Tag: dried cherries

Stollen

stollen with Christmas ornaments

Here is an updated version of a recipe from a few years ago. There were issues with the previous version because the use of alcohol in the dough inhibited the yeast growth. This version made the best stollen I’ve ever made!

This stollen is filled with brandy-soaked sour cherries and raisins, toasted almonds, and plenty of marzipan. It is coated with butter and powdered sugar, for flavour, but also to help from drying out.

If you don’t love marzipan feel free to leave it out. I love it, but I understand that not everyone does.

This recipe makes two large loaves (or four smaller ones with a shorter baking time).

What you need:

  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup dried sour cherries
  • 1/2 cup brandy or rum for soaking the fruit
  • 3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 2 packages active dry yeast (4 & 1/2 teaspoons, or 14 grams) + 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • a few drops of pure almond extract
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 4 to 5 cups flour, divided
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 200 grams (7 ounces) marzipan (or a little more if you love marzipan)
  • melted butter (1/4 to 1/3 cup)
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar

What you do (Updated Version Dec 2021:

  1. Combine the raisins and cherries in a bowl and cover with the brandy or rum. Let it sit for 12 – 48 hours, stirring from time to time (Shortcut: just soak for an hour). Drain the brandy or rum. Pat the fruit dry with paper towels and toss the fruit in 2 tablespoons of flour.
  2. Toast the almonds until very lightly browned.
  3. Heat the milk, salt and 1/2 cup sugar in a small pot over medium heat, until just warm (110-115 degrees). Let it cool.
  4. In a large bowl add 1 teaspoon of sugar into 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees celcius). Any hotter will kill the yeast, and colder and it won’t activate. Sprinkle the yeast on top and stir it in. Let it sit until the yeast starts to bubble, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the milk mixture (make sure it’s just warm, not hot, or it will kill the yeast), vanilla and almond extracts and eggs to the yeast mixture. Combine by beating with a fork. Add 1/4 cup water.
  6. Add two cups of flour to the bowl, and use a wooden spoon to combine. Cut the 1/2 cup butter into small pieces and work into the dough using a fork.
  7. When the butter has been evenly distributed, add one cup of flour and mix it in. Add about half a cup more flour, adding more until the dough forms into a workable ball (not too much flour to make it too stiff).
  8. Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth and elastic.
  9. Add the fruit and almonds tot eh dough. I start with the almonds. To do this I flattened the dough out a bit, sprinkle on about 1/4 cup of almonds, and kneaded them in. Continue this process until all the nuts are combined, then do the same with the fruit. If any pieces of fruit are sticking out of the top of the dough, pick them off and knead them in a bit more.
  10. Melt a little bit of butter and use it coat a large bowl. Place the ball-shaped dough into the buttered bowl, then turn the dough butter-side up so it is coated in butter. Loosely cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rise until it has doubled in volume, about 1-3 hours depending on how warm your room is.
  11. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter.
  12. Punch down the dough and divide it into two parts (or 3 or 4 for smaller loaves). Form one half into a flat oval using your hands.
  13. Divide the marzipan into equal parts to go in each loaf. Roll it into a rope just short of the length of the dough. Place one of the marzipan ropes on top of the dough, then pull the sides of the dough over the marzipan, pressing down in the middle. Roll the ends of the dough over a little. Gather the loaf and place it rolled-side down on the parchment paper. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.
  14. Brush the loaves with butter, and cover with a tea towel. Let the loaves rise until about doubled in size.
  15. Heat the oven to 375F. Bake for 30-40 minutes; if you tap on the loaf it should sound hollow, and it will be dark golden brown.
  16. Remove the loaves from the oven and brush with more melted butter! Dust them with sifted powdered sugar and let them cool completely before packing.
  17. Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad with Yogurt Dressing

Broccoli is packed with Vitamins C, K & A, as well as folic acid, fibre and a whole bunch of other nutrients.  So the challenge is to find new ways to serve it up, and preferably raw, as that’s the best way to keep all the valuable nutrients intact, or so they say.  I’ve adapted this recipe from one I found on everybodylikessandwiches.com.  I prefer to add the nuts and dried cherries on top – the nuts stay crisper, and the fruit looks prettier.  If you’re serving it all right away and plan to have no leftovers, you can get away with tossing it all together.

This one can be whipped up in no time at all!

What you need:

1 head broccoli, broken into small pieces

2 tablespoons finely diced red onion

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

3 tablespoons plain yogurt (I don’t use low-fat yogurt ever!)

juice of 1/2 lemon

a few dashes of hot sauce

1-2 teaspoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

1/4 cup dried cherries, cut in half (or raisins or cranberries)

What you do:

1.  Toast the almonds – I do this is a dry frying pan on my stove top.  I just heat it to medium-low, then give it a stir every once in a while, keeping an eye on it do it doesn’t burn.

2.  Combine mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce, honey, salt and pepper.

3.  Put the broccoli and onions in a bowl and toss them with the dressing.

4.  Top with dried cherries and almonds just before serving.