Sunday, November 23, 2014

Christmas Stollen - Weihnachtsstollen


This classic sugar-dusted seasonal German fruit cake is also known around the world as „Christmas Stollen“ ("Weihnachtsstollen"), or simply „Stollen“. The distinct shape of this baked, sweet delight is said to represent the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothing.




Stollen was invented in the City of Dresden, and nowadays is the subject of an annual festival in its honor, the so-called „Stollenfest“. Each year the stollen is paraded through the market square, then sliced and sold to the public, with the proceeds supporting local charities. This candied fruit peel-studded cake has been around since 1474 and was originally known as “Striezel” which referred to a braided shape. The Stollen actually started life as a very different confection. During its long history, it has been transformed from a simple oat bread consisting only of flour, oats and water, to a rich, buttery loaf. The dough itself only became enriched with butter in 1647, when Pope Innocent VIII gave his official permission to include butter and milk in the recipe during the Advent season, then a time of fasting.




Dresdner Christstollen” is said to be the most famous and oldest stollen. It is a yeast bread or rather cake with lots of raisins, currants, candied lemon and orange peel, and with those most Christmassy of spices, namely cinnamon, anise, coriander, cloves, allspice and cardamom. The commercial production of Dresden stollen is carefully licensed and regulated to ensure quality and authenticity.

Nowadays, there are several other variations of Stollen, some have a yeast dough others do not. There are Stollen like „Poppy Seed Stollen“ (Mohnstollen), „Nut Stollen“ (Nußstollen), „Marzipan Stollen“ (Marzipanstollen), and „Quark Stollen“ (Quarkstollen) made with fresh quark, also known as „curd cheese“. In fact, there are probably as many recipes for stollen as there are (home) bakers.




Having baked Christmas Stollen for many years now, some with yeast, others without, I am now very partial to a Stollen that has no yeast in, like this recipe. It is easy to put together, bakes up beautifully and is prepared with curd cheese (quark) instead of yeast. But I will caution you, if you are expecting a dough that is light, this certainly isn´t it. With lots of dried fruit and nuts (and candied fruit peel if you use it), this is a rather dense dough that bakes up into a wonderfully rich cake, best enjoyed in the afternoon or for breakfast with a nice big cup of coffee or tea. You can enjoy a big slice on its own, or slather it with some good butter and your favorite jam or honey.

Before you get started baking, you should remember that your dried fruit (such as raisins, sultanas or currants) need to soak in a lovely bath of rum, brandy, or hot apple juice for a full day before you bake the Stollen.

It is also good to know before planning your Christmas baking that once the Stollen has cooled, it will keep for a few weeks if you wrap it well, otherwise it will dry out. For storage, it has to be kept in a dry and rather cool place.

One more thing to remember before you get started, around here, Stollen are usually baked in a special Stollen baking pan that you can order online but you could also use a bread baking pan or shape the dough by hand to imitate the shape.

I have made a few adjustments to the original recipe and the resulting confection is moister, with even more dried fruit and nuts than before.




Recipe for Christmas Stollen (Quarkstollen)
Inspired by a recipe from Stevan Paul ("Deutschland Vegetarisch")

Ingredients for the Christmas Stollen
  • 250 grams dried sultanas
  • 50 ml to 100 ml dark rum, brandy or apple juice (enough to cover and soak the sultanas)
  • 500 grams AP (plain) wheat flour (you can also use white spelt flour here)
  • 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • 150 grams super fine (caster) baking sugar
  • 2 tsps pure vanilla sugar (or homemade)
  • a pinch of fine sea salt
  • 1-2 tsps Stollen Spice Mix*(according to your personal taste)
  • 200 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 250 grams, curd cheese also called "quark", room temperature (fat reduced)
  • finely grated zest from one organic orange
  • 2 eggs (M), free range or organic
  • 100 grams golden raisins (Stevan Paul´s recipe calls for diced candied lemon peel)
  • 100 grams chopped, natural almonds (Stevan Paul´s recipe calls for diced candied orange peel)
  • some unsalted melted butter for brushing the warm baked caked (as needed, about 50 grams)
  • a generous amount of powdered sugar to dust the cake (as needed, about 25 grams)
*If you cannot find Stollen Spice Mix at a store or online, you can make your own, following the recipe below.




Preparation
  1. Warm the rum or juice. Soak the sultanas/raisins/currants either in the rum, brandy or the apple juice and let sit at room temperature, overnight.
  2. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit).
  3. Prepare a baking sheet, cover with parchment paper (baking parchment) or use a Silpat non-stick baking mat to line your baking sheet. NOTE: If you are using a specialty Stollen baking pan, brush with melted butter, dust with flour, tap out excess flour and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt and spice mix.
  5. In the bowl of a standing mixer or in a large bowl of your mixer, beat together the butter, curd cheese, and orange zest until smooth, then beat in the egg.
  6. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
  7. Stir in the golden raisins (or candied fruit peel if using) and the chopped almonds.
  8. Shape the dough in a roughly oval form, fold dough in half lengthwise and place it on the prepared baking sheet. OR: using a Stollen baking pan, place the dough in the pan and press it in, then place the filled baking pan on the prepared baking sheet, making sure, you place it "upside down".
  9. Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, until golden on top. Transfer to a cooling rack.
  10. While still warm brush generously with melted butter and dust very liberally with powdered sugar. You can repeat this step to create a generous white coating. Let cool.
NOTE 1: Stollen should set for at least one day before serving.
NOTE 2: If wrapped really well, the Stollen will keep for about two weeks in a cool, dry place.




Stollen Spice Mix (Stollengewürz-Mischung)
(feel free to double or triple the quantities, as needed)

Ingredients for the Spice Mix
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon (I always use Ceylon cinnamon)
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground mace

Preparation of the Stollen Spice Mix
  1. Carefully measure out the spices.
  2. Mix all spices well.
  3. Scoop the mix into a spice jar with a tight-fitting lid.
  4. Label the jar (with date and contents).
  5. Use this mixture in recipes that call for Stollen Spice Mix
  6. Discard any leftovers after four months. 



If you have not tasted Stollen before, trust me, you will be in for a treat. Why not start a new tradition this season and bake this classic German Christmas loaf known as Stollen, a spirited, spiced (use the fresh, warm spices listed above), sugar-topped confection, packed with almonds, dried fruit (raisins or sultanas are a given here), and candied citrus peel (an option).




If you would like to add Marzipan (almond paste), you can do so by using about 150 grams, all rolled up and enclosed in the middle of the dough.




It is also good to remember that Stollen keeps rather well, which lends itself to both local and national distribution – think of your neighbours, friends and family and send them some.

As you can glimpse from the pictures above, I prepared my Burnt Sugar Almonds (recipe can be found here), Dutch Pepernoten (recipe to follow in a few days), and Stollen, for a Christmas Charity Bake Sale on the weekend. I filled seasonal, labelled cellophane bags with the Almonds, cut the Stollen into thick slices and placed the cookies together with Dutch tea bags in Christmas themed mugs - all sold out at the end of the afternoon - so, go ahead and make some goodies this season, give some away and keep some for yourself!

Products:

* non-stick stollen baking pan can be ordered in the US here
* stollen baking tins can be ordered in the UK here


36 comments:

  1. That looks wonderful! I've never tried stollen but since I love marzipan it sounds like something to try :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear June Baby, although this particular recipe does not call for any Marzipan, I mentioned at the end of my post that you can add about 150 grams to the middle of this cake if you like.

      Delete
  2. Oh, dear Anread! I must try this. Mark and I are planning to make his family's Stollen recipe, too. I think we need to make both! Mark,s mother braided her Stollen (his mother's family's name was Crück). Maybe it was his great grandmother's recipe! I like that yours has no yeast - I hope I can find quark! Have a wonderful week - ganz liebe Grüße! ~ David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear David, I love, love traditional family recipes - unfortunately, I do not really have any, especially not for Stollen, since we never ate any at home at Christmas time. But I am trying to put these classic recipes together for the kids - hopefully, they will enjoy the collection one day and keep the foodie traditions alive.
      Thank you for your kind comment, dear friend - btw, if Mark does not mind parting with his recipe (I will keep it to myself, promised), I would be delighted if you mailed it to me, I would LOVE to try it and send you pictures!!!
      Liebe Grüsse an euch beide,
      Andrea

      Delete
  3. I love stollen and still have a tin box from one I brought back when we spent Christmas in Germany. I've only had the ones made with a yeast dough…they are light and so flavorful. I love having a slice in the morning with a cup of tea. I'm sure I would love this version as well. Your photos made me smile…I love the wooden figures that you used. I have a collection of little wooden angels from Germany that decorate one of my Christmas trees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Karen, Stollen tastes nice in many variations - I love the yeast version but I also seriously enjoy this version with curd cheese - making different versions is always fun. How wonderful that you still have a Stollen tin that you brought back from Germany and, yes, those wooden Christmas ornaments are the very best, my tree is decked with those, red glass ball ornaments and real (!) red candles - very classic and the same every year.
      Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving this year!
      Love, Andrea

      Delete
  4. Andrea, your Christmas treats look wonderful! I have never tried my hand at Stollen but reading your recipe I just might.
    Kind regards from a still very unchristmassy Provence,
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liebe Barbara, der Stollen ist unkompliziert, freut immer wieder alle Anwesenden und hält sich frisch wenn er gut verpackt ist - und er schmeckt vorzüglich, besonders in dieser Version mit Sultaninen, goldenen Rosinen und Mandeln.
      Hier scheint die Sonne und es grünt so grün...
      Ganz liebe Grüsse in die Provence,
      Andrea

      Delete
  5. Your Stollen looks lovely! I made one once for Daring Bakers. This year, I am strongly in favour of trying your Lebkuchen recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Gaye, Lebkuchen are the best Christmas cookies/treats of all times - if you get a chance to make cookies this year, Lebkuchen are always a delicious choice - thank you for the kind comment! There is more to come this year...stay tuned for some lovely Dutch Christmas treats..

      Delete
  6. Hi Andrea, someday I will visit your wonderful country with all it's history and tradition. This Stollen looks wonderful, I know that I would love it with dried fruits and nuts. The Christmas treats look wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheri, my dear, what a nice comment! If you ever get a chance to visit Germany, make sure to visit around Christmas time, so you will be able to visit the Christmas markets and taste a lot of those lovely seasonal goodies such as Stollen and Lebkuchen (gingerbread) - in the meantime, you might want to give these a try, it is a fabulous recipe for my favorite soft Lebkuchen, this classic recipe calls for three boiled potatoes and lots of other delicious ingredients:
      http://kitchenlioness.blogspot.de/2013/12/soft-german-gingerbread-cookies.html
      Happy baking,
      Andrea

      Delete
  7. Liebe Andrea, ich habe gestern 10 (zehn) Stollen gebacken, es ist einfach ein tolles Mitbringsel in der Weihnachtszeit. Quark laesst sich leicht durch non fat greek yogurt ersetzen, was ich gemacht habe und ich nehme Hefe. Ich mag Quark oder Joghurt im Stollen, er bleibt laenger saftig. Ich bin mir sicher, deine Koestlichkeiten sind im Nu verkauft worden. Alles sieht so koestlich aus und so liebevoll verpackt <3 Danke fuer diesen schoenen Post... btw ich muss immer zweimal meinen Text einfügen... der erste Versuch schlaegt immer fehl.... LG Wally

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liebe Wally, alle sind so fleißig, ich muss sagen, ich bin mehr als beeindruckt! Zehn Stollen sind schon eine ganze Menge Arbeit - ich habe halt für einen guten Zweck gebacken und bei so einem Basar geht alles immer schnell weg - nimmst du übrigens eine Stollenhaube bzw. eine Stollenbackform - würde mich interessieren, ob du sie dir mit aus Deutschland gebracht hast oder dort (online) gekauft hast.
      Freut´ mich wenn dir der Post gefällt - heute stürze ich mich auf mein Lebkuchen-Rezept - mal sehen, was passiert.
      Ganz herzliche Grüsse aus Bonn - der Weihnachtsmarkt in der Stadt ist schon eröffnet.
      Andrea

      Delete
    2. Andrea, da ich Stollen in verschiedenen Groessen ( 500gr, 750gr, 1000gr) backe, forme ich die Laibe immer mit der Hand.
      Die grossen und kleinen Weihnachtsmaerkte vermisse ich sehr....

      Delete
    3. Liebe Wally, hört sich wundervoll an - kleine Stollen sind die besten Geschenke, lecker und mit Liebe gemacht!
      Was die Weihnachtsmärkte angeht, werde ich bestimmt noch ein paar schöne Fotos posten - bist du zufälligerweise auf facebook?
      LG,
      Andrea

      Delete
    4. Liebe Wally, wegen deiner Einstellungen kann dir über FB kein "friendship request" schicken...tut mir leid - aber es ginge andersherum - schick´ mir doch bitte mal ein Anfrage über mein persönliche Seite auf FB - würde mich freuen.
      Danke und liebe Grüsse,
      Andrea

      Delete

  8. Oh, for all people living in the US the canned Solo Almond Paste is Marzipan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For US residents, I should have added the link for a really good almond paste for baking, made by a Danish company, using California almonds. It can be consulted here: http://www.odense.com/ - thank you for pointing that out, Wally! Since the recipe itself does not include almond paste (Marzipan), I just left it out.
      Lieben Dank für deinen Hinweis!

      Delete
  9. I think I've only made yeasted stollen. I took it to my father in law who was raised in a German speaking household and he savored every bite. Bill, of course, wouldn't touch it! Yours is picture perfect!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz, I did not know that your father-in-law was raised in a German speaking household - I am sure that he must have savored each and every bite of the stollen that you baked for him - what a kind gesture! Your husband Bill probably would have loved it as well if he had given it a chance...I cannot imagine anyone not liking your baked goods, dear friend.

      Delete
  10. Hi Andrea,whenever we read your amazing recipes and posts....we learn about your beautiful country and its rich cultural heritage....and whenever it is about some traditional baking...all we feel is there is so much warmth and comfort in baking and sharing goodies. This stollen is now sure going to be a favorite recipe...we have had lots of stollen in Indian bakeries and hotels but yours looks amazing,perfect and oh so good....thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe...HAVE A GREAT DAY!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kumar, whta a wonderful comment - I hope all these traditional German treats will entice one or the other blogger to try his or her hand at them - I had no idea that German stollen was available in Indian bakeries - truly a fun fact to know!

      Delete
  11. This looks so beautiful and festive. Wish I was one of the lucky recipient of a slice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trishie, thank you very much - wish I could share a big slice of the Stollen with you!

      Delete
  12. Was für ein toller, weihnachtlicher Post, liebe Andrea.
    Ich glaube er inspiriert mich, heuer selbst einen Weihnachtsstollen zu backen.
    Die Weihnachsstimmung ist auf jeden Fall beim Lesen und beim Betrachten der wunderschönen Bildern garantiert.
    Liebe Grüße

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liebe Daniela, freut mich, dass beim Anblick meines Posts etwas weihnachtliche Stimmung aufkommt - Stollen backen tut immer sein Übriges, wenn es mir bis zum Backen nicht wirklich feierlich zumute war, ändert sich das spätestens wenn der Stollen im Ofen ist.
      Liebe Grüsse nach Lima,
      Andrea

      Delete
  13. Your stollen looks gorgeous. And I love the idea of adding marzipan! My German grandmother never baked stollen, but we had fruitcake every year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beth, almond paste or not - that´s a personal taste question, some love it, some don`t, but you always have the option of adding it to a stollen or leave it out when you bake it yourself.

      Delete
  14. i thought there's only poppy seed christmast stollen, lol
    looks worth to try recipe!!!]great job my friend....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dede, absolutely not, dear friend - the poppy seed stollen are a more recent "invention" - the ones with dried fruits and nuts have a much longer history around here.

      Delete
  15. Another among your beautiful stories combining history, tradition, and food. I would love to give your stollen a try over the holidays and I'm sure it would be much enjoyed. I can see how very hard you've worked this month between your cooking clubs, events, posts, and preparing such lovely treasured packages for the bake sale, quite impressive, given one also needs to attend to the countless details with a family each day. Hope you have enjoyed all, however, as on the other side, your efforts have been greatly appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Peggy, you are one kind person - I am truly grateful for our "virtual friendship" and having "met you" through the Cottage Cooking Club/internet - always such a pleasure to read all your comments and kind thoughts. These kinds of posts are actually my favorite kinds of posts, I have a true week spot for all things that are "food history" and tradition. It always amazes me to learn about the facts behind a certain food.
      Thank you for your wonderful comment, it is truly appreciated,
      Andrea

      Delete