Ingredients
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500 g wheat flour
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200 g butter, of room temperature
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100-125 ml milk, warm
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80-100 g sugar
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2 package dry yeast (14 g)
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2 egg yolks, optionally
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25 g raisins
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50 ml rum for soaking
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50 g candied orange for baking
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50 g candied lemon for baking
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75 g blanched almonds, roasted and chopped coarsely
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1 orange zest
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1 lemon zest
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½ tsp ground cinnamon
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½ tsp ground cardamom
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¼ tsp ground nutmeg
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Pinch of salt
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For topping:
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50 g butter, melted
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50 g powdered sugar
Directions
Everyone is now getting ready for Christmas and it means that it is high time you made the traditional German Christmas cake – Stollen. There are thousands of stolen variation, that vary in texture or mixes of spices, nuts and candied fruit. I suggest you start with the most popular and famous one – Dresden Stollen.
Dresden Stollen isn’t a usual cake. Although its texture is very thick, it is also incredibly crumbly and soft. It’s creamy in taste, heady in flavor and abundant it nuts, raisins and candied fruit! An extremely delicious cake!
Dresden stolen is an officially registered trademark. For a Stollen to be allowed to carry this name, it must have been baked in the city of Dresden or in the surrounding area and meet the standard for ingredients and taste.
According to Deutsches Lebensmittelbuch the Dresden Stollen must have the following ratios:
100 flour
50 butter
65 raisins
20 candied fruit (orange and/or lemon)
15 almonds
Margarine, vegetable fats, preservatives, flavourings are forbidden to use. Stollen is baked without using a baking mold.
So let’s bake a real Dresden Stollen for Christmas!
For your Dresden Stollen to be perfect, you should know a few tips, which you can find here: Tips for making Dresden Stollen.
Bon appetite and good luck in making Stollens!
The recipe makes two medium-sized Stollens (see the photos).
Today's visits: 1.
Steps
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1
Done
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In a container, add the raisins (candied fruit, if desired), rum and warm water to cover the fruit. Cover and let stand at least for 1 h or better overnight. In the latter case you could use cold water and place the raisins in the fridge and take out 2 h before making the dough. Drain the liquid and pat the raisins completely dry with kitchen paper. |
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2
Done
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In a bowl, place the flour, spices, zest, crystallized or powdered sugar, dry yeast and stir until well combined. |
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3
Done
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Add the yolks (optionally) and warm milk. Stir. |
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4
Done
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Dice the butter and add it to the bowl of flour. First mix with your hands, then transfer to a kneading board. Or you may work on the board from the beginning and add the butter in batches or in one go, as you wish.
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5
Done
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Knead the dough until it is thick enough. Knead carefully for at least 10 min. The dough won’t be sticky because of the butter. At the beginning it will be not that smooth and elastic as on the photo.
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6
Done
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As you proceed it will become more and more silky and elastic.
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7
Done
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When the dough is well-kneaded, you should add the raisins, nuts and candied fruit. This is how you are going to do it: roll the dough out, place the nuts, candied fruit and raisins in the center, fold like an envelope and carefully knead them in in order not to break the raising and candied fruit. They will pop out at the beginning, but the dough gradually will become homogeneous.
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8
Done
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Shape the dough into an oval shape, place it in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise. The comfortable temperature for yeast to start working is 27 degrees Celsius.
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9
Done
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The dough will slightly rise in an hour – note, that it won’t double in size. Don’t panic if it seems to haven’t risen it all – it has indeed. The thing is that because of its heaviness the cavities are thin, which is also exactly what makes the pastry crumbly and tender.
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10
Done
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Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
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11
Done
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Transfer the dough onto a board, divide in half. Roll each half out into a 2 cm thick oval shape. To form the famous stolen shape, fold one long side to the center, then the fold the other long side over first side, overlapping it.
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12
Done
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Cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for 15 min. |
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13
Done
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Put into the oven and bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 30 min. If the top will go brown too quickly, cover the stolen with foil. Then reduce to 190 degrees Celsius and bake for another 20-25 min until it is golden-brown. Make sure it doesn’t get burnt. |
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14
Done
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Melt 50 g butter. |
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15
Done
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Take the stolen out. Brush the surface with the melted butter while the stolen is still hot. As soon as the butter has been absorbed, brush once again. Proceed with the remaining melted butter. Cover with foil and a kitchen towel and let chill completely. Turn the foil over occasionally so that the stolen won’t get wet. |
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16
Done
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Sift the completely chilled stolen with powdered sugar. Cover with plastic wrap or transfer in an airtight container and let stand in a cool place for 10 days. How to serve: How to keep:
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