If you like a Belgian bun, you’ll love this showstopper! It’s the perfect centrepiece for a festive foodie get-together.

Ingredients:
450g strong white bread flour
10g dried yeast
½ tsp salt
30g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
180ml tepid whole or semi milk
200g quark
50g butter
1tsp vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 lemon
60g raisins
60g chopped glacé cherries
20g chopped flaked almonds
1 egg

For the icing and decoration
100g icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp water
30g glacé cherries
15g flaked almonds, toasted

Method:
1. Put the flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together.

2. Dissolve the yeast in the milk, then add to the flour mix with the softened butter, quark, vanilla extract and lemon zest.

3. Using your hands, bring it all together to make a rough dough.

4. On a floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes until elastic. Pop back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel and put somewhere warm to prove for an hour.

5. Tip the dough back out onto a floured surface and knock back with your hands. Add the raisins, chopped glacé cherries and chopped flaked almonds. Knead again until they have all been incorporated.

6. Roll out with your hands to roughly 40cm long. Lift onto a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper then attach the ends together to form the wreath. Cover back up with the tea towel and let it rise again in a warm place for 30 minutes.

7. Heat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C/gas mark 6). Brush the top of the wreath with the beaten egg then pop in the oven for approximately 25 minutes until lovely and brown.

8. Meanwhile, put the almonds on a tray to toast for a few minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn! Once the wreath is cooked, transfer it to a wire rack to cool.

9. Make the topping by mixing the icing sugar with the lemon juice and water then drizzle all over. Decorate with halved glacé cherries and toasted flaked almonds.

Tip: this is best eaten fresh on the day you make it.