Kulich – Easter Coffee Cake Wit Nuts And Raisins

Pour the milk into a small bowl and sprinkle in yeast and granulated
sugar. Let the yeast and sugar rest for 2 to 3 mins, then mix well.
Set aside in warm, draft-free place for about 10 mins, or until
mixture almost doubles in volume. Soak the raisins in the rum for at
least 10 mins. Transfer the raisins to paper towels to drain.
Dissolve the saffron in the rum and set aside. Combine the
confectioners’ sugar, 4 1/2 cups of flour and the salt and sift them
into a large bowl. Make a well in the center, pour in the
yeast-and-milk mixture, the vanilla, egg yolks and the reserved rum
and saffron. With a wooden spoon, gradually incorporate the dry
ingredients into the liquid ones. Stir until the mixture is smooth,
then beat in the butter bits. Beat until the dough can be gathered
into a medium-soft ball. Place the ball on a lightly floured surface
and knead, pushing the dough down with the heels of your hands,
pressing it forward and folding it back onto itself. Add up to 1 1/2
cups more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is no longer
sticky. Continue to knead for about 10 mins, or until dough is
smooth, shiny and elastic. With a pastry brush, spread 1 Tbs of
softened butter over the inside of a large bowl. Set the dough in
bowl, dust top lightly with flour and drape the bowl with kitchen
towel. Put it in a warm draft-free place for about 1 hr, or until the
dough almost doubles in volume. Combine the almonds, candied fruits
and reserved raisins. Sprinkle them with 1 Tbs of flour and toss them
about to coat them evenly. With a single blow of your fist, punch the
dough down in the bowl. Add the fruit mixture and knead vigorously
until it is more or less evenly distributed throughout the dough.
With a pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of an empty can about
6 inches in diameter and 7 inches high (3 lb coffee can) with 2 Tbs.
of softened butter. Spread 1 Tbs of butter over a sheet of heavy
brown paper about 22 inches long and at least 10 inches wide, and
line the can with it, unbuttered side against the metal. Cut out a
circle of brown paper, slightly smaller than the diameter of can and
coat 1 side of it with the remaining butter and place it in the
bottom of the can, buttered side up. With scissor, slit the paper
crown that extends above can down to the rim at 2 in intervals. Fold
the resulting strips down and tie them snugly in place with cord.
Place the dough in the can, drape it with a kitchen towel and set
aside in the draft-free place for about 30 mins, or until it rises
almost to top of the can. Preheat oven to 400F. and bake the cake on
the lowest shelf for 15 mins. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake for
one hour longer. The cake will mushroom over the top of the can to
form a cap. Remove from the oven and cool in the can for about 5
mins. To unmold the cake, turn the can on its side and remove the
bottom with a can opener. Insert a long knife into the bottom of the
can between the paper and metal and work the blade around the edge to
loosen the cake. Gently set the tin upright and, with the knife,
carefully loosen the “mushroom cap” from the sides of the can, taking
care not to break the cap. Untie the cord. Pushing from the bottom of
the can with one hand, gradually slide the cake out and place it up
right on a wire cake rack. Peel off paper.

WHITE ICING: 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup cold water 2 tsp
fresh, strained lemon juice

ICING: With a wooden spoon, mix together the sugar, water and lemon
juice and pour it over the top of the warm cake, allowing it to run
down the cake in thin streams. The Russians prepare kulich for
serving by first slicing off the mushroom-shaped cap and placing it
in the center of a serving platter. The cake is cut in half
lengthwise and finally cut crosswise into 1 1/2 to 2-inch thick
slices. The slices are then arranged around the top of the cake.