Italian Christmas Cake (Panettone)

Ingredients

• 0.5 cube Yeast
• 200 ml milk (lukewarm)
• 500 g flour
• 50 g sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 100 g butter (soft)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 pinch anise powder
• 40 g pine nuts
• fat for the pan
• butter for brushing (1-2 tbsp)
• powdered sugar (for dusting)
• 40 g candied orange peel
• 40 g candied lemon peel
• 100 g raisins
• 2 tbsp rum

Instructions

1. 1.

   Finely chop the candied lemon and orange peels, soak them with the raisins in rum.

2. 2.

   Combine all dough ingredients except pine nuts in a bowl, knead well, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in volume.

3. 3.

   Fold the soaked fruits and pine nuts into the dough, divide it into two portions, place in well-greased tins lined with parchment if desired, and let rise for another ~20 minutes. Put the pans in a cold oven, set to 160°C fan-forced on the second rack and bake for about 45-60 minutes.

4. 4.

   After 15-20 minutes of baking, brush the tops with a little butter and continue baking until done. Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.

5. 5.

   Serve dusted with powdered sugar.