German Stollen Cake Recipe
Authentic German Christmas Stollen Recipe: Packed with rich flavors of dried fruits, almonds, and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, this sweet loaf is a must-have on every festive table.
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer with Dough Hook
- 1 Spatula
- 1 or 2 Baking Sheet(s) depending on how many Stollen you are making.
- parchment paper
- 1 sieve to sprinkle the powdered sugar on the baked Stollen.
Ingredients
Marzipan filling (optional)
- 4 ounces Marzipan per Stollen cake Store bought or try my 5-minute marzipan recipe which provides enough marzipan for 2 Stollen. You can make this in advance and freeze it until you are ready to use it.
Raisin Mixture – Marinate at least an hour but make the day before if you can.
- 3 ounces Candied Lemon & Orange Peel (equal portions of both) Store bought or make homemade candied citrus peel recipe which takes 2-3 days to dry.
- 4 ½ ounces Raisins Or a mixture of regular and golden raisins.
- 1 ½ ounces Blanched, Chopped Almonds To blanch, put the almonds in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then pinch off the skin and slice.
- 3 tablespoons Dark Rum or Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice or Water
The Yeast Mixture
- 1 ½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- ½ cup Warm Whole Milk Be sure to use hot milk, so the yeast mixture foams up quickly.
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
The Dough
- 2 ⅓ cups All-Purpose Flour For one Stollen, this is 325 grams.
- 4 tablespoons Sugar or sugar replacement such as monk fruit
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ tablespoon Cinnamon Use level spoonfuls of the spices.
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg or Mace
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter, soft
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
Butter & Decorate the Stollen
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter to generously brush on the Stollen.
- Powdered Sugar or a powdered sugar substitute to coat the baked Stollen.
Instructions
Candied orange and lemon peels
- Make homemade candied citrus peels for the raisin mixture a few days in advance if you aren't using store-bought candied lemon and orange peels. Homemade does, however, take 2–3 days to dry if you don't have a dehydrator.
Marzipan
- If you plan to add the marzipan filling and aren't using store-bought marzipan, make homemade marzipan which is a fast, 5-minute recipe. You can make it in advance and freeze it until you are ready to use it.
Make the Raisin Mixture the night before, if possible
- Put the diced candied citrus peels, raisins, and chopped blanched almonds in a bowl. Add the dark rum or fresh-squeezed orange juice or water at least an hour before you plan to use the mixture. For best results, marinate overnight so all the liquid is absorbed.
Make the Yeast Mixture
- Put the yeast in a small bowl. Add the warm milk and sugar. Wait until the mixture has a foamy head. Be sure to use warm milk, so the yeast mixture foams up quickly. Usually 10-15 minutes.
Make the Dough – Photos of the entire process are provided above in the post.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg or mace.
- Add the softened butter, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and yeast mixture.
- Mix dough in a stand mixer with dough hook. The dough should quickly and easily come together on the hook. I don't add extra flour. If, for some reason (i.e., humidity), the dough is sticky and doesn't form a ball, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Slowly sprinkle light amounts of flour, one light handful at a time, into the sticky areas and kneed it manually for 1-2 minutes. Then, form into a ball. Note: Be careful that you don't add too much flour. If you add too much, you will dry out the bread and alter the flavor profile.
- Brush your bowl lightly with a flavorless oil (about a teaspoon). Put the dough ball in the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Usually 1–2 hours.
Add the raisin mixture
- There shouldn't be any extra liquid in the raisin mixture but if there is, drain it, so the dough doesn't get too sticky. Then mix the raisin mixture into the dough by hand or spatula. Since the raisin mixture is a little moist, the dough might feel a tiny bit sticky. Just keep shaping it and kneeding it in your hands or in the bowl until it forms a ball. The more you work it, the less sticky it gets. We usually don't add flour at this point. But if you feel you have to, sprinkle in a small amount by hand and shape the dough some more before adding more flour. If you add too much flour, you could dry out the Stollen.
- Put the dough ball on your unfloured work surface. To ensure that the raisins are mixed in properly, kneed the dough for about 2 minutes.
- IF YOU'RE ADDING MARZIPAN: Shape the dough into an oval. See the section in the post with photos and a link to a video explaining how to add marzipan. IF YOU AREN'T ADDING MARZIPAN: Shape the dough into an oval. Then, use a knife and slice the top of the dough lengthwise about an inch deep to give it the traditional Stollen look. Photos are provided in the post.
- Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for another hour. It will get a bit bigger but won't double in size.
- Before baking, press any exposed raisins into the dough. Otherwise, they will burn. Then, bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
How to Butter & Decorate Baked Stollen
- When the Stollen comes out of the oven, immediately use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes in the Stollen. This will help the Stollen absorb the butter.
- Immediately brush 3–4 tablespoons of melted butter on each hot Stollen.
- Then immediately sift powdered sugar on the Stollen, tapping the sugar with a spoon as you generously coat the hot, buttered Stollen.
- Let it cool and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition for one sugar free Stollen Cake without marzipan:
