Recipe - Scotch Black Bun

Three fourths pound Unsalted Butter; Chilled, *
3 Three fourths cup Unbleached Flour; PLUS
3 1/3 cup Unbleached Flour
One half teaspoon Salt
8 tablespoon Ice Water; May Use Up To 10
One half cup Sugar
One half teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
One half teaspoon Mace
1/8 teaspoon Allspice
One fourth teaspoon Black Pepper; Freshly Ground
3 cup Seedless Raisins
3 cup White Or Golden Raisins
One half cup Almonds; Ground
1 One half cup Almonds; Coarsely Chopped
3 Eggs; Lg
One half cup Buttermilk or Milk
1 cup Brandy
1 Egg;Lg, Beaten

* The butter, 3 sticks, should be cut into small
pieces.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++ +++

In a mediumsized mixing bowl, combine the butter, 3
Three fourths cup flour, and One fourth teaspoon of salt. With your fingers,
work the ingredients together until you form small
granules that are fairly uniform in size. Sprinkle 8
tablespoon 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 tablespoon 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 One half cups of flour, the sugar, baking
powder, spices, and remaining One fourth teaspoon 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 twothirds of the
chilled pastry to a thickness of 1/4inch. Gently
place a 9 X 3 1/2inch 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
rolledout pasty to line the sides of the pan,
slightly overlapping the pastry on the bottom and
letting the pastry extend about 1/2inch 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 1inch 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 One half 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.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini