Mom's curd braid

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 600 g flour, maybe a little more
• 280 ml milk, lukewarm
• 30 g yeast, (Germ), fresh
• 150 g sugar
• 150 g butter, soft
• 4 medium-sized egg yolks
• 1 large egg(s)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pinch(s) lemon peel, grated, untreated
• 100 g butter or margarine
• 150 g powdered sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• ½ pack of baking powder
• ½ pack of pudding powder, vanilla
• some lemon peel, grated, untreated
• 250 g quark (cottage cheese)
• 2 m.-sized eggs, separated
• e.g. raisins
• 200 g jam, pureed apricot jam
• 200 g powdered sugar
• some lemon juice
• some water, lukewarm (very little)
• some almond flakes, for sprinkling

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours

yeast plait with curd filling

Sift 150g of flour into a bowl and make a well. For the steamed dough, take 5-6 tablespoons of the milk, dissolve it in a cup with the yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar, pour it into the flour well, and mix. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the steamed dough rise in a warm place for 15 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients and punch the dough down well until it pulls away from the edges. It shouldn’t be too soft – add a little more flour if necessary. Cover again and let rise until the dough has roughly doubled in size (approx. 30-45 minutes). Meanwhile, for the filling, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the baking powder, vanilla pudding powder, lemon zest, curd cheese, and 2 egg yolks. In another bowl, beat the 2 egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks and carefully fold into the curd cheese mixture. If you like, you can add the raisins at this point. Preheat the oven to 170-180°C (top/bottom heat). Knead the dough again and divide into 6 pieces. On a floured work surface, roll out one strand at a time (it should be slightly longer than the baking sheet), spread some of the curd filling on each strand, and roll each strand up. Repeat the process with each strand, braiding three strands into a plait and placing them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spread the remaining curd filling between the strands and bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes. Turn the oven down a bit, otherwise the braids will become very dark. Shortly before the end of the baking time, warm the pureed apricot jam. Remove the braids from the oven and let them cool briefly. Brush the braids with the warmed pureed apricot jam and let them cool. For the icing, sift 200g of icing sugar and mix it with a little lemon juice and lukewarm water (not too much). Brush the plaits with this icing and sprinkle with flaked almonds.