My first encounter with Stollen was on Christmas Day 2019. It didn’t really impress me at first…it looked rather dry and the color, somewhere between white and brown which I found rather bleak for something to be displayed on a Christmas table. Thank Stollen-goodness for the colorful candied fruit pieces which decorated the seemingly dry, pale cake…bread, thing I thought.

Yet, despite its tedious appearance, our German friends and family couldn’t resist tastefully nibbling away on slices of this confectionary. I heard our hostess, which is also South African by blood, but German by passport, say that it was baked by her mother-in-law about 1 month ago…yeah, that’s why it’s so dry I thought, perhaps they should give it a good-old dunk in a cup of coffee – like a rusk? I was offered a piece and was quite excited to give this German delicacy a try.

What a surprise!! “Deceiving creation” I though. Spicy, light, sweet and it definitely had an encounter with either Rum or Brandy…which clearly only left its flavor trail and zero of its moisture.

This German delicacy is extremely sought after and enjoyed during Christmas season, hence the name “Weinnachtsstollen” (Weinnacht being German for Christmas) or “Christstollen” . Legend (and Wikipedia) has it that Stollen was initially a bland bread with very limited ingredients including flour, oats & water ( sounds bleak indeed). Baking with butter was prohibited by the Catholic Church during the Advent time as this was generally regarded a fasting time. After quite some pleading, the ban on baking with butter was lifted during 1490 ( with the exception that general bakers had to pay a fee when baking with butter) whereafter I can imagine a remarkable improvement in taste and texture of this bread. As time passed this bland bread metamorphosised into a sweeter, spicy and more colorful cake-like bread with the addition of colorful sugared fruit, spices, a beautiful white cover consisting of icing sugar and butter.

Totally surprised by this deceiving delicacy and its rich (though slightly vague) history, I decided to bake my own Stollen last Christmas and bravely offered to be the Stollen hostess for Christmas dinner. I quite honestly had no reference to anything similar which I baked before since I was (mostly still is) confused by whether this is indeed a cake or a bread? Regardless, I did what any amateur would do and chose a recipe from Google which seemed promising.

This is a multi-level baking experience which requires some time, getting your hands dirty and little patience. Living with a severe love for moist and richly flavored cakes, I started soaking the candied fruit in dark rum about 4 days before I started baking…these innocent little gem-like candied fruits were seriously drenched and drunk by the time they met the batter. I included some marzipan and omitted raisins (my husband will literally fall over when a raisin crosses his path).

The recipe yielded 2 loafs, they were enormous and smelt exactly like Christmas. Gosh, I was severely proud!! These two guys got their butter and icing sugar coating and were wrapped in a foil and plastic jacket to “rest” for 4 weeks until Christmas arrives. During this time, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy and totally forgot about my ripening (or resting – whichever you choose) Stollen.

They say “the proof is in the pudding” – well, whatever I tried to prove with this and whether I proved it or not – it was totally worth the soaking, kneading and waiting. My Stollen was a success and might I add, even a little more deceiving than the Stollen I first encountered a year ago. The severely rum drunken, glazed fruit and perhaps my typical slightly heavy hand with spices resulted in a Stollen with quite a personality. I am surprised by how dry this confectionary turns out despite the large amount of butter used and still wonder whether this is the norm? Regardless – our German friends, old & young thoroughly enjoyed this full bodied, yet gentle version of a German delicacy prepared by a South African “Mädchen”.

This year I will be at it again. As a matter of fact, I am so excited, I find myself subconsciously considering any alternative celebrations earlier this year which would justify this delicacy…even if it means adjusting the recipe to fit another occasion. It comes as no surprise that there are indeed numerous Stollen variations and that people continue experimenting with different ingredients – how exciting right!? Adding some personal touches to a loved dish – that is after all how new recipes are created. I have come across recipes for small Stollen ‘bites’, a chocolate and fig Stollen and an orange and chocolate Stollen to name a few. The sky is the limit!

I absolutely can’t wait to introduce this German delicacy to our South African family next Christmas and to being the person who bakes the Stollen my son will enjoy every Christmas of his childhood.