Stollen with Almonds and Raisins

Ingredients

• 500 g flour
• 1 cube yeast (fresh)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar
• 125 ml lukewarm milk
• 65 g sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 0.5 tsp lemon zest
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 150 g butter (room temperature)
• 100 g finely ground, blanched almond kernels
• 100 g raisins
• 150 g blanched almond kernels
• 50 g candied citrus peel (diced)
• 100 g liquid butter
• 50 g powdered sugar

Instructions

1. 1.

   Sift the flour into a bowl, create a well in the center and crumble the yeast into it. Add the vanilla sugar and stir with 3-4 tbsp milk until smooth. Let the pre‑mix rest covered for 15 minutes in a warm, draft‑free spot; then add the remaining dough ingredients (except raisins, whole almonds, and candied citrus peel) and knead into a smooth dough. Rest in a warm place for about 60 minutes until doubled in volume.

2. 2.

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C with top/bottom heat.

3. 3.

   Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface, add the raisins, whole almonds, and candied citrus peel, and knead again. Shape into a stollen loaf, place on parchment paper, put a well‑oiled stollen mold over it, and let rest another 20–25 minutes. Bake in the oven for 60–70 minutes (test with a skewer!).

4. 4.

   Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, spread with liquid butter, then dust generously with powdered sugar and let the stollen cool completely.