During the Christmas season, our bakery at Böckhstrasse 30 in Berlin is bustling with activity. Countless cakes and tarts are created. The aroma of cinnamon and nuts fills the air. One thing is always a must: the nut braid. It's been a perennial favorite with our guests for years.

So that you can now bake it at home for your loved ones and thus sweeten the Christmas season, our kitchen team will reveal the secret coffee cherry recipe for this delicacy.

Ingredients

Ingredients dough

• 500g flour
• 200ml lukewarm milk
• 40g soft butter
• 50g sugar
• 1 egg
• 25g yeast

Filling ingredients

• 85g sugar
• 150g ground hazelnuts
• 1 egg
• 70 ml milk
• Who would like some cinnamon?

preparation

This is how we do it in the bakery:

Combine all the ingredients for the dough and knead thoroughly. Once the dough has formed a smooth mass, it's time to let it rest.

Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator. Let it rest there for 30 minutes. Then knead the dough again and place it back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes. Since all good things come in threes, we'll repeat this step one more time. Knead the dough again and place it back in the refrigerator for one final 30 minutes.

It's getting hot in here: Preheat the oven to 160 degrees top and bottom heat.

Now mix together the ingredients for the filling and then roll out the dough into a square on a floured surface. The width should match the width of your loaf pan. Spread the filling evenly over the dough and roll it up.

If you like it to look particularly nice, you can now cut the roll in half lengthwise and braid the two strands.

Grease the loaf pan and place the cake roll in it.

Now it’s time to bake!

The cake needs to stay in the oven for at least an hour. After 60 minutes, you should check it and do a skewer test.

Here's how: Insert a wooden skewer into the cake and then pull it out again. If there's still a lot of raw batter stuck to it, the cake needs a little more time. Just check it again after 10 minutes. After an hour and 20 minutes at the latest, it should be done, and there shouldn't be much batter left.

The quick version for home:

Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. It should then double in size.

It 's getting hot in here: Preheat the oven to 160 degrees top and bottom heat.

Now mix together the ingredients for the filling and then roll out the dough into a square on a floured surface. The width should match the width of your loaf pan. Spread the filling evenly over the dough and roll it up.

If you like it to look particularly nice, you can now cut the roll in half lengthwise and braid the two strands.

Grease the loaf pan and place the cake roll in it. Cover the pan and let the dough rise for another 30 minutes.

Now it’s time to bake!

The cake needs about 40-50 minutes in the oven. After 40 minutes, do the toothpick test to see if the cake is done.

Here's how: Insert a wooden skewer into the cake and then pull it out again. If there's still a lot of raw batter left, the cake needs a little more time. Just check it again after 10 minutes.