Russian Cookbook

5 cups white flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup mixed peel
1/3 cup almonds, chopped
7 gr easy-blend dried yeast
300ml milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
1 pinch salt

For the icing:

1 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of the beaten egg

Gently heat the milk and butter in a pan until melted. Allow to cool until tepid.

Sift the flour, salt and cinnamon into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, raisins, mixed peel, almonds and dried yeast. Make a well in the center.

Add the egg to the dry ingredients with the milk and butter. Mix well to form a soft dough.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a clean bowland leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F / Gas 5. Grease and line a tall cylindrical tin or a deep 20cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper. Turn the dough out and knead until smooth. Place in the tin, cover with oiled clear film and leave in a warm place until it has risen almost to the top of the tin.

Discard the cling film. Brush the top with the icing egg. Bake for about an hour until a fine skewerinserted into the middle comes out clean. Cover with foil if the kulich begins to brown too much. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix to make a thick icing. Drizzle over the top and leave to set.