Rhenish Christmas Stollen

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 200 g almond(s), ground
• 500 g raisins
• 250 g currants
• 100 g candied orange peel
• 100 g candied lemon
• 2 lemons, grated peel
• 3 vanilla pods, including the pulp
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 125 ml rum or cherry brandy
• 100 g yeast, fresh
• 500 ml milk
• 250 g sugar
• 1,500 g flour
• 250 g margarine, melted
• 250 g fat, beef tallow or lard, rendered
• 2 eggs
• 750 g marzipan (I prefer 1000 g)
• 200 g butter, needed after baking
• 2 packets of vanilla sugar
• 200 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours

Recipe makes 3 large Stollen and needs to stand for a good 4 weeks

Mix the almonds, raisins, currants, candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, lemon zest, and spices together with the rum or kirsch. Cover and let stand overnight. Make a pre-dough from the yeast, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour, and a cup of lukewarm milk. When it starts to bubble, knead the dough with the remaining flour, sugar, lukewarm milk, fat, and eggs. Knead until it is no longer sticky and looks nice and shiny and even. Then carefully, gradually knead in the remaining ingredients soaked in rum or kirsch. Let rise for about 30 minutes. If you want three large stollen, form the dough into three balls and roll them out into thick oval flatbreads. Use a rolling pin to make a groove lengthwise in the dough and place a marzipan roll into each one. Now fold over one long side and form a stollen. Let these stollens rise for another 30 minutes on the baking sheet. Then bake at 175-200°C for about 60 minutes. Brush the top with melted butter while it’s still hot. Sprinkle first with vanilla sugar, then with powdered sugar. Let cool, wrap in cellophane, and refrigerate for about 4 weeks. I’ve been baking this Stollen for years, and it’s always a hit!