Light Raisin Kugelhopf

📝 Ingredients

• 400 g plain flour
• 20 g fresh yeast (or 7 g dried yeast)
• 180 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 50 g caster sugar
• 80 g soft unsalted butter (70 for the dough, 10 for the tin)
• 100 g raisins
• 1 unwaxed orange (zest + about 100 ml juice)
• 1 level tsp salt (5 g)
• 16 whole almonds (about 20 g)
• 1 tbsp icing sugar (for serving)

🍴 Utensils

• Stand mixer with dough hook
• 22 cm Kugelhopf tin
• Small saucepan
• Clean tea towel
• Wire rack
• Pastry brush

📖 Steps

1. Zest the orange, then squeeze it. Rinse the raisins and leave them to plump up in a bowl with the zest and juice for at least 30 minutes (ideally overnight in the fridge). Take the butter and eggs out of the fridge so they come to room temperature.
2. Warm the milk in the small saucepan: it should feel just lukewarm to the touch (about 37 °C), as the yeast dies above 45 °C. Off the heat, crumble in the fresh yeast (or add the dried yeast) with 1 tsp of the sugar, stir and leave to froth for 10 minutes.
3. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, the rest of the sugar and the salt. Add the yeasted milk and beaten eggs, then knead for 5 minutes on low speed and 5 minutes on medium speed, until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides.
4. Add 70 g of the soft butter in small pieces, in three batches, and knead for another 5 to 8 minutes: the dough should become supple, glossy and elastic. Drain the raisins, keeping their juice, then work them in by kneading for just 1 minute so they don't get crushed.
5. Shape into a ball, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hr 30 min in a warm place (about 25 °C), away from draughts, until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Generously butter the tin with the remaining 10 g of butter, getting right into every groove, or the kugelhopf will stick when you turn it out. Place a whole almond at the bottom of each groove.
7. Knock back the dough by pressing it down with your fist, shape it into a ball and push your fingers through the centre to make a ring. Place it in the tin, pressing lightly. Cover and leave to rise for another 1 hour, until the dough comes to within 2 cm of the rim.
8. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional) 15 minutes before the end of the rising time. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, covering with foil as soon as the top is nicely golden. A knife inserted into the centre should come out dry.
9. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the wire rack. Brush the still-warm kugelhopf with the orange juice from the raisins: it will stay soft for longer. Leave to cool completely and dust with icing sugar before serving.