Marzipanstollen - es weihnachtet!

I don't generally bake breads because, well, I'm terrified of the dough-hook attachment on my ancient mixer. Besides that, I've never had luck with it and there is SO much good bread out there without me.

That all said, it's Christmastime and my mother has been baking Stollen for as long as I can remember. Stollen is a glorified [and German] version of fruitcake - actually, it's the other way around, but that's alright. However, it deserves so much more credit than your stereotypical American fruitcake. Stollen is cooked with rum, filled with marzipan, and covered in powdered sugar. What's not to love?

This recipe is a slight adaptation of two recipes - one for Marzipanstollen (the more decadent) and one for Christstollen (the more traditional, more fruitcakey). I'm all for updating tradition and getting the best of both worlds. To me: Marzipanstollen + Christstollen = Deliciousness. But if you want to leave out the marzipan or cut down on the candied fruit, you should be fine.

Starved for tradition, my mother about flipped when I tried to convert the grams in the original recipe into cups, pulling out the old metric kitchen scale and insisting that I read the recipe to her in German. Hence the lack o' conversion below.

Some ways to cut down on your work and up the outcome:

• Instead of grinding almonds, save yourself some work and use 1/2 sliced almonds and 1/2 almond meal.
• Buy a candied fruit mix instead of all the individual fruity ingredients.
• Add more rum. Where the recipe calls for 3 tablespoons, I saturated the fruit mix days ahead of time.
• Make your own vanilla sugar by adding vanilla beans to granulated sugar.
• Be generous with the powdered sugar topping at the end. It should be at least a millimeter thick all around.
• You can totally eat this before 4 weeks are up - but stollen last forever.

Ingredients/Zutaten

175 g Raisins/Rosinen
50 g Currants/Korinthen
50 g Candied lemon/Zitronat
50 g Candied orange peel/Orangeat

[or a candied fruit mix]

1 Package vanilla sugar/Päckchen Vanillinzucker

175 g Almonds/Mandeln

3 Tablespoons rum/El. Rum

For the dough/Für den Teig
500 g Flour/Mehl
60 g fresh yeast/ frische Hefe
90 g sugar/Zucker
1/8 liter milk/Litre Milch
250 g Butter
Fat for the baking sheet/Fett für das Blech

100 g Marzipan/Marzipanrohmasse
Powdered sugar/Puderzucker zum Bestäuben

Grind one half of the almonds and chop the other half. Mix with raisins, currants, orange and lemon peel, vanilla sugar, and rum. Cover and let it set at least over night.

Put the flour in a large bowl and make a hole in the middle. Dissolve the yeast in luke warm milk and combine with a small amount of flour in the hole until it forms a sticky paste.

Cover and let sit for 20 minutes and then mix in the fruit. Form 4 little Stollen into loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Heat the marzipan until you can work with it. Roll it into 4 equal strips. Fit the marzipan into the middle of each loaf and mold the dough around it. Cover again and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Bake the stollen about 30-40 minutes at 200C (~380F). Poke small holes into each stollen with a toothpick. Paint each stollen with hot butter and cover in powdered sugar. Repeat as necessary. Let the stollen cool and pack in aluminum foil. Let sit 4 weeks.

Die Hälfte der Mandeln mahlen, die andere Hälfte hacken. Mandeln mit Rosinen, Korinthen, Zitronat, Orangeat, Vanillinzucker und Rum mischen, zudecken und über Nacht stehen lassen. Für den Teig das Mehl in eine Schüssel geben, in die Mitte eine Mulde drücken. Hefe mit einem Tl. Zucker in der lauwarmen Milch auflösen, in die Mehlmulde gießen, mit wenig Mehl zu einem dickflüssigen Brei verrühren. Diesen Vorteig abgedeckt an einem warmen Ort 20 Minuten gehen lassen. Den restlichen Zucker und die weiche Butter zugeben, mit den knethacken des Handrührers (oder in der Küchenmaschine) zu einem glatten, glänzenden Teig verarbeiten. Abgedeckt an einem warmen Ort 20 Minuten gehen lassen, dann die vorbereiteten Früchte untermischen. Aus dem Teig 4 kleine Stollen formen und auf ein gefettetes Backblech setzen. Marzipanrohmasse etwas zum Ausrollen vorheizen/zurücklassen. Auf leicht mit Puderzucker bestäubter Arbeitfläche zu einer Rolle formen. In die Mitte die Marzipanrolle legen und den Teig übereinander schlagen, so daß die untere Teigplatte etwas vorsteht. Abgedeckt noch einmal 20-30 Minuten gehen lassen. Im vorgeheizten Backofen bei 200 Grad die Stollen 30-40 Minuten backen. Die Stollen mit einer Spicknadel mehrmals einstechen, mit Butter bestreichen und mit Puderzucker bestäuben. Wiederholen. Die Stollen auskühlen lasse, in Alufolie verpacken und 4 Wochen ruhen lassen.

From "Das Grosse Weihnachtsbuch"