Juicy Christmas Stollen

Ingredients

• 100 g raisins
• 50 g chopped almonds
• 50 g lemon curd (finely chopped)
• 50 g orange curd (finely chopped)
• 50 ml rum
• 8 drops bitter almond aroma
• 1 vanilla bean (pulp)
• 2 tsp lemon zest grated
• 2 tsp orange zest grated
• 100 ml lukewarm milk
• 50 g sugar
• 1 cube yeast
• 300 g wheat flour type 550
• 200 g wheat flour type 405
• 50 g marzipan core
• 2 Eggs
• 250 g soft butter
• butter for the pan
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 150 g butter for brushing
• sugar for sprinkling
• 150 g powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. 1.

   Mix the ingredients for the fruit mixture well. Cover with foil and let sit overnight in a warm place.

2. 2.

   Dissolve crumbled yeast with sugar in milk. Add 200 g flour (type 550) and knead into a smooth dough using an electric hand mixer. Sprinkle this pre‑mix with flour, cover, and let rise until the surface shows cracks. Then mix in the remaining flours, chopped marzipan, eggs, soft butter, salt, and spices, kneading thoroughly into a smooth dough. Fold in the soaked fruits. Dust the dough with flour, cover, and let rise for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 180°C (convection) and grease the baking sheet.

3. 3.

   Roll the dough to twice its width and desired length. Shape small and larger domes along the edges of the width. Press the two sides together so the domes lie side‑by‑side. Lightly reshape the stollen or place it in a mold, then let rise for about 15 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet, bake for ~60 minutes. After about 10 minutes, brush with ~50 g melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Brush the finished stollen with remaining melted butter, cool, then dust with half of the powdered sugar. Wrap in foil and let rest overnight. The next day remove excess sugar with a brush, thinly spread melted butter, dust with remaining powdered sugar, wrap again, and store chilled up to 2 months.