Saffron Kulich

Well it's Easter time! And naturally, since I'm Russian, I am making the traditional Orthodox Kulich, which is a kind of cake, I suppose.
To be honest I don't have much of a choice, the recipe is from this publication I picked up at the airport the last time I was in Moscow, ominously titled "Calendar of the Orthodox Housewife: Lenten and Modest Meals for Every Day In Accordance With The Holy Church", it's set out almost like a calendar with one or two recipes for every day. This is not only seasonal and observant of the mandates of Orthodoxy, but also eliminates any indecision and allows you to plan your meals... a year in advance.
Did I mention that my step-grandmother is staying with us for a couple of weeks? Well needless to say everyone is totally psyched with the whole Easter thing so this ended up being a team effort. Here's a story in pictures... and words.
Here's the business, raisins to be soaked in rum (yum) overnight, and this is also my first ever time working with yeast.
The prep work extended into the living room.
The messiest the kitchen has ever been.
This is the one where I almost fell of the chair I was standing on to take the picture. I started helping after that.
The recipe calls for 10 egg yolks, so while the dough was rising for an hour I decided to make meringues.
Mine on the right, my brother's on the left. Mine are obviously better.

Result: OK, so since the prep work took such a long time, and the dough had to be left to rise twice, by the time it was ready for the oven, it was way past midnight. Everyone went to bed, I put in an episode of Gossip Girl, and waited the recommended 40 minutes 'without opening the oven door, or the kulich won't rise'. So what result do you think I got? It was burned, of course!
Burned and hard as a rock on the outside (but cooked really well on the inside, obviously). Here's what it's supposed to look like, by the way
And here's what ours looked like.
Was it entirely my fault? Maybe. Did the whole 'too many chefs in the kitchen' thing have an effect? Possibly. Did I finally rectify the situation but totally buying a delicious substitute from an Italian Deli the next day? Sure, why not.