Norwegian “Christmas cake”

As it is coming up to Christmas I thought I would start this new forum with one of my favourite Christmas "cakes". It is actually more like a big bun bread which is lovely served warm with butter and perhaps some Norwegian brown cheese? I have been eating the "Julekake", as it is called in Norway every Christmas since I was little and Christmas just wouldn't be right without it.

Ingredients:
50 g yeast
150 g butter
6.5 dl milk
150 g sugar
2 tsp cardamom
1 kg flour
150 g raisins

Glazing:
1 egg
A little milk

Crumble the yeast in a baking bowl. Melt the butter. Mix the milk into the butter and heat the mixture until it is lukewarm (37°C). Pour a bit of the milk and butter mixture in to the baking bowl and dissolve the yeast in this. Add the remaining butter, milk, sugar and cardamom. Stir in the raisins. Then mix in the flour to make a smooth dough. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and let it rise for about 1½ hour, until it has doubled in size.

Then sprinkle some flour on the kitchen table and knead the dough well. Divide the dough in 2 and form two round cakes. Put them on a separate baking trays covered with baking paper. Let it rise under a cloth for another 40 min.

Beat the egg and milk with a fork and brush evenly over the "Christmas cakes". Bake the cakes separately in the middle of the oven at 175°C for approximately 40 min. Cover the "Christmas cakes" with a piece of baking paper after 30 min cooking to prevent them from getting too dark on the top.
Then just enjoy. Freezes well too.