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Dresden Stollen… Stolen my heart, it has!!
“Sometimes I want to clean up my desk and go out and say, respect me, I’m a respectable grown-up, and other times I just want to jump into a paper bag and shake and bake myself to death”
Wendy Wasserstein
It’s all her fault. I wish I could have stolen it. Jamie tweeted she was pulling out a freshly baked Stollen from her oven a few days ago. ‘Pleeeeeeeease’ came the shout, ‘we want some too!!’ Diva & me fought for it, but I knew I had to make mine soon. Diva had a better chance of getting to Nantes to Jamie’s oven before me, so I took a stab at making my own pretty quick.
The recipe for the Christmas Stollen (Dresden Stollen) is a beautiful one from Murasaki Shikibu or Ayako @ Samurai Viking Cuisine. Once the Stollen is baked you need to let it mature for 2 – 3 weeks. Leave it in a cold dry room, wrapped in aluminum foil. If you don’t have a nice cold, dry room – you’ll have to let it mature in your refrigerator, in which case wrapping it up in Saran Wrap is recommended. Typically this is done in the last week of November in German households.
Made the Stollen and it was absolutely delicious. Used the changes Jamie suggested, and made some additional ones like substituting fruit with whatever I had on hand. I used quark which I made at home. You can find the recipe here. The only issue I had was the crumbly texture. I didn’t get a smooth, beautiful crumb like the one Jamie’s picture had, and I think I can blame that on differences with oven temperatures, the kind of flour available here, and my impatience.
More importantly I think too on the lack of self restraint. The Stollen had flooded the house with delicious warm smells, and I just couldn’t resist hacking some off … too soon maybe. The timer was set on 30 minutes once the loaves were out … At the buzz, I was there with my bread knife. Crumbly or not, this was mighty delicious stuff!
There is an interesting tale about Stollen… According to some sources, this sweet bread which dates back to 1400 A.D., used to be much more boring due to a ‘butter ban’ which had been implemented by the Roman Catholic Church. However an appeal was made to the Pope, and the Pope decided that after doing appropriate ‘penance’ you could use butter and milk!
Thank you Ayako…nom nom nom. My first Stollen was made, the remainder of which was soon sitting wrapped in foil in a cool place. Trying (seriously am) to leave it 2-3 weeks in hibernation. Am trying to feed it to my blog meanwhile…With temptation as strong as this, I’m back with news that it now slices beautifully. Yes, I have not been able to resist temptation & was back pulling the foil of this morning. Sliced some for the kids ‘tiffin’/snack for school, and have to say it still tastes divine. Cake like, rich & yet not heavy. You must make some…still a month to go for Christmas!
Christmas Stollen (Dresden Stollen) The recipe is from ‘Backen macht Freude’ (Dr Oetker) Ingredients: 500g AP flour 2tsp baking powder 1tsp baking soda 200g Sugar 1 sachet vanilla sugar 4 drops sweet almond extract (Use bitter ifyou can get some, or bitter almond oil, the edible kind – don’t put arsenic in your Stollen!) 1tbsp Rum 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 2 eggs 175g butter 250g “Quark” (I make my own. Link here) 100g dried currants 100g raisins 100g dried craisins 50gm candied ginger/orange peel Zest of 1 orange 150g ground almonds For the ‘icing’: 50g butter 50g powdered sugar
Method: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, almond meal, cardamom & nutmeg in your processor & give it a whiz. Add chilled grated butter & process till you have breadcrumbs. In a bowl whisk together quark, eggs, almond extract, rum (if using). Add wet ingredients to flour mix and stir together until all the dry ingredients are moistened, and start to come together into a ball of dough, sticky but workable. Knead on a well-floured work surface, adding just enough extra flour until it forms a nice, soft, smooth but not sticky dough. Preheat the oven to 250°C. Bake it for 45 minutes at 180°C and then for another 15 minutes at 160°C. The ‘icing’: As soon as the Stollen is done brush melted butter onto the hot stollen and dust it with the powdered sugar.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
I have to add that I used golden raisins in my Stollen that Madhuli mailed to me very recently. She sent me a beautifully wrapped gift & I was so touched. Each bit packed with love, a separate card on each, handwritten notes & even a recipe of her grandmothers with a masala mix her aunt made.
My Stollen also happily used parchment paper that Avanika large heartedly mailed to me from Mumbai when she heard we don’t get it here. Thank you, you wonderful foodies, my Stollen was sweeter because of you!
Some more happy little bits I’d like to share… I am honoured to be included in the list of nominees for ‘Best Indian Food Blogs’here.
Voting begins in a day.
Also would like to thank EC for featuring me in the Sunday Super Blogger serieshere. Don’t miss a post
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Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
View all posts by Deeba @ PAB
40 thoughts on “Dresden Stollen… Stolen my heart, it has!!”
oooh … just as good as Jamie's. I wouldn't be able to resist either and would have eaten all of it. lol!
Oh my goodness Deeba, I don't think I can make that stollen now, it looks too good and won't last until Christmas! Congrats on the inclusion, you can count on a vote 🙂
Lovely it is, Deeba! Everything you bake is perfect! Your pictures are more beautiful than mine too. Maybe one year we will be able to bake and eat stollen together!
I've only ever tasted store-bought stollen! Yours look so wonderful. I'd love to try my hand at it but I am terrible at these recipes that require you to wait more than a day to eat. That's too torturous!
Congratulations on your Best Indian Food Blog nomination! I will be sure to vote when it opens!
Thanks for the Stollen info! I've never heard of Stollen but it sounds like a wonderful tradition. Good luck with the voting! I have no doubt yours is the best Indian Blog!
Gorgeous stollen Deeba! I just saw Jamie's post too, so funny you both posting about it. Lovely pictures, and like Meeta, I must admit quark stollen must be my favourite. Have you ever had chilli & ginger quark stollen muffins… OMG – divine!
Deeba, I have been thinking I'm okay being without my own kitchen for weeks now, until I saw this. UGH!!! I miss my oven and I so wish I can make this now. It looks so good! I just don't think I can wait weeks to enjoy it.
Hi Deeba, I have been reading your blog for quite a while, i am so fascinated with your blog that i almost got addicted of reading your blog regularly some times 2 to 3 times a day! beautiful photographs, wonderful recipes and lot more to please the eyes. keep on blogging.
mmm u and Jamie are both my stollen lovers! this is beautiful. i want some for christmas please. u send the cake, i offer the mulled wine ?? savvy? xxx
I have heard of stollen before, but had no idea about its history or the process involved in making it. it sounds like I need to make two loaves…one for eating immediately and one to let sit for a couple of weeks! 🙂
Deeba, this reminds me of my first holiday to Germany. It was around Christmas time, and I tried this delicious festive bread. So delicious. You have bought back some lovely memories!
This stollen looks delicious!! I hadn't even heard of stollen before, and now you make me want to rush to the kitchen immediately! Thanks for the mention 🙂 P.S – I just voted for you! 🙂
Lovely Deeba. You are just superb with the way you give us your recipes.It is like reading a novel and being with the characters in it.You tempt us to go ahead and try the recipe.Thank you.God Bless.
Thanks a lot for the recipe! It’s the same my mother used & I didn’t have her Dr. Oetker book at hand – so I googled a bit and voila found it!
One small modification by my mother – which is really quite tasty: Candy the 150 g almonds in a pan with butter and vanilla-sugar. It will increase the diversity of all the different tastes you can find in your stollen…
oooh … just as good as Jamie's. I wouldn't be able to resist either and would have eaten all of it. lol!
This looks fantastic Deeba, I am not sure I'd be able to restrain myself for 3 weeks. Off to check Jamie's out now!
Oh my goodness Deeba, I don't think I can make that stollen now, it looks too good and won't last until Christmas! Congrats on the inclusion, you can count on a vote 🙂
oh deeba quark stollen is my favorite! this looks lovely!
This is so gorgeous. I haven't had this in a long time. As you know, I don't bake a lot of breads but you can definitely send this to me. 😀
Lovely it is, Deeba! Everything you bake is perfect! Your pictures are more beautiful than mine too. Maybe one year we will be able to bake and eat stollen together!
That's gorgeous… if you have difficulty in keeping away from it for a few weeks… send it over to mine…..
Will be over in seconds 😉
That's a lot of featuring…..
Saw our Zebra cake featured on Super Blogger Sunday…
Yipppeee…..
Our Zebra Cake
The Variable – Nachiketa
I've only ever tasted store-bought stollen! Yours look so wonderful. I'd love to try my hand at it but I am terrible at these recipes that require you to wait more than a day to eat. That's too torturous!
Congratulations on your Best Indian Food Blog nomination! I will be sure to vote when it opens!
Fabulous and so tempting! That is one of my favorite Christmas treats!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks for the Stollen info! I've never heard of Stollen but it sounds like a wonderful tradition. Good luck with the voting! I have no doubt yours is the best Indian Blog!
The Stollen secret is out finally! 🙂 I think it looks gorgeous. And congrats, Deeba. Shall definitely vote for you.
Gorgeous stollen Deeba! I just saw Jamie's post too, so funny you both posting about it. Lovely pictures, and like Meeta, I must admit quark stollen must be my favourite. Have you ever had chilli & ginger quark stollen muffins… OMG – divine!
It looks wonderful!
I think this looks absolutely great. It's definitely a Stollen. 😉
Beautiful Stollen. As a child we had Stollen (made by a family friend) for breakfast on Christmas Day. It was a treat we all looked forward to.
Mimi
I can't tell you how much I love, love stollen. This post is giving me cravings
The stollen looks terrific! I've always wanted to make this bread, and you've reminded me of what a wonderful dessert this is! Thanks!
yummy..looks gorgeous..good to see the raisins being put to use so well!congrats on the nominations..you rock!
It looks so pretty. I can't believe Christmas is coming so soon!
Deeba, I have been thinking I'm okay being without my own kitchen for weeks now, until I saw this. UGH!!! I miss my oven and I so wish I can make this now. It looks so good! I just don't think I can wait weeks to enjoy it.
Gorgeous and absolutely stunning.
Congrats for the nomination at indiblogger. You will get my vote.
I love a good Stollen and this looks just Fabulous! Can you send some over please? If I ask nicely???
It looks amazing Deeba as well as a beautiful pictorial as always.It looks like you are well on way to celebrating.
It looks fantastic and I really want to make my own Stollen (which in Swedish means fool actually), yours is an inspiration Deeba!
Hi Deeba,
I have been reading your blog for quite a while, i am so fascinated with your blog that i almost got addicted
of reading your blog regularly some times 2 to 3 times a day! beautiful photographs, wonderful recipes and lot more to please the eyes. keep on blogging.
smita
dallas tx, usa
So beautiful! I can't wait to try it, your stollen is gorgeous.
I love stollen but I Have never made it. YUM!
mmm u and Jamie are both my stollen lovers! this is beautiful. i want some for christmas please. u send the cake, i offer the mulled wine ?? savvy?
xxx
I have heard of stollen before, but had no idea about its history or the process involved in making it. it sounds like I need to make two loaves…one for eating immediately and one to let sit for a couple of weeks! 🙂
this is a recipe I always wanted to try. It looks delicious. Surely I have to try it now 🙂
What a wonderful Christmas recipe Deeba! I really want to make a Stollen this year so thankyou for the recipe 🙂
Deeba, this reminds me of my first holiday to Germany. It was around Christmas time, and I tried this delicious festive bread. So delicious. You have bought back some lovely memories!
So beautiful! I can't wait to make this.
Your stollen looks a true winner!!
I'm such a dry fruits lover. I know that I would enjoy this dessert. Never had Stollen before.
This stollen looks delicious!! I hadn't even heard of stollen before, and now you make me want to rush to the kitchen immediately! Thanks for the mention 🙂
P.S – I just voted for you! 🙂
Lovely Deeba. You are just superb with the way you give us your recipes.It is like reading a novel and being with the characters in it.You tempt us to go ahead and try the recipe.Thank you.God Bless.
Thanks a lot for the recipe! It’s the same my mother used & I didn’t have her Dr. Oetker book at hand – so I googled a bit and voila found it!
One small modification by my mother – which is really quite tasty: Candy the 150 g almonds in a pan with butter and vanilla-sugar. It will increase the diversity of all the different tastes you can find in your stollen…
I love the idea of candied almonds. Thank you for sharing that. Sounds yum!!