Categories: Cakes, Christmas, Gifts, Fruits 
      Yield: 20 servings 
  
    3/4 lb Unsalted Butter; Chilled, * 
  3 3/4 c  Unbleached Flour; PLUS 
  3 1/3 c  Unbleached Flour 
    1/2 ts Salt 
      8 tb Ice Water; May Use Up To 10 
    1/2 c  Sugar 
    1/2 ts Baking Powder 
      1 ts Cinnamon 
    1/2 ts Mace 
    1/8 ts Allspice 
    1/4 ts Black Pepper; Freshly Ground 
      3 c  Seedless Raisins 
      3 c  White Or Golden Raisins 
    1/2 c  Almonds; Ground 
  1 1/2 c  Almonds; Coarsely Chopped 
      3    Eggs; Lg 
    1/2 c  Buttermilk or Milk 
      1 c  Brandy 
      1    Egg;Lg, Beaten 
  
  *    The butter, 3 sticks, should be cut into small pieces. 
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  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the butter, 3 3/4 c flour, and 
  1/4 ts of salt.  With your fingers, work the ingredients together 
  until you form small granules that are fairly uniform in size. 
  Sprinkle 8 tb of the ice water over the granules and continue mixing 
  until you can gather the ingredients into a ball.  If the dough 
  crumbles, add additional ice water, 1 tb at a time, until a soft ball 
  can be formed.  With the flat of your hand, press the dough into a 
  thick cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 
  hour.  Prepare the filling by sifting the 3 1/2 cups of flour, the 
  sugar, baking powder, spices, and remaining 1/4 ts of salt into a 
  large bowl.  Add the freshly ground black pepper, seedless and white 
  or golden raisins, ground and coarsely chopped almonds.  Mix 
  thoroughly until all the fruits and nuts are coated well with the dry 
  ingredients.  Add the 3 eggs, milk, and brandy mixing well.  Preheat 
  the oven to 375 degrees F. and, on a lightly floured surface, roll 
  two-thirds of the chilled pastry to a thickness of 1/4-inch.  Gently 
  place a 9 X 3 1/2-inch springform pan on the pastry.  With a small 
  sharp knife,cut along the outside of the pan to make a disk.  Line 
  the bottom of the pan with the disk of pastry.  Use the remaining 
  pieces of rolled-out pasty to line the sides of the pan, slightly 
  overlapping the pastry on the bottom and letting the pastry extend 
  about 1/2-inch above the top of the form.  Spoon the filling into the 
  pan, packing it down firmly and press the excess pastry over the 
  filling.  Brush the pastry with a little of the beaten egg. In the 
  same fashion, roll out the remaining pastry into a circle larger than 
  the form.  Roll the pastry around the rolling pin to lift it and 
  unroll it on the top of the form.  Press the top pastry against the 
  filling and the pastry below to make a tight seal and trim off the 
  excess. Brush the entire top with the beaten egg.  Cut a 1-inch round 
  vent in the middle of the bun, and if you like, use the pastry scraps 
  to make leaves. Roll the scraps together and cut out tear drop shapes 
  to resemble leaves. Score the top, with a small sharp knife, to 
  resemble the ribs of the leaves. Brush the undersides of the leaves 
  with the remaining beaten egg to make them adhere to the top of the 
  bun.  Then brush the top again with the beaten egg. Bake on a rack in 
  the middle of the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the pastry is a 
  rich golden brown.  If the decorations color much faster than the top 
  sheath of pasty, cover them with aluminum foil to reflect the oven 
  heat and retard the browning.