Nut-Marzipan-Striezel

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 kg flour
• 1 cube of yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 100 ml milk, (1)
• 1 tbsp lemon zest, grated
• 200 g sugar
• 100 g butter, melted
• 350 ml milk, (2)
• 2 eggs
• 300 g marzipan
• 100 ml cream
• 150 ml milk
• 400 g hazelnuts, ground
• 5 drops of bitter almond flavor
• 200 g powdered sugar
• 1 lemon(s), the juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

Swabian yeast plait with sweet filling

Dissolve the yeast with 1 teaspoon of sugar and lukewarm milk (1) and make a pre-dough with the flour. Let it rise for about 15 minutes. Add the lemon zest, sugar, melted butter, eggs, and milk (2) and knead everything into a soft yeast dough. You may need to use a little more or less milk, depending on the dough consistency. Let it rise until it has almost doubled in volume. In the meantime, prepare the filling. Heat the cream and milk in a bowl and crumble in the marzipan. Whisk until smooth. Then add the hazelnuts and bitter almond flavoring and mix everything well. Divide the dough in half. Prepare each half as follows: Roll out a rectangle and spread with half the filling. Starting at the short side, roll up the roll and cut the roll in half lengthwise. Carefully twist the two halves together so that the filling is visible on top. Carefully place the whole thing in a greased loaf pan. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Let both Striezels rise for another 30 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven at 170°C (fan oven) for about 30 minutes. Whisk the powdered sugar with enough lemon juice to create a thick glaze. Brush the icing sugar onto the still-hot Striezels and let them cool on a wire rack. Tastes best fresh!