Julekage

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Stand mixer with dough hook (optional, but helpful)
• •Baking sheet
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Sharp serrated knife for slicing

Instructions

1. 1

   Warm the fruit

   Place the raisins and chopped candied citron peel in a bowl and pour over enough warm water to just cover them. Let them sit for fifteen minutes while you prepare the dough. This softens the fruit and plumps it, which matters more than you'd think. Dry fruit pulls moisture from the dough as it bakes, leaving you with hard pockets instead of soft, jammy bursts. Drain thoroughly and pat dry with a clean cloth before adding to the dough.

   Some Danish bakers soak the raisins in dark rum overnight. It's not traditional in every household, but it's not wrong either. If you do, skip the water and drain them well.
2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cardamom, and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, the two eggs, and the lemon zest. Stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a rough, shaggy mass. Add the softened butter in pieces and work it in until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This takes about twelve minutes by hand, seven or eight with a stand mixer on medium speed. The dough should feel soft and slightly tacky, not sticky. If it clings to your fingers and won't let go, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it behaves.

   The cardamom should hit you when you lean over the bowl. Two teaspoons is generous on purpose. Julekage without enough cardamom is just raisin bread, and raisin bread is not what we're making.
3. 3

   Add the fruit and nuts

   Scatter the drained raisins, candied citron, and chopped almonds over the dough. Fold and press them in gently, turning the dough over on itself until the fruit and nuts are distributed throughout. Don't knead aggressively here. You'll tear the gluten network you just built. The goal is even distribution, not perfection. A few clusters are fine. They'll become the best bites in the finished loaf.

4. 4

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a rough ball, return it to the bowl, and cover with a damp cloth. Leave it somewhere warm for one and a half to two hours, until it has doubled in size. Enriched doughs rise more slowly than lean ones because the butter and sugar weigh them down. Don't rush this. The long, slow rise is where the flavor develops, that faintly yeasty, cardamom warmth that fills the kitchen and tells you December has started.

   The ideal spot is somewhere around 24 to 26 degrees. If your kitchen is cold, place the bowl on a folded towel near (not on) a radiator. Too much direct heat kills the yeast.
5. 5

   Shape the loaf

   Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press it down gently to release the largest air bubbles. Shape it into an oval loaf, tucking the edges underneath so the top is smooth and taut. The surface tension is what gives the bread its domed shape in the oven. If you leave it loose and flat, it bakes loose and flat. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment, seam side down.

6. 6

   Second rise

   Cover the shaped loaf loosely with a cloth and let it rise again for forty-five minutes to an hour. It should look visibly puffed but still spring back slowly when you press it with a finger. If it doesn't spring back at all, it has over-proved and the structure will be weak. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. The middle ground is what you're after.

7. 7

   Glaze and finish

   Heat the oven to 180C. Brush the loaf all over with the beaten egg. Be gentle. The dough is soft and full of air and a heavy hand can deflate it. Scatter pearl sugar over the top. The pearl sugar is not decoration. It gives the crust a sweet crunch that contrasts with the soft, fragrant bread underneath, and it's the detail that tells anyone who knows Danish baking that this loaf was made with care.

8. 8

   Bake

   Bake on the middle shelf for thirty-five to forty minutes. The loaf is done when the top is a deep, burnished gold and a knock on the bottom produces a hollow sound. If the top darkens too quickly, lay a piece of foil loosely over it for the last ten minutes. The inside should be cooked through, soft and slightly moist from the fruit, never doughy. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. I know this is difficult. The smell is extraordinary. But the crumb sets as it cools, and if you cut too soon the slices will compress and tear.

   If you have an instant-read thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 88 to 90 degrees Celsius. That's the surest way to know an enriched loaf is done through.
9. 9

   Slice and serve

   Cut the julekage in thick slices with a sharp serrated knife. Serve it with cold butter, the good kind, and strong black coffee. The butter should be firm enough to spread in a thick layer that holds its shape against the warm bread. This is how December tastes in Denmark. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Grind your own cardamom if you can. Crack the green pods, pull out the black seeds, and crush them in a mortar. Pre-ground cardamom fades quickly on the shelf, and the difference is the difference between a fragrant loaf and a flat one.
• •Candied citron peel, sukat, is what you want. Not mixed candied peel from a supermarket tub, which is mostly sugar and coloring. Look for whole pieces of citron peel, pale and translucent, at Scandinavian or specialty shops. If you can't find it, candied orange peel is a closer substitute than the mixed kind.
• •Don't slice until the loaf is completely cool. I know. But enriched breads need time to set their crumb. If you cut too early, the interior compresses and the slices tear. Give it an hour. It's worth the wait.
• •Julekage keeps well. Wrap it tightly in a clean cloth, then in a bag, and it stays soft for four or five days. On the second and third day, it's almost better, the flavors have deepened and the crumb has settled.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed and given its first rise the evening before. After the first rise, press it down, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, bring it to room temperature for thirty minutes, then shape, prove, and bake. The cold overnight rise deepens the flavor.
• •Julekage freezes well. Wrap the cooled loaf tightly in cling film and then foil. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped, and refresh in a low oven (150C) for ten minutes before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 105g)