This Christmas bread is between a glorified raisin bread and a cake which is baked in Norway, mostly at Christmas time. The leftovers make a delicious bread pudding.

• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 oz. salted butter
• 8 cups flour
• 2 tsp. ground cardamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 yeast cakes
• 1 package citron
• 1/4 cup scalded almonds
• 1 cup raisins
• grated lemon peel

Heat milk; add sugar and butter. Sift flour into mixing bowl with ground cardamon and salt. Add the flour to milk mixture, which has been cooled slightly, eggs (save 1 egg white for glacing) and yeast cakes, dissolved in a little lukewarm milk. If dough is not very firm, more flour may be added later, rather than risk getting too heavy a texture.

Cover mixing bowl with a clean towel and let rise overnight. Chop citron and scalded almonds fine, grate the lemon peel, put the raisins in the flour and add all of these to the dough, kneading well, adding more flour, if necessary.

Divide into 3 parts and place in greased loaf pans or pie tins. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Brush carefully with beaten egg white and bake in meduim hot - 350 degrees - oven for about 40 minutes. Do not open oven door to look at bread for the first 25 minutes.