No. 3100 — Excellent Yellow Pretzel Cake or Kulich
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 3100 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
The ingredients are 2 bottles milk, 1½ pounds butter, a handful of salt, 1½ pounds fine sugar, 1 glass rosewater, ½ pound raisins, ½ pound dried currants, 20 cardamom seeds, ¼ pound chopped almonds, 10 crushed bitter almonds, 6½ pounds of the best flour, 6 wooden spoonfuls of the best yeast mixture and saffron worth 30 kopecks.
Prepare the dough in the usual way, making a sponge from 3 pounds flour with the milk and yeast. Once risen, add melted butter, eggs, rosewater and almost all the remaining flour, knead thoroughly and let rise.
Add the finely sifted sugar, raisins, almonds and currants, form one or two large pretzel-shaped cakes, and allow them to rise well on the table before baking. The source advises lighting the oven when the pretzel cakes are shaped.