Two days before baking, place the raisins and citrus peel in a bowl and add the rum. Cover and set aside, stirring occasionally.
The day you plan to bake, stir flour, yeast, sugar and grated lemon peel together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, and eggs. Make a well in the flour and pour the milk mixture into the well, stirring as you go. Knead briefly until dough is shaggy.
Dump the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Add flour only if absolutely necessary, form the dough into a ball and place back in the large bowl. Cover with a clean dishcloth and set aside in a warm, draft free spot for 30 minutes. Gently pull the dough onto your work surface and pat out until about 1 inch thick. Distribute the chopped almonds and rum soaked fruit (include any rum remaining in the bowl) over the dough, and then gather the sides up around the fruit and almonds. Kneed together until the fruit and nuts are well distributed throughout the dough. Form the dough into a ball, place back in the bowl and cover with cloth. Allow to proof for another 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the dough in half and form each into a round loaf. Place the loaves on the prepared baking sheet, cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes or until loaves are golden brown.
While loaves are baking, make the topping. Place the vanilla bean in small food processor or blender with 2 Tbsp of sugar and pulverize until the sugar turns nearly to a powder. Combine with remaining sugar and set aside. Melt the butter. Remove the baked loaves from the oven and let cool on rack for 5 minutes. Brush melted butter over loaves evenly. Do several coats until you have used up all the melted butter. Sprinkle vanilla sugar evenly over the buttered loaves, lifting up the loaves to coat all sides evenly.
Finally, sift the confectioners sugar evenly over all the loaves, making sure to coat all sides. Let loaves cool completely.
When loaves are completely cool, wrap in foil. Loaves can be frozen for up to a month. Serve in slices.