Christmas German Stollen (ChristStollen) is a recipe that I wish I had discovered years ago. The recipe is simple but the result is a tasty, moist and flaky pastry. This has been a German favourite for about 700 years so must be brilliant to be around that long. Serve as a cake or bread all lovely and warm for a perfect experience of pastries.

Christmas German Stollen

Traditionally a Christmas recipe but I make all year round.

4.96 from 44 votes

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Course: Cake, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: German

Keyword: Bake, Fruit

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Dough Rising: 3

Total Time: 4

Servings: Slices

Calories: 247kcal

Ingredients

The Fruit

255 g raisins wash and drain well
165 g candied peel
115 g sliced almonds
100 ml dark rum good quality

The Dough

100 g granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 large lemon zest only
¾ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs See Notes
170 g unsalted butter room temperature/soft
480 g plain flour All Purpose
3 tsp active dry yeast
235 ml milk room temperature

The Glazing and Dusting

115 g unsalted butter for the glaze
Powdered sugar

Instructions

In a large bowl add the almonds, candied peel, raisins and the rum and stir well.
Put to one side so the rum is flavours and is absorbed by the fruit.
Pour the milk into a small bowl and add the active yeast with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and stir. Put to one side to let the yeast activate and turn the milk all frothy. About 10 minutes.
Place the remaining sugar, all of the eggs (3 yolk and 1 white), vanilla extract, butter, salt, ground cardamom, nutmeg, lemon zest and cinnamon in a food mixer bowl. Use the dough hook.
Add the yeast and milk mixture and stir well until it combines. Turn on the blender and leave for 7 – 9 minutes or until the dough is one ball.
Remove the dough from the bowl making sure you get any of the sticky bits. Spray the bowl with a little oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or clingfilm and place in a warm spot to double in size as the yeast works. Probably about 2 hours.
Drain the fruit of any left-over rum as it may make the dough too wet.
Push the dough down in the middle and add the fruit to the well. Tun the blender back on and still using the dough hook knead away until fully combined. The dough is ready when it pulls away from the edges of the bowl cleanly. If not, add a little flour to make it drier.
Remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly dusted work area. Cut the dough into two portions.
Using a rolling pin, roll one piece of the dough into a oval about 2.5cm/1 inch in thickness.
Roll one half of the marzipan into a sausage shape the same length as the dough. Transfer the marzipan to the middle of the rolled dough.
Roll one side of the dough so it over the marzipan is covered and fold the other half so it touches but doesn’t cover the marzipan lump.
Fold the ends in to cover the marzipan.
Using the back of your hand, gently press the dough either side of the marzipan to create a ridge as seen in the photo. This is how traditional stollens appear when cooked.
When ready, transfer the stollen onto the lined baking tray. Depending on the size of the oven, you may need two trays.
Repeat with the other half of the dough. When both parts are ready, cover with a lightly damp kitchen towel and put back into a warm spot for another hour. Any fruit that are poking out of the dough should be depressed back in as they may burn during baking.
When ready to cook, turn on the oven to 170C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and allow to heat up.
Add the stollen an bake for 35 – 40 minutes until golden brown and smelling divine.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave for about 10 minutes to cool.
Using a skewer, cocktail stick or toothpick make lots of small holes in the stollen for the melted butter to soak in. Heat the butter until its melted and liberally brush over the stollen making sure every hole is covered and the top crust is coated whist the stollen is still warm.
Then sprinkle with the powdered sugar all over and again possibly when cooled off.
The stollen is ready to be sliced and eaten. Store in an airtight container and eaten cold or warmed in a microwave.