Mix warm water, yeast and 1 spoonful of the sugar. Let it sit until it starts foaming – approx. 15 minutes. In another bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla corn, lemon zest, salt and the rest of the sugar until it is light and thick. Add the yeast mixture.
Heat butter until it starts to melt. Add flour to the egg mix little by little, starting with 180g and then add the melted butter. Mix the rest of the flour into the mix (you might not need all the flour. The dough should not be too sticky nor dry).
Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it feels soft and pliable.
Put the dough in a bowl greased with a bit of oil. Then cover the bowl with a clean tablecloth and let it rise in a warm spot for an hour.
Beat the dough and press it into a rectangular shape. Sprinkle zest and raisins over the dough and cover the with a clean tablecloth and let it rise in a warm spot for another 30 minutes.
Set the oven to 180℃. Grease a 12 cm high Panettone mould with butter.
Carefully place the dough in the mould and brush the dough with beaten egg and sprinkle almond flakes on top. Let rise to twice the size.
Bake for another 35 minutes.
Turn off the oven and let the panettone cool off inside the oven.
