Beautiful Stollen Wreath
This German Christmas cake has marzipan, cranberries, dried fruit and pistachios and is finished with melted butter and a dusting of icing sugar. The wreath shape of the Stollen makes it perfect for sharing with family and friends at Christmas time.
Ingredients
- 600 g strong white bread flour
- 75 g caster sugar
- 14 g fast-action dried yeast (instant yeast)
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp salt
- 300 ml milk warmed
- 75 g unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 250 g golden marzipan grated
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 100 g mixed dried fruit
- 1 orange zested and juiced
- 1 lemon zested
- 75 g pistachio nuts roughly chopped
- 25 g unsalted butter melted
- 3-4 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
Instructions
- Put the flour, sugar, yeast, mixed spice and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine.
- Heat the milk in a glass jug until it's warm. Add the melted butter, egg and egg yolk to the glass jug and whisk together.
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir to form a sticky dough.
- Lightly flour a surface and turn the dough out on to it. Knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix on a low speed for 8 minutes.
- Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for two hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, add the cranberries, mixed fruit, lemon zest, orange zest and orange juice into a small saucepan. Heat for 5 minutes until the fruit is plump and juicy. Set aside to cool.
- When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it into a rectangle measuring approximately 50cm x 30cm.
- Scatter the grated marzipan over the dough followed by the soaked fruit and three-quarters of the pistachios. Gently press the filling into the dough using your hands.
- With the longest side facing you, roll up the dough into a sausage shape. Pinch the seam to make a seal then cut the dough into two long pieces leaving one end intact.
- Plait the dough in a criss-cross pattern then join the ends up, pinching together to form a circle. Slide the Stollen wreath onto a large baking tray lined with baking paper, cover it with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC Fan/Gas 4/350ºF
- When the dough has had its second rise, bake it in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes or until it is uniformly golden in colour.
- Remove from the oven and immediately brush with 25g melted butter, scatter over the remaining pistachios and generously sprinkle with icing sugar.
Video
Notes
- You can substitute strong white bread flour with plain flour
- You can omit the extra egg yolk (extra yolk yields a softer bread)
- Grated marzipan is better for even distribution. It's easier to grate cold marzipan so put it into the freezer while the dough is having its first prove.
- Use caution when heating the milk as milk that is too hot will kill the yeast.
- If the hole in the centre of the Stollen wreath starts to close, put a clean tin can in the middle.
- Turn the Stollen halfway through baking time to ensure an even colour.