Instructions

In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk with a spoonful of sugar, then leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Mix the flour, salt, remaining sugar and lemon zest, then add the yeast, the beaten eggs and the soft butter.
Knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough, then leave to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes covered, until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, mix the cottage cheese with the icing sugar, egg yolk, cream, cinnamon and raisins.
Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, spread the filling down the centre and close it by plaiting strips over the top.
Leave to rise again for 30 minutes, then brush the surface with the egg yolk and milk mixture.
Bake at 180 °C for 35 minutes, until the cake is well browned and sounds hollow.
Let it cool slightly on a rack before serving, optionally dusted with icing sugar.

Poppy seed version. Replace the cottage cheese with 200 g of ground poppy seeds mixed with 80 g of honey, a traditional festive filling.

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