Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas cake, rich in dried fruit and candied peel. Here is the recipe, and at the end I will suggest an Italian twist to make it a bit closer to our traditions.

Ingredients

• 500 g flour
• 200 ml warm milk
• 100 g sugar
• 100 g softened butter
• 1 cube fresh yeast (25 g) or 7 g dry yeast
• grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanillin
• 1 egg
• 150 g raisins
• 100 g mixed candied peel (orange, citron, etc.)
• 100 g coarsely chopped almonds
• 1 teaspoon mixed spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc.)
• Melted butter and powdered sugar for finishing

Preparation

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a teaspoon of sugar.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour and make a well in the center. Add the milk with the yeast, an egg, the softened butter, the grated lemon zest, the salt, the vanilla and the rest of the sugar.
3. Knead all the ingredients until you obtain a homogeneous and workable dough. Add raisins, candied peel and almonds, and continue kneading until fully incorporated.
4. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for about 1-2 hours or until it doubles in volume.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
6. Knead briefly again, then transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and shape the dough into the characteristic Stollen form.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45-60 minutes, until golden.
8. Once out of the oven, brush with melted butter and dust generously with powdered sugar.

Trivia

The shape of the Stollen is symbolic: it represents the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. In Germany it is very common to prepare it during Advent and it is often left to rest for a few weeks before being consumed, to allow the flavors to meld perfectly.

Italian touch: If you wish to add an Italian touch to the Stollen, you could replace part of the candied peel with homemade candied orange peel and add a little orange liqueur or limoncello to the milk for kneading; this will give a particular aroma that pairs wonderfully with the other ingredients.