• Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover them with the brandy. Let them soak overnight.
• The next day, remove the raisins and reserve the brandy.

Make the starter:

• In a medium mixing bowl, place the yeast, the warm water and the flour. Mix and let rest for 1 hour.

Make the cakes:

• In a large bowl, add 3 cups flour, the eggs lightly beaten, the sugar, oil, orange zest, orange juice, salt, yeast, the brandy set aside from soaking the raisins and the starter.
• Mix all the ingredients. The resulting dough will be very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.
• After one hour, rub your hands with a few drops of oil and knead the dough lightly, adding more flour as needed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap again and let rest for 1 more hour.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape them into two balls. With a rolling pin, flatten them into two circles. Spread the raisins and walnuts onto the two circles of dough. Bring the edges of the dough towards the center and flatten lightly with the rolling pin to help distribute the walnuts and raisins. The dough will still be slightly sticky, but avoid adding more flour so as to obtain a soft and spongy cake.
• Cover two pizza or cookie sheets with parchment paper, place the cakes on top and let rest for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
• Brush the cakes with the beaten egg, sprinkle very generously with granulated sugar and decorate with the walnut halves. Bake for 15-18 minutes until very lightly golden (always check a few minutes before and remove from the oven if the edges start to look darker than lightly golden).