Moldavian cozonaci

Ingredients

For the dough

• 1 kg white flour
• 40 g fresh yeast
• 250 g fine granulated sugar
• 300-350 ml warm milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 2 sachets vanilla
• 250 ml oil or 250 g butter or lard
• 1 teaspoon rum essence
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon oil

For the filling

• 200 ml milk
• 250 g ground walnuts
• 175 g granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon rum essence
• 4 tablespoons rose petal jam
• 100 g colored Turkish delight
• 100 g raisins

Preparation

1. Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the crumbled yeast, 50 g sugar and 100 ml warm milk, then mix them with a little flour and leave the sponge for 15 minutes, until puffed up. 2. For the filling, mix the ground walnuts, 175 g sugar and 200 ml milk in a saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring until it thickens slightly, then leave it to cool for 20 minutes and stir in the rum essence and rose petal jam. 3. Mix the egg yolks with 200 g sugar and the vanilla in 200-250 ml warm milk, until the sugar dissolves. Loosen the sponge with a little of this mixture, then pour it over the flour and work in the remaining liquid. 4. Knead and beat the dough for an hour, gradually adding the oil or butter or lard, then the rum essence. The dough should be soft and start to form bubbles. 5. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave the dough somewhere warm for an hour, until it reaches the rim of the bowl. 6. Divide the dough in two. Roll each piece into a sheet 1.5-2 cm thick, as long as the loaf tin and twice as wide. Spread half the filling over each sheet, then sprinkle over half the raisins and half the Turkish delight, cut into small pieces. Roll up the sheets and tuck the ends underneath. To make braided loaves, divide each portion of dough into two sheets, roll them separately and braid them. Place the loaves in tins greased with a tablespoon of oil. 7. Leave them somewhere warm for 10 minutes, then put the tins in an oven preheated to 180°C. Bake for about 15 minutes, until risen, brush them with the egg beaten until frothy and bake for another 40-45 minutes, until golden brown. Check the center with a toothpick.