Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

3/4 lb Unsalted Butter; Chilled, * 1/4 ts Black Pepper; Freshly Ground
3 3/4 c Unbleached Flour; PLUS 3 c Seedless Raisins
3 1/3 c Unbleached Flour 3 c White Or Golden Raisins
1/2 ts Salt 1/2 c Almonds; Ground
8 tb Ice Water; May Use Up To 10 1 1/2 c Almonds; Coarsely Chopped
1/2 c Sugar 3 Eggs; Lg
1/2 ts Baking Powder 1/2 c Buttermilk or Milk
1 ts Cinnamon 1 c Brandy
1/2 ts Mace 1 Egg;Lg, Beaten
1/8 ts Allspice

* The butter, 3 sticks, should be cut into small pieces.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the butter, 3 3/4 c flour, and
1/4 ts of salt. With your fingers, work the ingredients together
until you form small granules that are fairly uniform in size.
Sprinkle 8 tb of the ice water over the granules and continue mixing
until you can gather the ingredients into a ball. If the dough
crumbles, add additional ice water, 1 tb at a time, until a soft ball
can be formed. With the flat of your hand, press the dough into a
thick cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1
hour. Prepare the filling by sifting the 3 1/2 cups of flour, the
sugar, baking powder, spices, and remaining 1/4 ts of salt into a
large bowl. Add the freshly ground black pepper, seedless and white
or golden raisins, ground and coarsely chopped almonds. Mix
thoroughly until all the fruits and nuts are coated well with the dry
ingredients. Add the 3 eggs, milk, and brandy mixing well. Preheat
the oven to 375 degrees F. and, on a lightly floured surface, roll
two-thirds of the chilled pastry to a thickness of 1/4-inch. Gently
place a 9 X 3 1/2-inch springform pan on the pastry. With a small
sharp knife,cut along the outside of the pan to make a disk. Line
the bottom of the pan with the disk of pastry. Use the remaining
pieces of rolled-out pasty to line the sides of the pan, slightly
overlapping the pastry on the bottom and letting the pastry extend
about 1/2-inch above the top of the form. Spoon the filling into the
pan, packing it down firmly and press the excess pastry over the
filling. Brush the pastry with a little of the beaten egg. In the
same fashion, roll out the remaining pastry into a circle larger than
the form. Roll the pastry around the rolling pin to lift it and
unroll it on the top of the form. Press the top pastry against the
filling and the pastry below to make a tight seal and trim off the
excess. Brush the entire top with the beaten egg. Cut a 1-inch round
vent in the middle of the bun, and if you like, use the pastry scraps
to make leaves. Roll the scraps together and cut out tear drop shapes
to resemble leaves. Score the top, with a small sharp knife, to
resemble the ribs of the leaves. Brush the undersides of the leaves
with the remaining beaten egg to make them adhere to the top of the
bun. Then brush the top again with the beaten egg. Bake on a rack in
the middle of the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the pastry is a
rich golden brown. If the decorations color much faster than the top
sheath of pasty, cover them with aluminum foil to reflect the oven
heat and retard the browning.

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