An integral part of the Christmas breakfast sometimes gives nightmares to many housewives. Will it bloom? Will she be fluffy? Will everyone like it? What about the husband? What about the mother-in-law? Try Josef Maršálek’s proven recipe this year.
Play the entire Christmas baking podcast HERE:
Similar to potato salad, Christmas is a little different in every family. “I like Christmas a little denser. It doesn’t have to be like feathers, just compact, but it should contain a lot of bubbles and not crumble,” the best-known Czech confectioner Josef Maršálek describes his favorite Christmas cake.
“And the most important are the raisins. We don’t skimp on those. It’s a memory of my grandfather, who grew up in a time when there was no abundance and prosperity, and whoever gave raisins for Christmas was Mr. Somebody.”
His Christmas tree smells of spices and, if you wish, will delight diners with a surprising nut crust. Try it, you may not taste better this year.
Necessary raw materials
For the dough, prepare 500 g of plain flour, 250 ml of lukewarm milk, 100 g of sugar, 10 g of vanilla sugar, 150 g of softened butter, 100 g of golden raisins, 30 g of egg yolks, 20 g of yeast and 5 g of salt. Josef Maršálek a lot of spices for Christmas, as he said in our podcast. And so add 1 gram of ground anise, 2 g of nutmeg and the grated rind of 1 lemon to the dough.
If you decide to also prepare a nut glaze, add 60 g of ground nuts, 60 g of powdered sugar, 200 g of egg whites and 1 g of ground cinnamon to the basket. “You can’t experiment with some foods. And Christmas is one of them,” says the confectioner himself. “Nevertheless, try my variation with the walnut layer. It was enjoyed by my friends and colleagues all over the world, from India to England.” You will then need one more egg and about 40g of blanched almonds to finish.
Make the dough
Crumble the yeast into the milk, add 100 g of flour, vanilla sugar and let rise covered with a tea towel for 1 hour. Then mix in the rest of the ingredients, except for the butter and raisins, and make a smooth, non-sticky dough. Add the butter and continue kneading. When the dough stops sticking, is firm and elastic and is ideally at 27ºC, add the raisins and mix lightly. Raisins must remain whole.
Then let the dough rise in a covered bowl. It is best to make it in the evening, cover with cling film and let it rise overnight in the fridge. Slow rising is the recipe for a perfect-tasting Christmas cake.
Tie it up properly
The risen dough, which should almost triple in volume, carefully tip it out of the bowl and divide it into 6 equal parts, from which first make balls and then gradually roll out strands. Christmas knitting requires a little practice (you can find instructions in the selections on Josef Maršálek’s Instagram account). Knitting from six strands at once has one huge advantage – the Christmas tree cannot “fall off” during baking and rising, and it remains wonderfully compact and beautiful on the cut. Remember, however, that the basis is properly prepared and aged dough.
When knitting, carefully tighten the strands together. The greater the number of translations, the prettier the Christmas tree will be and the taller it will be after baking. Flatten both ends of your palms and slide them under the Christmas tree. You will then have neat heels.
Add the secret ingredient
Spray the finished Christmas cake with water and let it rise at room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare the nut topping: mix the nuts with sugar, cinnamon and egg whites to a smooth paste. Brush the risen Christmas cake with a beaten egg, the prepared nut glaze and sprinkle with coarsely chopped almonds.
Bake it
Bake in an oven preheated to 160 ºC for about 30 minutes. Before you take the Christmas cake out of the oven, check with a toothpick whether it’s done – poke it into the dough, and if you pull it out clean, without crumbs, you’re done. Allow the Christmas cake to cool completely and then lightly sugar it.
