German Christmas Stollen with Raisins

⏳ Time

1 hour 40 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

While Christmas cakes and stollen are baked according to various recipes throughout Germany and other German-speaking countries, the 'Dresden Stollen' is a protected geographical designation, meaning it can only be prepared and sold in the vicinity of Dresden and only by members of the baking guild Schutzverband Dresdner Stollen. The characteristics of this type of cake include a heavy, very rich dough (according to classic technology, 3 kg of butter is added for every kilogram of flour), which is densely studded with candied fruits, nuts, and raisins. Proper stollen is baked 30–40 days before Christmas, generously brushed with honey and butter, wrapped in parchment, and left to 'mature' on a buffet shelf or in a cellar. The thick layer of powdered sugar that covers the stollen at the very end has its own sacred significance — the cake symbolizes the baby Jesus wrapped in white swaddling clothes.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 2 lbs
Sugar - 4.6 oz
Milk - 13 fl oz
Vanilla salt - to taste
Salt - to taste
Dry yeast - 1.8 oz
Rum - 4 fl oz
Citrus Zest Mix - 1 tablespoon
Light Raisins, Seedless - 17.6 oz
Candied fruits - 7.1 oz
Cinnamon - 1 tablespoon
Butter - 7.1 oz
Powdered Sugar - 7.1 oz
Whole egg - 2 pieces
Chicken Egg - 1 piece

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Soak the raisins and candied fruits in rum overnight.

Step 2

Prepare the rich dough: dissolve the fresh yeast in warm milk, add part of the sugar, and gradually mix in half of the sifted flour. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 20–30 minutes. Once the sponge has risen, mix in the egg, yolks, the remaining flour, sugar, and add salt and vanilla (or vanilla sugar) to taste, along with the raisins, candied fruits, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Stir and add the softened butter. Knead the dough, cover the bowl with a towel, and place it in a warm place to rise for about an hour. When the dough has doubled in size, knead it again and let it rise once more. After the dough has doubled in size again, roll it out on a floured board into a round flatbread about 2 cm thick.

Step 3

Shape the dough into a rectangle with your hands, folding the edges along the long side towards the center, shifting one edge further from the middle. Round the edges slightly with your hands. Place the stollen on a greased baking sheet, cover with a napkin, and let it proof for about an hour. Bake for 15 minutes at 428°F and about 30–35 minutes at 338°F. If the surface of the stollen starts to burn, cover it with foil.