In Germany, the land of Christmas markets and “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night), there is one Christmas tradition above all else – the “Christstollen”, or “Stollen” for short, a rich fruit-and-nut bread that is eaten ONLY at Christmas. It has to be baked weeks ahead of time for flavors to mature, and it is covered in a thick coating of butter and powdered sugar to seal in these flavors and moisture until “showtime.” Every region has their own twist on this classic, and many families have their own recipes, guarded and handed down over the generations.
After my dear Mom’s passing, it fell to me to bake the annual Stollen for our family, and we have always shared it with friends and neighbors, teachers and everyone else we wanted to make happy (meaning, I had to bake up to a dozen of them…).
Today, I’ll share my recipe with you – here it is! Happy baking!
Traditional German Christstollen
Ingredients:
500 g all-purpose flour
4 heaping teaspoons baking powder
200 g granulated sugar
A little salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon of cardamom powder
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
2 large eggs
175 g of unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
250 g of full-fat sour cream
125 g of dark raisins
250 g of golden raisins
50 g of candied lemon peel, finely chopped
150 g of ground almonds
For coating Stollen once baked:
50 g unsalted butter, melted
50 g (or more) powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and eggs, mix until incorporated. Mix in butter; do not overmix. Take out paddle and use wooden spoon to mix in remaining ingredients until incorporated. If dough is very sticky, add a little flour as needed, turn out on floured work surface.
Shape dough to a circle, roughly 40 cm in diameter and 4 cm thick. Fold over one side of the circle over the other, leaving about 4 cm of the lower half uncovered, then gently shape the dough into an elongated oval loaf with your hands (traditional Stollen shape).
Transfer Stollen to a cookie sheet covered with baking paper. Bake Stollen for ca. 50-60 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the surface is light golden brown. If Stollen browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil for remaining baking time.
As soon as Stollen comes out of the oven, baste with 50 g liquid butter and sprinkle very generously with powdered sugar (use a sieve) – Stollen should look like covered with a thick layer of fresh snow. Let cool completely, then wrap in aluminum foil and let mature for 2-3 weeks, up to 4 weeks, before enjoying.