Ingredients
- 40 gr. candied peel
- 50 gr. glacé cherries
- 1 orange
- 100 gr. raisins, sultanas and currants
- 25 gr. dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons brandy or dried rum
- 3-4 cardamom pods
- 7 gr. dried active yeast
- 25 gr. sugar
- 125 ml whole milk , plus a little extra
- 275 gr. strong white bread flour , plus extra for dusting
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- 50 gr. unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 medium free-range egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 25 gr. almonds
- 25 gr. shelled pistachios
- 225 gr. marzipan
- olive oil , or vegetable oil, for greasing
- icing sugar , for dusting
Method
- Finely chop the candied peel, and quarter the glacé cherries and finely grate the orange zest.
- Place all of the dried fruit into a bowl with the orange zest.
- Squeeze the orange juice into a pan, add the brandy or rum and heat to just below boiling point, then pour it over the dried fruit.
- Mix well, then set aside for 1 – 2 hours to allow it to plump up.
Dough
- Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods, then grind to a powder in a pestle and mortar, roughly ¼ of a teaspoon.
- Spoon the yeast into the bowl of a free-standing mixer, then add the sugar.
- In a pan, heat the milk until just warm, add to the yeast and whisk to combine.
- Set aside for 5 – 10′, until the yeast has formed a thick, foamy crust on the milk.
- Add the flour, spices and ½ teaspoon of sea salt.
- Using a dough hook, combine the butter, egg and vanilla, then mix for 5′, until smooth and elastic.
- Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
- Roughly chop the almonds and pistachios.
- Pour away about half the liquid from the soaked fruit, then add the fruit and remaining liquid to the dough, along with the nuts, mix again.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly for 1′.
- Shape the dough into an oval shape, about A4 size.
- Roll the marzipan into a neat log, about 4cm shorter than the length of the dough, and place in the middle of the oval.
- Brush one long edge of the dough with milk and fold it over, completely encasing the marzipan, and press the edges together to seal.
- Carefully lift the dough onto the baking sheet, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise for 45 – 60′, until nearly doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
- Remove the clingfilm, then bake the stollen for 30′, or until golden, risen and the underside sounds slightly hollow when tapped.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack before dredging with icing sugar to serve.