Christmas Stollen

Ingredients for 36 servings:

• 400 g sultanas
• 200 g currants
• 200 g candied orange peel, finely chopped
• 200 g candied lemon, finely chopped
• 100 g ground almonds
• 200 g almonds, in sticks
• ½ liter of schnapps, arrack, or if necessary brandy or fruit brandy
• 1 ½ kg flour
• 100 g yeast
• 300 g sugar
• ½ liter of milk
• 250 g butter
• 200 g fat, veal fat (kidney fat)
• 200 g lard
• 2 eggs, size L
• 2 eggs, including the yolk
• 1 tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp nutmeg, mace (mace)
• ½ tsp clove(s), ground
• 1 pinch of ginger
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 lemon(s), zest grated
• 2 points bitter almond flavor
• 2 pts. vanilla sugar or
• 1 vanilla pod(s), pulp with 2 tbsp sugar
• 250 g butter, liquid
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 250 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 30 minutes

Papa’s Stollen, old family recipe

Pour the arrack over the fruit mixture and let it rest for 1-2 days. Take about 200g of the flour for flouring the fruit. Make a pre-dough with a little flour, sugar, yeast, and a little warm milk, and let it rise for 20 minutes in a warm place away from drafts. Meanwhile, melt the lard and veal fat and add cold butter in pieces, stirring frequently while it cools until a creamy mixture forms. Mix the pre-dough, about 1.2kg of flour, sugar, cream, eggs, spices, and the remaining milk, and beat with a wooden spoon for at least 0.5 hour until the dough pulls away from the base and bubbles. Dust with flour, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. Punch down the dough, dust the fruit with the remaining flour, and knead it in. Shape the stollen and let it rise again, then bake in a preheated oven at 250°C for about 1 hour. While still warm, smother in melted butter, sprinkle with vanilla sugar, and sift in a thick layer of powdered sugar. Let cool, then wrap in cling film and aluminum foil. Store in a cool, dry place for 3-4 weeks. Sift in fresh powdered sugar again before slicing.