Christmas Raisin Kouglof

It's up to you.

14 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Inflate and then dry the raisins

   Put the 100 g of raisins in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let them inflate for 20 minutes, then pour them into a colander. Spread them on a clean cloth or absorbent paper and dab them: they must be flexible but no longer bring water into the dough. Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients.

2. Separate dough butter and moulds butter

   Weighing 350 g of flour, 70 g of sugar, 7 g of dry yeast and 4 g of salt. Put the 120 g of soft butter for the dough in a bowl, diced. Keep aside the 20 g of butter for the mold and the 20 g of icing sugar for the finish. Prepare a robot with hook or large bowl, as well as a 22 cm kouglof mold.

3. Prepare milk and eggs

   Gentle the 120 ml of milk to about 30 °C: it should not be hot. Break the 2 eggs in a small bowl, check for the absence of shell, then beat them briefly with a fork. Read the yeast sachet: if rehydration is indicated, do it with some of the milk already measured, without adding any additional liquid. Otherwise, add the yeast directly with the flour.

4. Gather the dough without the butter

   Pour flour, sugar and yeast into the bowl of the robot. Add the warm milk and beaten eggs, then start mixing with the hook at a small speed. Add the 4 g of salt once the ingredients are slightly combined. Mix until the flour piping bag disappear; the dough remains sticky and the butter is not yet incorporated.

5. Knead to give the outfit

   Let the hook rotate at slow or medium speed for about 8 minutes, stopping once to scrape the bottom of the bowl. By hand, fold the dough on itself and then push it with the base of the palm, regularly bringing it back with a spatula; plan a few minutes more. It must begin to become elastic. Do not add handfuls of flour to remove any adhesion: a brioche remains flexible.

6. Gradually Incorporates 120 g of butter

   Add the soft butter three or four times, until each addition is almost absorbed before the next. Continue to knead about 8 minutes after the beginning of this incorporation. The dough can first tear and slide into the bowl, then it gathers. It is ready when it becomes smooth, flexible and stretchy, with only a slight sticky veil on the walls.

7. Add the raisins without crushing them

   Add the well-drained and dried raisins to the dough. Mix at the slowest speed for 30 to 60 seconds, or folds the dough by hand until it is spread. Stop as soon as they're not together in one pile. Gather the dough at the bottom of the bowl and cover it to prevent its surface from drying.

8. Wait for the volume doubling

   Leave the bowl in a temperate room, around 24 °C, for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Take a picture or spot the starting level to judge the swelling. The dough should almost double in volume; if the kitchen is cooler, prolong the wait. Do not place the bowl on a radiator or in a lit oven to speed up lifting.

9. Butter every groove of the mold

   With a clean brush or fingers, spread the reserved 20 g of butter throughout the mold, including the grooves and the central chimney. Place the 20 whole almonds at the bottom: put one in each groove, then distribute any remaining ones between them. Don't leave them in a big pile. The butter must form a thin but continuous layer to facilitate demoulding.

10. Shape a crown around the fireplace

    Gently press the dough with your fingers to evacuate the big bubbles: it is "degassing". Gather it into a ball, then make a hole in the center with your fingers and gradually widen it. Place the crown in the mold around the chimney, without tearing the dough. Equalizes the height with the fingers to avoid one side much thicker than the other.

11. Let it rise a second time

    Cover the mold without tightening and leaves to rise about 1 hour in temperate temperature. The dough should reach about three-quarters of the height of the mold and appear swollen. Towards the end of the rise, start preheating the conventional oven to 175 °C (no fan). If the dough has hardly moved after an hour, wait longer before cooking.

12. Cook and control the center

    Place the pan on the rack in the bottom half of the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes. The top must be very golden. Push a skewer into the thickest part, between the edge and the chimney: it must come out without raw dough. If necessary, extend it by 5 minutes; if the top color too much, protect it with a sheet of baking paper.

13. Unmolded after a short wait

    Remove the mould with oven gloves and let it sit for 10 minutes on a stable surface. Protect your hands, place a wire rack over the tin, and carefully invert the tin and rack together. Lift the mold gently; if it resists, wait a few more minutes rather than pulling on the cake. Then let the kouglof cool completely on the grill, at least 1 hour 30 minutes depending on its height.

14. Powder only when kouglof is cold

    Put the 20 g of finishing icing sugar in a small strainer. Tap above the cold kouglof to lay a regular veil over the top and grooves. If it is still lukewarm, the sugar will melt on contact. Finally put the kouglof on his plate and cut slices with a bread knife, without crushing the crumb.