Christmas cookies, cakes and sweets - we all have our favourite seasonal treat (or two) that we enjoy making for our loved ones during the holidays. In Germany, there is one famous Christmas fruit-cake-bread that you can find at nearly every supermarket or bakery in the run-up to Christmas - the Christstollen.
If you have never tried one, this festive dish is usually filled with dried and candied fruits, fried nuts and sometimes even marzipan. Topped with a generous layer of butter and powdered sugar, Stollen was first made in Germany as a plain Christmas bread, as early as the 15th century in Dresden. The original Stollen was a simple bread, made without any bells and whistles and consumed during Advent, a period of fasting.
However, over the years different ingredients were added to Stollen and it became increasingly popular throughout the country. The most famous of all the Stollen remains the Dresdner Stollen, which is solely made in the city of Dresden by 150 bakers and even has its own annual festival ahead of Christmas, the Stollenfest!
So if you are looking to celebrate Christmas in a truly authentic way this year, why not try your hand at baking your own Stollen? There are many recipes out there, but the video below shares an easy Stollen recipe that is simple enough for any inexperienced bakers, but delicious enough for everyone to enjoy!
Enjoy your Stollen and Happy Holidays!