Bischofsbrot (Bishop's Bread)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Loaf tin (25cm / 10 inch)
• •Hand mixer or stand mixer
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Fine-mesh sieve for sifting flour
• •Large flexible spatula for folding
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Sharp serrated knife for slicing

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the tin and oven

   Heat your oven to 170°C (340°F). Butter a standard loaf tin, about 25cm long, and dust it with flour, tapping out the excess. Bischofsbrot batter is delicate and will cling to an ungreased tin like it's holding on for dear life. Line the bottom with a strip of baking parchment if you want extra insurance. Set the prepared tin aside.

   170°C is important. Too hot and the outside sets before the heavy filling has time to distribute evenly through the batter. Low and steady gives you an even crumb.
2. 2

   Toss the filling

   Combine the chopped chocolate, toasted almonds, raisins, candied orange peel, and halved glacé cherries in a bowl. Sprinkle the tablespoon of flour over them and toss with your hands until every piece is lightly coated. This flour coating stops the heavy ingredients from sinking to the bottom of the batter during baking. Without it, you'll slice into your finished loaf and find all the good bits sitting in a sad pile at the base.

3. 3

   Beat the yolks

   In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar and Vanillezucker until the mixture turns pale, thick, and falls from the whisk in a slow ribbon. This takes about four minutes with a hand mixer, longer by hand. You're dissolving the sugar and building air into the yolks. That air is your only rising agent. There's no baking powder in Bischofsbrot, so everything depends on the eggs.

   Use real Vanillezucker, not vanilla extract. A packet of Austrian Vanillezucker gives a warm, rounded sweetness that extract can't match. You can make your own by burying a split vanilla pod in a jar of caster sugar for a week.
4. 4

   Whip the whites

   In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm, glossy peaks. Firm means when you lift the whisk, the peak stands upright and barely nods at you. If the peaks flop over, keep going. If they look grainy and dry, you've gone too far and the whites have broken. Start with fresh eggs if that happens. The whipped whites are doing all the structural work in this cake, so this step is not a place to cut corners.

5. 5

   Fold the batter together

   Spoon about a third of the whipped whites into the yolk mixture and stir it in. This loosens the base so the rest folds in more easily. Now sift the 100g flour over the top and fold it through with a large spatula or metal spoon, using gentle movements from the bottom up. Add the remaining whites in two additions, folding each time until just combined. You'll still see a few streaks of white. That's fine. Overmixing is how you lose the air you just spent five minutes building.

   Fold, don't stir. A folding motion scoops from underneath and turns the batter over on itself. A stirring motion pushes sideways and crushes every bubble the egg whites gave you. The difference shows up in the oven.
6. 6

   Add the filling

   Scatter the flour-coated fruits, nuts, and chocolate over the batter. Fold them through with three or four broad strokes of your spatula. You want them distributed but you don't want to deflate the batter by overworking it. Stop the moment you don't see any filling sitting on top. The distribution doesn't need to be perfect. Every slice will be different and that's the beauty of Bischofsbrot.

7. 7

   Bake the loaf

   Pour the batter gently into the prepared tin. Smooth the top with a spatula, making a very slight valley down the center so the cake rises evenly. Bake at 170°C for 45 to 50 minutes. The loaf is done when the top is golden brown and firm to a gentle touch, and a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean, or with just a smear of melted chocolate on it. Don't mistake a chocolate streak for raw batter. They look different. Raw batter clings wet and pale. Melted chocolate smears dark and glossy.

8. 8

   Cool and slice

   Let the Bischofsbrot cool in the tin for ten minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely. I know. Patience. But slicing it warm will crumble the sponge and drag the chocolate into ugly smears. Once cool, dust the top generously with powdered sugar and slice it thin, no thicker than a centimeter. The thin slice is the whole point. It's how you see the mosaic. Serve with strong coffee and, if you're doing this properly, a glass of water on the side. Mahlzeit!

Chef Tips

• •Buy the best dark chocolate you can afford and chop it yourself. Pre-made chocolate chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting into those beautiful dark pockets you want in the finished slice. You're looking for 70% cocoa minimum, something with snap and bitterness.
• •Toast your almonds in a dry pan until they're fragrant and just starting to color. Raw almonds taste like nothing in a baked cake. Toasted almonds taste like almonds. Three minutes in a hot pan makes all the difference.
• •Don't skip the candied orange peel. I know it has a bad reputation from those awful mass-produced fruitcakes, but good Orangeat, the kind you find at a proper Konditorei or specialty shop, is soft, aromatic, and deeply citrus. It's the ingredient that lifts Bischofsbrot out of ordinary territory.
• •Bischofsbrot actually improves after a day or two. Wrap the cooled loaf tightly in cling film and store at room temperature. The crumb settles, the flavors marry, and the fruit softens into the sponge. Slice it on day two and you'll taste the difference.
• •Gretel always said that Bischofsbrot tells you what kind of baker you are. A generous baker fills it with good chocolate and real candied peel. A stingy baker uses currants and cooking chocolate. Don't be the stingy baker.

Advance Preparation

• •Bischofsbrot keeps well for up to five days stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It improves after the first day as the crumb softens around the fruit and the flavors settle.
• •The loaf freezes beautifully for up to two months, wrapped tightly in cling film and then foil. Thaw at room temperature still wrapped, so the condensation forms on the outside of the wrapping, not on the cake.
• •You can toast the almonds and dice the candied peel and cherries a day ahead. Store them in a covered bowl at room temperature so they're ready when you are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 55g)