German Marzipan Quark Stollen – A Christmas Recipe

Germany is the country of the most famous Christmas baking and one traditional cake is the Stollen. There are many different recipes on how to make the Stollen. One is the “German Marzipan Quark Stollen” recipe which we feature today. Just in time for the holidays. You need to bake it now as the Stollen must sit for some weeks, at least 3 weeks. Happy Baking!

Ingredients German Marzipan Quark Stollen

375 g raisins
100 ml dark rum or alternatively apple juice
375 g flour
4 tsp baking powder
125 g sugar
1 package vanilla sugar 0.3oz – How to make Vanilla Sugar –
vanilla or rum flavoring if you used apple juice (1 little bottle or 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 point of a knife nutmeg (a hint)
1 tsp orange zest, organic
250 g quark – How to make Quark from Scratch –1 egg and 1 egg yolk
150 g butter, soft
100 g candied lemon – How to make Candied Lemon from Scratch –
200 g almonds, ground
100 g raw marzipan
100 g butter, melted
powdered sugar

Baking Instructions German Marzipan Quark Stollen

– Soak raisins over night in rum or apple juice.
– Before baking drain raisins.
– Mix baking powder with flour, sieve into a bowl.
– Add sugar, vanilla sugar, flavor, all spices, zest, 1 egg, egg yolk, soft butter and quark.
– With a hand mixer mix on highest level for 5 min.

– Place dough on a floured surface, make a mold in the middle and place candied lemon, almonds and rum-raisins into this mold.
– Knead the dough until it is smooth. You might need to add more flour if it is sticky.
– Roll the dough to a rectangle plate (30x20cm).
– Knead the marzipan until some oil is discharging, roll it to a plate, a bit smaller than the dough.
– Place marzipan plate on the dough but it should not be along the horizontal edges.

– Roll the dough tightly, then place it where the seam is, and form a Stollen.
– Place Stollen on 3 layers of baking paper that are placed on the oven grid. Bake for 50-60 min on 150 C or 300 F.
– Make sure it wont get too dark, if it is the case place foil on top.

When Stollen is done brush with melted butter and right away dust with powdered sugar. Repeat this several times.

Let Stollen cool off completely, then wrap in parchment paper tightly. Like this the Stollen will be good for several weeks. The best is to bake it at least 3 weeks before Christmas. Keep the Stollen at a cool and dry place  like in a room that is not heated.

TIPS
– After the Stollen had been removed from the oven, let is cool off to room temperature. If you like you can brush the bread with melted butter. Then you would add that 1 inch thick layer of powdered sugar. The sugar is soaking up the butter.
– After the Stollen has cooled off completely wrap it into aluminum foil. This way the Stollen will keep moist for several weeks.
– The best is to place it in a cellar or basement as the temperature is mostly in between 3 and 10°C and air moisture should be at 70%.
If there is no cellar keep it in the coldest room.
– It is possible to freeze the Stollen, and enjoy it after some months.