Do you know what stollen is? If you don’t, its basic definition is that stollen is a sweet yeast bread of German origin that contains fruits and nuts (Source: Merriam-Webster). And sweet it is! I’ve been nibbling on this Quickbury Christ Stollen and it’s yummy! I sort of feel like I’m doing something bad because it’s not December yet and we haven’t even had Thanksgiving yet, so to think about stollen – even eating it – this early before Christmas seems sort of wrong! But it tastes soooo good!
Stollen can be eaten as is, or often times could be served with butter or preserves. I enjoyed my slice of stollen as is, plain, but every now and then some butter is nice with the flavor of the sweet bread! There’s plenty of flavor and the bread is by no means dry at all. Do make sure after you have opened your package of stollen that you wrap it up well to prevent it from drying out. I usually wrap mine in foil, nice and tight!
Stollen should not be confused with fruitcake, they are two separate items! The main difference between stollen and fruitcake is that fruitcake is often soaked in rum or other spirits. You won’t find that in a stollen recipe!
In some ways this reminds me of what Latvians bake called “Zeltene Maize” or a “Kliņģeris”. A sweet bread with raisins, fruits and/or other nuts and dusted with powdered sugar. My grandmothers used to make this bread and it was always delicious in the morning with a cup of hot coffee or tea. The kliņģeris is more of a Latvian birthday bread “pretzel” with powdered sugar and almonds on top. Very similar in the likes of stollen!
Quickbury is a company based out of Quickborn, Germany, which is north of Hamburg. They specialize in a wide range of cookies, breads, cakes and sugar-free edible items. During the Christmas holiday season, they produce a variety of traditional stollen and gingerbread. What makes Quickbury unique is that they are always expanding their assortment of products to meet the requirements and desires of their customers.
If you have not ever tried stollen or previous years have been a fruitcake fan, why not ditch the fruitcake and go for stollen this year? Stollen is perfect for those holiday celebrations when guests are around or perfect for adding to breakfast on those early Christmas mornings watching presents being unwrapped.
What else do you like about the holiday season? Are there any other favorite baked items, goods, treats that you long for when the holiday season approaches? Please share! Even better if you can share a photo or link! Post a favorite picture on our Facebook page or tag us in Instagram! Tweet and retweet with us on Twitter! There may be a special guest in the upcoming weeks traveling across Michigan, so stay tuned for Traveling Santa! Watch for other holiday ideas and fun on Pinterest!
German Fruitcake Fruitcake vs. Stollen: Flattened with a chewy crust, Stollen is often baked more like a traditional loaf of sourdough bread. Stollen also forgoes the usual candied cherries and pineapple in exchange for citrus zest, candied citrus peels, raisins, and almonds.
Stollen can be eaten as is, or often times could be served with butter or preserves. I enjoyed my slice of stollen as is, plain, but every now and then some butter is nice with the flavor of the sweet bread! There’s plenty of flavor and the bread is by no means dry at all. Do make sure after you have opened your package of stollen that you wrap it up well to prevent it from drying out. I usually wrap mine in foil, nice and tight!
Do you know what stollen is? If you don’t, its basic definition is that stollen is a sweet yeast bread of German origin that contains fruits and nuts (Source: Merriam-Webster). And sweet it is! I’ve been nibbling on this Quickbury Christ Stollen and it’s yummy! I sort of feel like I’m doing something bad because it’s not December yet and we haven’t even had Thanksgiving yet, so to think about stollen – even eating it – this early before Christmas seems sort of wrong! But it tastes soooo good!
In some ways this reminds me of what Latvians bake called “Zeltene Maize” or a “Kliņģeris”. A sweet bread with raisins, fruits and/or other nuts and dusted with powdered sugar. My grandmothers used to make this bread and it was always delicious in the morning with a cup of hot coffee or tea. The kliņģeris is more of a Latvian birthday bread “pretzel” with powdered sugar and almonds on top. Very similar in the likes of stollen!
What else do you like about the holiday season? Are there any other favorite baked items, goods, treats that you long for when the holiday season approaches? Please share! Even better if you can share a photo or link! Post a favorite picture on our Facebook page or tag us in Instagram! Tweet and retweet with us on Twitter! There may be a special guest in the upcoming weeks traveling across Michigan, so stay tuned for Traveling Santa! Watch for other holiday ideas and fun on Pinterest!
Stollen should not be confused with fruitcake, they are two separate items! The main difference between stollen and fruitcake is that fruitcake is often soaked in rum or other spirits. You won’t find that in a stollen recipe!
I didn’t appreciate the time and effort these loaves took until I helped her bake them a few years ago. There’s yeast to be revived and added to the bread, which then has to be kneaded, let rise, punched down, formed into logs, and rested again. Where my Oma’s arms were once so strong, capable of mixing starchy spaetzle batter in marathon bouts, she now struggles to press out the stollen dough, and takes frequent breaks. The dried fruit—in her recipe, golden and regular raisins, plus currants—also need to soak for hours in cognac. (Oma offers that this is a great opportunity to have a nip of cognac yourself.) Then, the loaves are left to cool, at which point they can be drizzled with my favorite part: the confectioner’s sugar icing.
My boyfriend isn’t crazy about stollen, and most of my friends will politely pass when I offer a slice. I think they’re deranged for not appreciating its dense, yeast-rich flavors, its gold nuggets of lightly sweet fruit, its ribbon of sweet frosting. Maybe they need to bake with Oma to appreciate it, or maybe their socially conditioned disdain for fruitcake is simply too strong.
My Oma has baked stollen every year since I was little, mailing it from her kitchen in Florida to my parents’ house in New Jersey. Now that I’m an adult with my own home, she mails me a loaf, too. She complains about the baking process every year, so that her complaints have themselves become a tradition. Every year, she says she’s getting older and the baking gets harder, and she’s really going to whittle down the number of stollen she bakes this year. Really. Maybe just one for each of her daughters, one for me, three for the church bake sale, one for the neighbor….Advertisement Advertisement
I have a hidden holiday dessert wrapped in foil and stashed in the back of my pantry. It’s not cookies or candy, and if I’m being honest, I don’t need to hide it. No one is stealing my stollen.Frenchs Mustard Skittles Continue to Haunt Us Share Subtitles
Next year I need to begin baking stollen for myself, not only to keep my Oma’s tradition afloat but to ensure my steady access to it should she ever retire from holiday baking as she’s threatened to for the past decade. Mine won’t be quite right on the first try, I’m sure, because Oma is a yeast-whisperer par excellence. But maybe baking it myself will deepen my enjoyment, birthing a new ritual that infuses the holiday bread even further. If not, there’s always that leftover cognac with which to console myself.
The History of Fruitcake
FAQ
What do British call fruitcakes?
Why is Christmas stollen so expensive?
Why do Germans eat stollen at Christmas?
What is stollen called in Germany?
What is the difference between fruitcake and Stollen?
Fruitcake vs. Stollen: Flattened with a chewy crust, Stollen is often baked more like a traditional loaf of sourdough bread. Stollen also forgoes the usual candied cherries and pineapple in exchange for citrus zest, candied citrus peels, raisins, and almonds. Italy actually boasts claim to a few distinct varieties of fruitcake.
Is Stollen a good Christmas cake?
A good amount of warm, gooey and delicious cake is a want during the holiday season. This winter try an authentic German Christmas Fruitcake, Stollen. It has been around for over seven hundred years and it is the most popular flakey and moist cake during Christmas. Let’s bake it and get to know more about it! What Is Stollen?
What is Stollen bread made of?
Stollen is a cake-like fruit bread made with yeast, water and flour, and usually with zest added to the dough. Orangeat (candied orange peel) and candied citrus peel (Zitronat), raisins and almonds, and various spices such as cardamom and cinnamon are added.
Can you eat fruitcake at a wedding?
Outside of the Christmas season, you can also find this style of fruitcake served at weddings. In Germany, fruitcakes (known as Stollen) don’t quite resemble their American counterparts. Fruitcake vs. Stollen: Flattened with a chewy crust, Stollen is often baked more like a traditional loaf of sourdough bread.