Steps

• Let’s start preparing the very soft sweet Danube by sifting the two flours, adding the packet of instant yeast. One packet is perfect for about 500 g of flour. Consider that the Manitoba I used has a strength of W 400, so one packet is more than enough. If you cannot easily find this flour, you can prepare the Danube using all all-purpose flour. The result will still be delicious and super soft. As I mentioned in the ingredient list, if you don’t have instant yeast, you can opt for the more classic fresh yeast, just 10 g will suffice. In this case, you will need to dissolve it in lukewarm milk and then follow all the other steps of the sweet Danube with jam recipe.

  Pour the sifted flours with the yeast into the stand mixer bowl. Add the sugar and start the machine at a slow speed. Slowly pour in the milk first, reserving a couple of tablespoons that we will use later to brush the surface of the dessert, and then the vegetable oil. Let it work for a few minutes, then add the vanilla vial and the pinch of salt. Now the stand mixer will do its job, which is to properly knead our dough. About five minutes of working time at low speed.

  Now it’s time for the first rest for rising. Unhook the stand mixer’s hook, clean it with a spoon, and form a ball with the dough using the same spoon. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and place it in the oven with the light on. The first rising will double the volume of our Danube dough. The time is about 2 hours. If you are not in a hurry and can let it rise longer, wait comfortably for 3 hours. Then proceed as the recipe follows.

  

• Take the bowl from the oven. Spread a tablecloth on the table and position the pastry board. Sprinkle it with some flour. Now, with a knife, cut many small balls of about 1.4 – 1.8 oz of dough using the scale. With the rolling pin, roll out the various discs. Place a generous teaspoon of jam or hazelnut cream (aka Nutella) or pistachio cream or custard in the center of each disc. You choose. Grease the bottom of the Christmas Tree mold with a kitchen brush using a little vegetable oil. And proceed to close the sweet Danube balls. With your fingers, roll the edges and pinch them in the center to close the ball well. Apply light pressure and then roll them with the classic “meatball” or “snowball” gesture.

  Gradually place the balls in the mold, not too close together, because we will let our dough rise for another hour. For this reason, leave space for rising. Once the balls are finished, place our Christmas Tree in the oven, always with the light on, to rest for another hour. After this time, with the help of the food brush, moisten the surface of the homemade sweet Danube and sprinkle with brown sugar and sugar crystals. We are thus ready to turn on the oven to bake our Christmas dessert.

  

• Set the oven to static mode at 356 degrees Fahrenheit. In my case, the oven is very old, 340 degrees and about 30 minutes of baking are enough. Everyone knows their oven and its defects, so I can tell you approximately 356 degrees with a baking time of 35 minutes. But I am the first to tell you that the timing and degrees are not always the same for everyone. Mine would become too cooked if I kept this setting. Therefore, try lowering the degrees if your oven plays tricks like mine. Having said that, let’s proceed with baking our dessert.

  Once finished, you can choose whether or not to sprinkle it with powdered sugar. I preferred without because I’m not a big fan of powdered sugar. At this point, I just have to remind you that I await you for the next recipe and wish you a good appetite!