Festive Poppy Seed Studel with Almonds

For the pastry dough: Place the flour on a flat work surface in a small mound and make a well in the center. Place the egg yolks, oil, and salt in the well and process everything into a smooth dough. Gradually add 2 to 3 tablespoons water and knead for 15 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, brush with oil, cover with a bowl, and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200° C (approximately 400° F) convection.

For the Poppy Seed Filling: In a bowl, stir together the poppy seeds with the hot milk and let soak 10 minutes. Stir 1 pinch cinnamon, the sugar, egg yolk, and almonds under the poppy/milk mixture. Should the mixture be too firm, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons cream. Place the mixture on a flat working surface covered with parchment or wax paper, evenly sprinkle with flour, and roll out the poppy seed filling until very thin.

To assemble: Remove the bowl from over the pastry dough. Roll the dough out. Transfer the poppy seed layer to the dough, only covering 2/3 of the dough, thereby leaving a 3 cm (approximately 1 inch) wide margin. Brush the dough with 30g (approximately 1 ounce) melted butter. Roll the dough into a strudel.  Place the strudel on a greased baking sheet with the seam side down. Brush with remaining melted butter and bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes.