Kulich – Easter Coffee Cake With Nuts And Raisins

-WHITE ICING-
2 c Confectioner’s sugar 2 ts Fresh, strained lemon juice
1/4 c Cold water

Recipe by: Recipes: Russian Cooking – Foods of the World – Time-Life

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. Dissovle 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 400?F. 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:

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 cap.