1. Bring milk to a rolling boil. Add to 1-1/4 cups flour, beating it in hard until mixture is as fluffy as mashed potatoes. Cool to lukewarm.

2. If dry yeast is used, see directions on package. If fresh yeast is used, cream it with sugar and salt to make a syrup. Add syrup to cooled paste. Let rise 20 minutes, or until mixture is a light sponge. Stir it down. Beat in egg yolks and enough flour to make a soft, sticky dough. Add soft butter.

3. Knead dough in bowl until it is very smooth, shiny, and elastic. Your hand should be clean when it is pulled abruptly from the dough. Kneading by hand will take about 40 minutes, possibly longer. Take short rests if you want. When dough has been beaten enough, cover it with a towel and let rise in a draft free place until it doubles in bulk.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease two small kugelhopf pans. One large kugelhopf pan may be used if you desire.

4. Stir risen dough down. Work in raisins. Fill pan or pans halfway. Let dough rise until it almost doubles in bulk. Bake in preheated oven 30 to 45 minutes, or until cakes are a deep golden brown. Remove cakes from pans. Sprinkle them with rum. While they are still warm, brush with rum fondant; or dust with vanilla sugar after cakes are cool.