Christmas Stollen with Rum Frangipane Filling Stollen is a German yeasted sweetbread-cake that is traditionally served for Christmas. It was apparently invented in Dresden, Germany, and is said to resemble the baby Jesus in his swaddling clothes. Sometimes stollen has a yummy rope of marzipan hidden in the center (I prefer a frangipane filing) sometimes not. It almost always has candied citrus peel (e.g., candied orange, lemon, and citron), candied cherries, and raisins plus some rum, brandy or cognac.It’s common to “age” stollen, wrapped tightly, for a couple of weeks before Christmas. Ingredients: Makes 4 medium-sized stollen For the Stollen Dough: 1/2 cup golden raisins 1/2 cup dried currants 1 cup mixed candied citrus peel 1/2 cup candied cherries, quartered 1/2 cup golden rum 1/4 cup lukewarm water 2 Tablespoons instant yeast 1/2 cup plus a pinch of granulated sugar 1 cup whole milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel 5 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 eggs, at room temperature 3/4 cup (one and a half sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small bits and softened 1 cup blanched slivered almonds 1 tablespoon butter, melted For the Rum Frangipane: 1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 cup finely-ground almond meal or almond flour 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 egg 2 tablespoons golden rum To Assemble and Fill the Stollen: Rum Frangipane filling 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter For the Glaze and Topping: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons golden rum Confectioners sugar Procedure: For the Stollen Dough: At least an hour before you start baking: Combine the raisins, currants, candied citrus peels, and candied cherries in a medium bowl. Pour the rum over the fruit, tossing to coat. Soak for an hour, and up to 2 hours. Pour the lukewarm water into a small bowl and sprinkle with the yeast and a pinch of sugar, stirring gently to combine. Let the mixture stand in a warm place for 5 minutes or so, or until the mixture gets frothy and doubles in volume. Meanwhile, drain the fruit mixture and reserve the rum. Pat the fruit dry using paper towels. Place the fruit into a clean medium bowl and toss evenly with the 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Set aside. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the milk, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and the salt. Heat over medium heat to lukewarm, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and stir in the reserved rum, the vanilla extract and the fresh lemon peel. Add the yeast mixture to the milk mixture, stirring gently to combine. Measure 5 cups of the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast-milk mixture with a fork, about a cup at a time. Beat the eggs with a balloon whisk until frothy. Stir them into the dough. Using a wooden spoon, work in the bits of softened butter several tablespoons at a time. The dough will be very wet and buttery. Spread your counter top or work board with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Flour your hands lightly, gather the dough into a loose ball, and place on the floured board. Knead the dough for 15 minutes, flouring your hands from time to time if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic. (The dough will be uniform in texture, all of the butter and flour will be incorporated, and it will feel very smooth to the touch.) Add the slivered almonds to the reserved fruit mixture and toss briefly to combine. Flatten the dough into a rectangle shape (the actual size is not important) and press in half of the almond-fruit mixture. Fold the dough over onto itself and again press out into a rectangular shape. Press in the remaining half of the almond-fruit mixture. Knead the dough very briefly to distribute the fruit and almonds. (Don’t knead for too long or the dough will discolor.) Coat a deep bowl or rising container with melted butter. Add the dough to the bowl. Brush the top of the dough with additional melted butter. Drape a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) over the bowl and let rise in a warm spot for about 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in bulk. For the Rum Frangipane: Combine butter and sugar in a stand mixer (or using an electric mixer) on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the almond meal/flour and mix until incorporated. Mix in all-purpose flour, then add egg and rum. Mix on medium speed until the mixture is light and creamy. Set mixture aside in a cool spot (do not refrigerate) until ready. To Assemble and Fill the Stollen: Lightly flour a work board or counter top. Cut the dough into four equal pieces. Let rest for 10 minutes. With your fingertips, shape the dough into rectangles approximately 9 inches by 6 inches. Spread the rum frangipane filling onto each rectangle, leaving an inch border all the way around. Fold the stollen: bring one long side of the dough rectangle to the center and press the edge down lightly. Then carefully fold the other side over to the center of the rectangle, overlapping the seam down the center by about an inch. (Like a letter.) Press the edges gently. Lightly flour your hands and taper the ends of each loaf sightly, pinching gently to seal the ends of the dough. Don’t worry if some of the filling seeps out a bit – just wipe off with your fingertips. Brush two 11-by-17 inch sheet pans with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Gently transfer two loaves of stollen to each sheet pan, leaving at least 4 inches between the loaves. Brush the loaves with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon melted butter. Set the loaves aside in a warm place for about an hour, or until almost doubled in bulk. (You do not need to cover the loaves with a towel if you buttered them in step 5, above.) To Bake, Glaze, and Top the Stollen: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the breads, switching positions of the pans halfway through baking, 35-40 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Make the glaze: Just before the stollen loaves finish baking, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the rum. Take the stollen out of the oven and immediately brush with the melted butter-rum glaze, then thickly dust with sifted confectioners sugar. Cool stollen completely on a wire rack.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 05:42:40 +0000
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