Easter Paasstol

Last weekend was Easter, and this year my Dutchman and I tried to partake of more Dutch traditions than just enjoying the "Second Easter" Monday off (Second Easter being an additional holiday intended to give people the chance to visit other family who you didn't see on Easter Sunday). He decided to try his hand at Paasstol. This turned out to be a spiced raisin bread filled with almond paste. I helped him make the paste from scratch with fresh almonds and lemon rind. The raisins are sometimes soaked in rum, but not having any on hand we went with Kahlúa instead (ok, not so traditional, but our own special twist). The result was, as the Dutch say, lekker! The bread is sweet with the raisins mixed in and has a light undertone of cinnamon. This is topped with a flaky crust and filled with a divine combination of buttery almond and lemon. It goes wonderfully with a hot cup of coffee.

Here's the loaf we made.

Are you salivating yet? If you're into baking check out this recipe on Stefan's Gourmet Blog. We didn't use this exact recipe, but it is pretty similar and looks just as tasty.