Christmas Stollen

Helga Glaesel de BlandingDecember 21, 2023

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

At Christmas time our family always enjoys Stollen which we always purchased from a beloved Swiss bakery that closed its business a few years ago after decades of providing delicious pastries, breads, cookies and chocolates.

I started to look for recipes and thought about venturing to try to make my own. This is the third year I make Stollen using this recipe and it will continue to be our go to recipe to make this delicious German Christmas treat.

My recommendation is to divide the steps into 2 or 3 days. Making the whole thing in one day is too much work. Make the marzipan and candied citrus peels in advance, the marzipan is quick and super easy to make, so is the candied citrus but it does take some cooking time. The flavor of the homemade citrus peel is crucial to the recipe. Once those are ready, you can set a day to make the dough and bake your stollen.

The flavor of this Stollen recipe is completely worth the work. I make 3 medium Stollen out of this recipe, which can be shared or… keep them for yourself by storing them in the freezer! The marzipan is optional, some people don’t like it, but we love it! You can find rose water in specialty stores, but you can omit it if you can’t find it.

Helga

Christmas Stollen

Makes 2 large or 3 medium Stollen

Ingredients, for the Dough:
1 cup whole milk
3 teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour ***NOTE: Amount will vary depending on how much liquid is in your fruit/nut mixture. Be sure to drain any excess liquid. Add more flour as needed if dough is too wet.
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons quality pure vanilla extract
zest of half a navel orange
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ounces homemade marzipan (optional)

Ingredients, for the Marzipan (makes 14-oz.):
1 ½ cups almond flour
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons quality pure almond extract
1 teaspoon quality food grade rose water
1 egg white

Ingredients, for the Fruits & Nuts:
9 ounces raisins
6 ounces candied citrus peels
3 ounces chopped or sliced almonds
⅓ cup quality dark rum

Ingredients, for the Candied Citrus Peels:
3 navel oranges
1 tangerine
1 yellow lemon or lime
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
sugar for dusting

Ingredients, for the Glaze & Dusting:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
powdered sugar for generous dusting

To make the marzipan:

Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined and any lumps are broken up. Add the almond extract and rose water and pulse to combine. Add the egg white and process until a thick dough is formed. It will become firmer after it’s been refrigerated.
Turn the almond marzipan out onto a work surface and knead it a few times. Form it into a log, wrap it up in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Will keep for at least a month in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before using in any recipe.

To make the candied citrus peels:

Slice both ends of the citrus fruits. Cut the peel on each into 4 or more vertical segments, depending on the size of the fruit. Peel off each segment of rind and remove a little of the white pith and slice the peels into 1/4-inch wide strips. (Keep the peeled citrus for eating, cooking, juicing, etc.)
Boil the peels in a pot of water for 15 minutes. Drain the peels in a colander, rinse and then drain again. Discard the water from the pot.
Repeat this process one or two more times to reduce the bitter flavor.
Add the 1 cup of fresh water and the sugar to the pot and bring it to a boil. Boil it for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Add the citrus peels, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peels become translucent, and the syrup becomes slightly thicker.
Use a slotted spoon to remove a few of the peels at a time and let the excess syrup drip off for a few seconds. Place the hot, wet peels in a bowl of sugar or a ziplock bag with sugar in it and toss/shake to coat.
Spread the candied citrus peels out on a wire rack to cool and dry completely, at least 1 day. Stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, the candied citrus peel will keep for at least a month.

To prepare the nuts and fruit mix:

Place the raisins, candied citrus peel and almonds in a medium bowl and pour the rum over it. Stir to combine. Set aside and let the fruit mixture soak for 2 hours.

To prepare the dough:

Place the flour, sugar, instant yeast, egg, egg yolks, butter, vanilla extract, orange zest, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix until combined.
Add the milk. Knead the dough using the dough hook attachment for 7-8 minutes. Remove the dough ball and place it in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap and let it rise until nearly doubled in size, at least 1 hour (likely closer to 2 hours depending on the temperature of the environment).
Punch down the dough and add the soaked fruit/nut mixture to the dough (it should have absorbed all the rum by now but if there is excess liquid, pour it out before adding the mixture to the dough). Using the dough hook, knead the fruit/nut mixture into the dough until combined. If the dough is too wet to handle, add a little bit of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it in two equal halves. Press or roll each piece into an oval to about 1 inch thickness.
Roll each piece of marzipan into a log the length of the oval. Press the marzipan gently into the middle of the dough. Fold the left side of the dough over to cover the marzipan, then fold right side over on top of the left side so that the edge of it sits just left of the middle of the stollen. Pinch and tuck the top and bottom ends of the stollen to cover the marzipan.
Use the bottom edge of your hand to press down along the length of the stollen towards the right of the center to create a divot and characteristic hump.
Place the stollen on a lined baking sheet. Cover the stollen loosely with a clean kitchen cloth and let them rest in a warm place or lightly warmed oven for 40-60 minutes until puffy.
Towards the end of the last rise, preheat the oven to 350ºF and bake the stollen for 45-50 minutes or until golden.
Let the Stollen sit for 5 minutes, then use a toothpick to poke holes all over the stollen (this will allow the butter to seep in), then generously brush the stollen with the melted butter while the stollen are still warm. Immediately sprinkle with a generous amount of powdered sugar, rubbing it into the creases and down the sides. Let the stollen cool completely. You may want to give it another dusting of powdered sugar once cooled.
The stollen can be sliced and eaten now or wrapped tightly (wrap in plastic wrap then foil) and left to “ripen” in a cool place for 2 weeks. The liquid from the dried fruits will further penetrate the dough for more flavor and moisture. Stollen can also be frozen for longer storage.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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