Stollen is a German Christmas Cake. The name is really Christstollen. The marzipan centre represents Christ and the cake the blanket he was wrapped in. Stollen is a favourite in my home every Christmas and with the girls at NEXT.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sultanas or currants (or a mix of both)
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 3 cups high grade flour
• pinch salt
• 3 tbsp castor sugar
• 1/4 cup mixed peel
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup finely chopped papaya (or use mixed peel)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp castor sugar
• 2 tsp dried yeast or 2 tbsp Surebake
• 1 egg
• 75 g butter, melted, 1tblsp softened butter, 50g extra melted butter
• 200 g marzipan
• Rosewater to flavour

Method

1. Toss the currants and sultanas in the brandy and set aside for 1-2 hours.
2. Sift the flour and salt together. Take one cup of flour and set aside. To the remaining 2 cups of flour, add the three tablespoons castor sugar, mixed peel, almonds, papaya,sultanas or currants. Set aside.
3. Bring the milk to blood heat with the one teaspoon sugar. Stir in the dried yeast and set aside for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is frothy.
4. Bring the yeasty liquid into the bowl containing the one cup of flour. Add the egg and melted butter and beat well to achieve a smooth batter. Stand, covered, in a warm place until the batter has doubled in bulk and is bubbly. Stir this mixture into the flour and fruit mixture. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth.
5. Turn dough over in a greased bowl and spread over the softened butter. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for one hour or until double in bulk.
6. Knock dough down and roll it out to a large oval, about 1 1/2 cm thick.Knead the marzipan with a little rosewater to flavour. Roll the marzipan out to form a thick sausage the length of the dough and place it right of centre. Brush the edge of the dough with milk. Roll the dough over the marzipan and press the edges together firmly. Transfer to a greased baking tray. Cover with a clean towel and set aside in a warm place for about 40 minutes until the dough has doubled in bulk.
7. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, then lower the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for a further 35-40 minutes. The dough is cooked when it sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer the Stollen out onto a cake rack to cool.
8. Brush well with the extra butter and cover liberally with sifted icing sugar. Serve cut in slices.

Cooks Tips

If left go stale