Start by crushing the cardamom seeds with pestle and mortar

Break the cinnamon sticks, the ginger and the dried peel of bitter orange in to smaller pieces

Put the spices in a glass jar and pour the vodka in it. Seal with a lid and let it soak until the next day (or longer)

If your almonds come with the peel, then get the peel off by boiling the almonds for 1 minute and then pour cold water over them for a couple of seconds. Now it is easy to pull off the peel by pulling away from the sharper end to break the peel and then the slippery almond quickly comes out (sometimes too quick..)

Chop the peeled almonds in bigger chunks

Take a pot and a sieve to remove the spices

Whisk down the vanilla sugar, the wine and then the sugar. At this point you can save the mixture for later when it is time to heat it up (it will be ok for around 2 weeks)

Once it is time to serve, just put the chopped almonds and the raisins in the liquid and heat it up on middle heat while stirring. Take it from the heat just before it starts to boil.

Enjoy with some gingerbread and "lussekatt" (Swedish saffron bun)