Quarkstollen
My mother has been baking stollen, a traditional German Christmas bread/cake, for over 50 years now using (roughly) this recipe, which comes from her Bavarian friend. Now it's my turn.
I like this recipe better than yeast versions, because you can make it faster, not having to wait for the dough to rise. Also, it has less fruit than usual, which i prefer.
Note that c = metric cup (250 mL), T = metric tablespoon (15 mL), and t = metric teaspoon (5 mL).
Ingredients
- 1 c sultanas
- ½ c rum
- 380 g (~3 c) wheat flour
- 100 g (~1 c) ground almonds
- 4 t baking powder
- ¾ c sugar, 2 T of which are powdered
- 250 g butter
- 250 g (~1 c) quark, strained yogurt, greek-style yogurt, or cottage cheese
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 eggs
- 2 t vanilla
- 2 t almond extract
- ¼ t salt if using salted butter; 1 t salt otherwise
Directions
- Soak the sultanas in the rum for two hours or until plump.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a big bowl, mix the flour, almonds, baking powder, and unpowdered sugar.
- Cut the butter into the mixture and mix it with your hands until homogeneous.
- Mix in the sultanas and remaining rum.
- In another bowl, mix the quark, lemon zest, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then mix with your hands until doughy.
- Put the dough on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or butter, and shape it into two large loaves or three medium loves.
- Fan bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Dust the warm, finished loaves with powdered sugar, let cool, then serve.
Funny story: My mom once brought her stollen to a Christmas party. After tasting it, one person asked, "Krassy, did you make this delicious bread?", to which my mom replied, "No, it's stollen."
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