Festive Stollen Recipe with Almond Paste
Today I'm sharing our Festive Stollen Recipe.
This beautiful boozy, fruity, nutty, sweet tasting bread is delicious as is or toasted with real butter melted into it.
There are a number of steps to follow which will ensure your bread is a tasty festive bread with a depth of flavour.
Almond Paste Recipe - Or you can buy marzipan at your local supermarket
Ingredients: - This will make approx 450g of almond paste.
250g blanched shredded almonds or ground almonds
120g caster sugar
2 eggs whites
50g unsalted butter at room temperature
2tsp vanilla or almond essence
Icing sugar for rolling the paste
1. Blend the almonds and caster sugar together until they form a fine powder.
Add the egg whites, butter and vanilla essence and blend until the mixture starts to stick together. Once the mixture clumps together and is sticky spoon out on to a surface lightly floured with icing sugar and roll into 150g rolls. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge until required. The almond paste will keep in the fridge for approx 12 months, so plenty to make more Stollen with!
Stollen Bread Recipe
40g Sultanas
40g Raisens
40g mixed chopped peel
4 tblsp dark rum
350g unbleached white flour
40g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
7g or 1 sachet of fast action dried yeast
1 egg lightly beaten
40g unsalted butter at room temperature
190 ml of luke warm milk
40g blanched almonds - chopped
40g of glace cherries
150g roll of almond paste or shop bought marzipan - see recipe above
Melted butter for brushing after bake
Icing sugar, for dusting
2. Combine the sultanas, raisens and mixed peel in a bowl and pour over the rum. Put aside the bowl and let the mixture sit. Turn the mixture occasionally to ensure all the fruit is covered with the rum.
3. Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, add the caster sugar, ground cinnamon and quick yeast. Mix the dry ingredients together with a spoon. Add the egg, milk and butter. Combine all of the ingredients together to form a dough. Cover the bowl with an oiled piece of clingfilm and let sit somewhere warm for about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size knock the air our gently. Lightly flour a work surface and stretch the dough out to a rough oval shape. Now pour the boozy fruit and peel, over the dough, followed by the glace cherries and chopped almonds. Fold in the edges of the dough and knead the ingredients in by hand.
5. Roll the dough into a large oval shape. It may help to flour a rolling pin or the surface of the dough as it may be a little wet from the fruity rum juice. In the centre of the oval roll an indent length ways, this is where you need to place your almond paste roll. Roll the almond paste into a long roll, it should be the length of the dough. Fold the dough over the almond paste roll to enclose it. Make sure the edge sits away slightly from the base, as the dough will become bigger and may split. Ensure the edges are sealed firmly.
6. On a baking tray lightly oil a baking sheet and place the dough on there for approx 45 mins. Pre heat the oven 180 degrees.
7. Bake for 30 mins, brush the freshly baked bread with melted butter and dust over with icing sugar, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Upon first glance the recipe does seem complex however once you've made, tasted and smelt your bread cooking for the first time, it will simply give you the urge to want to make more, as this is the yummiest festive bread out there!
Enjoy!
