Koulìtch - Russian Easter Cake

It's Orthodox Easter today.... but I am a bit late with the preparations. Nevertheless, Christ is Risen!!! He is risen indeed! These are words the orthodox say on the day.
So, today's recipe is a tribute to this wonderful orthodox festivity. My mom baked it, my granny did and my great grandmother as well.... I think even her mother did but I don't have any evidence of the ancestors before 1900 :-) 
The cake, as the tradition requires, should be very high with white frosting and two letters written on top: XB - that is in cyrillic and these are the first letters from "Christ (is) Risen".
Kulitch is eaten during the family feast and can be brought as a present along with the coloured eggs to your nearest and dearest.
Be prepared as you will need a lot of time to prepare this cake though the whole process is not that difficult... 
      

INGREDIENTS: 
Servings: ~10

650g flour
4 eggs
250ml (1.25glass) milk
8g dry yeast (30-35g fresh yeast)
1 glass sugar
125-150g butter
vanillin
1pinch of salt
raisins
almonds (optional)
Frosting:
100g confectioner's sugar 
1/2 egg white
1tbs lemon juice 




Note.Keep all the ingredients at room temperature

1. Sift 250g of flour and mix the dry yeast in it. 
2. Add 1 tbs of sugar to "feed" the yeast.
3. Heat the milk till it's warm and if you try the temperature with a finger, you have to feel comfortable.
Note: If you use the fresh yeast, melt it in the warm milk. 

4. Mix flour and milk together (the yeast is already in) with a whisk in a big saucepan.
5. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen cloth and keep the first dough in warm place for 1-1.5 hour to activate the yeast.
Note: If the room temperature is a bit cold you may heat a hot water bottle to a nice warm temperature and put it under the pan. Careful, don't use the water that is too hot, as in this case the yeast will just "die"...

6. Separate egg yolks and whites.

7. Beat the egg yolks with sugar in which you have mixed in vanillin till they become foamy and whitish.
 8. Add butter that you cut into small pieces to the yolks. Beat everything again to mix well and incorporate more air.

9. Add the butter mix to the first dough and mix carefully.

10. Whisk the egg whites with a mixer till they form white peaks.

11. Add egg whites to the dough and mix carefully.

12. Sift the rest of the flour and add it little by little to the dough.
13. Cover the pan with a cloth and keep the dough aside for minimum 2 hours to raise. The dough should raise about three time it's volume.
Note: I prepared the dough late in the evening and let it raise for the whole night, I woke up then at 6 o'clock to start cooking.... 
And I'm sorry.. I was too sleepy at 6 o'clock in the morning and so I missed the photo of the raised dough....
14. When the dough has raised mix in the raisins carefully, be sure you don't remove all the precious air that the dough produced so hardly. 

15. Distribute the dough in the high paper moulds or other moulds you have, it's important the moulds are high...
Note: The dough should fill in one third of the mould in order for it to raise again.  

16. Let the dough raise again for about 1-1.5 hour.
17. Heat the oven to 175C.
18. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes on a lower rack till the cake browns it's top....

19. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool them down.

20. Prepare the frosting: whisk the confectioner's sugar with a half of an egg white and lemon juice to create a thick but elastic frosting.

21. Spread the frosting over the cakes with rotating movements.

22. Using the roasted almonds or the raisins write the letters XB. 
Note: This is only for the orthodox... if you are not or you don't like having an orthodox symbols on your cake you may leave the cake just with the frosting or decorate it as you like it!     

Христос Воскрес!!!

            Christ is risen!!!