Holiday Sweet Bread
Credit: Christopher Hirsheimer
MAKES 2
This is an adaptation of a Caribbean cook's generations-old family recipe.
2 cups milk
3 7-gram packages active dry yeast
12 cups flour
2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground mace
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
6 cups sugar
8 tbsp. butter, melted
8 tbsp. lard, melted
5 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup dried currants
12 pitted prunes, quartered
1/4 cup grated candied citron
1/4 cup finely ground almonds
1/2 cup kirsch or other eau-de-vie
2 maraschino cherries, stemmed
12 whole almonds
1. Put 1 cup of the milk and 1 cup water into a small saucepan, and heat over medium heat until tepid; then transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over milk, and set aside until softened, about 10 minutes. Gradually beat in 4 cups of the flour with a wooden spoon. Add orange zest, cinnamon, mace, cloves, and cardamom, and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 1/2 hours.
2. Sift together sugar and remaining 8 cups flour in a medium bowl. Gradually add to yeast mixture in large bowl, adding butter and lard alternately and vigorously stirring with a wooden spoon until combined. Stir in eggs and remaining 1 cup milk; then add raisins, currants, prunes, citron, ground
almonds, and kirsch, and mix well.
3. Preheat oven to 300°. Divide batter between 2 greased and floured deep 8'' cake pans. Press 1 cherry into center of each, and decorate with almonds. Set aside for 30 minutes. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 3 hours. Loosely cover with foil if cakes get dark. Cool for 10 minutes; then unmold and cool on racks.
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