. Wait until it begins to firm up: its surface becomes less shiny but still accepts the mark of a knife. Reserve the remaining 30 g of milk chocolate, not melted, to fix the spikes afterwards.

12. Cut six low triangles

    With a knife, trace in the chocolate six triangles of 4 cm base and 4 cm high, without pulling the paper. Let harden for 20 to 30 minutes, then gently separate by folding the paper under the lines. Keep chocolate drops to accompany the service; they should not be used to add spikes. If a triangle breaks, remelt it with a fall and reform a simple piece.

13. Fix the tips on the cold brioche

    Chop 30 g of milk chocolate and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing a little hot water, keeping the bowl clear of the water. Melt over a very low heat, stirring. Remove the bowl when the chocolate has almost melted and stir off the heat until smooth. Wipe the bottom of the bowl; no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Spots six regularly spaced locations on the upper flanks of the kouglof, without adding icing sugar. Place a drop of chocolate at each spot and place an inclined triangle against the brioche, point upwards and base resting on the cake. Hold for a few seconds; no point should stand cantilevered.

14. Lay the cranberries and finish the crown

    Set one of the six cranberries at the foot of each triangle with the remaining gluing chocolate. Let take 30 minutes without moving the kouglof. Then sift the 20 g of finely layered icing sugar over the remaining bare brioche parts, avoiding gluing and recovering the surplus dropped on the dish. Cut with a bread knife, removing a tip to share it if it interferes with the slice.