Monday, December 21, 2009

Christmas Stollen

It's a tradition for my mom to bake Stollen every Christmas. Sometimes, my mom would make stollen as Christmas presents or she got some orders from our friends

Stollen is a traditional Christmas cake from Germany, made from yeast dough containing dried fruits, chopped almonds and powdered with icing sugar. Stollen usually shaped like a folded oval but this time, my mom made it different shape like fruit cake based on a request.

cake,stollen

Christmas Stollen recipe from Zwickau
The recipe is to make three or four loaves. If it’s too much, then you can make 1/2 of the recipe.

For the day before:
5½ cups sultanas
5 tablespoons vanilla sugar
16 tbsp rum
4½ cups butter
3⅓ cups sweet almonds, skinned and finely chopped
¾ cup bitter almonds, skinned and finely chopped
1⅓ cups candied lemon peel, coarsely chopped
½ cup candied orange peel, coarsely chopped

For baking day:
5½ lbs. flour, sifted
1 cup yeast
1½ cups sugar
4 cups milk
juice and peel of two lemons
Butter and powdered sugar for the glaze

The day before:
Wash the sultanas two to three times and drain them. Then mix them with the vanilla sugar and the rum. Put the butter in a pot. Take out the almonds and the candied fruits. Leave the sultana mixture, the butter, the almonds and the candied fruit out overnight to warm to room temperature.

On baking day:
1. Pour the flour into a bowl and make a crater in the middle.
Mix together the yeast, three teaspoons of the sugar and ½ of the milk. Pour the mixture into the flour crater and work the whole thing into a dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place.

2. Mix the dough with the sugar, the vanilla sugar and the fresh lemon juice and peel. Work the butter (not melted) into the dough using as much tepid milk as necessary to make a smooth, but not sticky dough. Knead the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Then fold the almonds, candied fruits and sultanas into the dough until they are distributed throughout. Cover the dough again and put it in a warm place to rise for two hours.
Then knead it again and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Now divide the dough into 2 kg (4 lb.) lumps and form them into the shape of bread loaves. Using the back of your hand press a deep furrow all the way down the stollen, dividing the log into two differently-sized loaves. Fold the narrow length over the broader length.

4. Bake on a well-greased baking pan at 175° C (350° F) for 1¼ - 1½ hours or until golden.

5. Brush the stollen immediately after baking with melted butter. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Since these Stollens are based on request and look not like the authentic stollen, therefore, decorations on them become essential ;)

The decorations made from fondant.
fondant,decoration

cake

Wishing you all:
"MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009
filled with love, hope and happiness"

Christmas Stollen
cake,stollen

41 comments:

  1. WOW! This is so beautiful. Merry X'mas, Selba :)

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  2. Beautiful! Such a labor of love!
    Merry Christmas to you!

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  3. These are definitely show stoppers! Merry Christmas Selba!

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  4. That is so cool of your mom! Can I have one? hee. Merry Christmas!

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  5. Wow, those are beautiful! My mom was such a baker we had all kinds of goodies like this growing up, and I am lucky, or should I say hubby is lucky he gets a cake, or cookies, or anything now and then...great work!

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  6. Wow, gorgeous decorations with leaves and the bow on your stollen, outstanding!

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  7. I love stollen - this looks utterly gorgeous. Love the pretty decorations :)

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  8. The decorations on top really make these something special. gorgeous.

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  9. I've never heard of Stollen, but yours definitely looks professional! You are a fondant genius, my dear Selba!

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  10. SELBA THESE ARE AMAZING!
    so prettttyyyy! gorgeous!

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  11. very elaborate design.
    Merry X'mas.

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  12. Wow those are gorgeous Selba. I know why your Mom has to make those each year. They look as fantastic as they taste I'm sure :)

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  13. Selba,

    Do you know if Kerstkraans is still available? It's puff pastry wreath with almond paste filling. I used to get that for Xmas in Jakarta.

    Your stolens look delicious and pretty.

    I wish you the Merriest Christmas and wonderful New Year.

    Cheers

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  14. A lot of job on the decorating parts. Great looking Christmas Stollen.

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  15. What a delicious Stollen and I love your candy cane decorations, they are adorable!

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  16. wow, looks gorgeous and really festive! happy xmas!

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  17. wow... thanks for the introduction of this lovely cake. btw, how come you came to develop such an affinity for german things? ;)


    kyh @ sOleiLian.com

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  18. Thank you so much for all the nice comments and compliments in here, I'm so flattered :D

    peachkins: Of course if you come to Jakarta ;)

    Lucy: thanks for stopping by my blog, Lucy :)

    Tuty: Yes, I know Kerstkraans, still available in Jakarta until today although it becomes not very common anymore :) Maybe next year, I should make it ;)

    kyh: eh.. I thought you know the reason why I've an affinity for german things since you've been following my blogs for quite awhile *wink*

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  19. seriously i don't know. *blush* i just know that you can speak german and have grown up there (if not mistaken!). :P

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  20. kyh: Bingo!!! You got it right :D

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  21. These are absolutely beautiful, they looks like something I would buy at a bakery! These would make fabulous Christmas gifts!

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  22. The ribbons on the stollen are so pretty.

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  23. I have made stollen before but it never looked as beautiful as these. Simply beautiful and festive!

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  24. Wow that is one complicate cake! Looks really cool, :) Merry Christmas Selby and her expert mom. ;)

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  25. very very pretty! I love the fondant decorations, they are very well made. Your mum is a pro! :D

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  26. Thank you for sharing your family's Christmas tradition with us Selby. Your mom's Stollen has captured my heart and those darling decorations are just delightful.

    A very Merry Christmas to you and yours dear Selby and a Happy, Healthy New Year!!!

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  27. I haven't tried Christmas Stollen before. Yours looks fabulous. The last photo is great. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  28. both the stollen and decorations look lovely! i tasted my first stollen last week, thanks to the Just Heavenly boys. i must say the taste is really complex and interesting. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year, Selba! ;D

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  29. Merry Christmas and happy new year babes..see you in 2010!! muaks!

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  30. Love the bows on the stollen. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Sam

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  31. yummy ... yummy ... yummy ...!!
    merry christmas!!

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  32. It looks really good, together with some really great effort of deco! Well done :)
    Have a Lovely Christmas!!

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  33. Oh, so detailed your fondant decorations... down to the little stars on the bows/ribbons! Amazing work there.

    Merry Xmas to you and your loved ones this year, Selba! :D

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  34. Merry christmas to you dear!! :)

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  35. Wow, visually pleasing and appetising. Have a wonderful Christmas season and a blessed 2010.

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  36. Wow they look amazing! A Very Happy 2010 to you and your family xx

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  37. I'm still scratching my head..thinkin wht is a stollen..i'm sure i had it before.. or not?
    Aiyo.. eat too much di..cant rmbr! LOL.

    It is like fruit cake? is it bread-like?

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  38. TNG: Hahaha... too much good food!
    For me, stollen is like a mix of fruit cake and bread ;)

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  39. A much prettier stollen than mine! Well done!

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