German Stollen Cake Recipe (2024)

Christmas is a time for indulgence, and what better way to spread the holiday cheer than with a traditional German Stollen Cake? Stollen, a beloved Christmas bread hailing from Germany, has been delighting taste buds for centuries. Packed with rich flavors of dried fruits, almonds, and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, this sweet loaf is a must-have on every festive table. Join us as we dive into the history and secrets behind this iconic stollen recipe, ensuring that your Christmas celebrations are filled with authentic German flavors and traditions.

My German mom and I constantly create new German Stollen Cake recipes. These include Keto Chocolate Chip Stollen, Mini Stollen with Almond Flour, Quark Stollen, Poppy Seed Stollen (Mohnstollen).

The perfect German Stollen Cake for Christmas

Are you daunted by the thought of making Stollen? Did it turn out too dry last time you made it? With photos and clear instructions, we explain how to craft the perfect holiday Stollen cake.

What is Stollen bread?

Stollen, which is also called Weihnachtsstollen (Christmas Stollen) or Christstollen after Christ, is a traditional, spiced, fruit bread made in Germany to celebrate Christmas and the holidays. Known for its soft, rum-soaked raisins, almonds and candied citrus peel, as well as milk, sugar and yeast, bakers also often add a marzipan filling. People give these rich German Christmas cakes to friends and neighbors as gifts and even used to give them to kings.

Also popular: German Plum Cake (Pflaumenkuchen).

German Stollen Cake recipes come in many tasty varieties

Dresden’s classic raisin Stollen is world famous and available with and without marzipan. There are many others as well, including Poppy Seed Stollen with a poppy seed filling, Butter Stollen with extra butter, Cherry Stollen with cherries instead of raisins and cherry brandy, and Quark Stollen made with Quark, a German dairy product, but Greek yogurt works too.

You’ll also find contemporary low-carb, keto Stollen recipes such as Chocolate Chip Stollen with Almond Flour and gluten-free Classic Mini Stollen.

Trending now: Black Forest Mini Cake.

Adapt this Stollen recipe & make chocolate chip Stollen

If you love chocolate-covered biscotti, chocolate-filled croissants, and lemon- or orange-infused chocolate bars, then you MUST TRY chocolate-chip Stollen.
Simply make two changes: Use chocolate chips instead of raisins and top the Stollen with a melted chocolate bar instead of powdered sugar.

Or try Sugar-Free Plum Cake (German Pflaumenkuchen).

The history of Germany’s treasured Stollen recipe

Did Dresden make the first Stollen?

Dresden is world famous for its Christmas Stollen, but Stollen was actually first mentioned in an official document in Naumburg, Germany. In fact, a Naumburg bakery explains that in 1329 Bishop Heinrich gave Naumburg’s bakers the right to form a bakers guild. In return, the bakers had to pay the bishop and his court two Stollen per year for the Catholic Advent fasting period. So, Stollen was initially a fasting bread. More on this in a moment.

German Stollen Cake is a deep-rooted tradition in Dresden

Dresden, however, is usually the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of world-famous Christmas Stollen bread. Indeed, its roots run deep, since Dresden’s Christstollen dates back to 1474 which is when it was mentioned in a hospital bill and listed as fasting food made of flour, yeast and water.

So, the first Stollen recipe was very bland. After all, it was made during Advent which, in Catholic Germany, was a time of fasting and abstinence from meat, so you weren’t allowed to use butter which is an animal byproduct. Instead, bakers used oil which was expensive and hard to come by.

In 15th century medieval Saxony, the prince decided he wanted to use butter since oil was pricey. He also wanted a tastier holiday bread. So, he wrote to the Pope in 1450 and asked if bakers could add butter to the Stollen recipe. The Pope responded with a firm no. But five Popes later in 1490, Pope Innocent VIII sent the famous “butter letter” to the prince, giving the Prince permission to use butter in Stollen but only for himself, his family and his household.

The Pope added that anyone could use butter as long as they made an annual contribution to support the building of Freiberg’s Minster Cathedral.

Then, in the 16th century, the butter ban was lifted when Saxony became Protestant.

So, the Stollen recipe developed over the centuries from a simple, flavorless Advent bread for the Catholic fasting period to the sweeter holiday fruit bread or Christstollen we know today.

Trending now: Healthy Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie.

Stollen’s shape symbolizes baby Jesus

Although there are a few different ways to roll and fold Christmas Stollen, the shape has essentially remained the same through the ages. The powdery white oval is said to symbolize baby Jesus wrapped in white swaddling clothes.

INGREDIENT NOTES FOR GERMAN STOLLEN CAKE

Optional marzipan filling

• Marzipan (optional) – store bought or make my easy marzipan recipe which even has a sugar-free option.

The raisin mixture

• Candied lemon and orange peel – store bought or make it in advance from scratch.
• Raisins – or a mixture of raisins and golden raisins (sultanas).
• Almonds – blanched and sliced. To blanch almonds, put them in boiling water for 1–2 minutes. Then, drain, pinch off the skin and slice.
• Dark rum or fresh-squeezed orange juice or water – softs the raisins. If you use alcohol, it also acts as a preservative.

The yeast mixture

• Active dry yeast
• Milk – Use whole milk, since the dough needs the fat.
• Sugar or granulated sweetener of choice – Stollen dough traditionally doesn’t contain a lot of sugar, but you can still reduce the cake’s calories by using a zero-calorie sugar substitute such as monk fruit.

The Stollen dough

If you have a kitchen scale, use the gram measurement provided in the Recipe Card below for the flour, so you don’t use too much flour which can dry out this German cake.

• All-purpose flour
• Sugar or granulated sweetener of choice
• Salt
• Cinnamon – Use level spoonfuls of the spices.
• Cardamom
• Mace or nutmeg – Dresden Stollen is made with mace, but nutmeg also tastes great. Mace and nutmeg are, in fact, both derived from the fruit of the nutmeg tree: mace from the seed’s crimson covering and nutmeg from the seed.
• Unsalted butter
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Lemon zest

Topping & decoration for this Stollen recipe

• Butter – to brush on the baked cake.
• Powdered sugar – to sprinkle on the buttery, baked Quark Stollen. For fewer calories, opt for a zero-calorie powdered sugar substitute such as powdered monk fruit.

How to make German Christmas Stollen bread (Christstollen)

These are the steps we follow when we make German Christmas Stollen. We show you how to make it with and without marzipan. This is a tried-and-tested Stollen recipe which we make year-round. The photos below illustrate the process for one Stollen. However, we always double the recipe and make two at a time, since it’s a lot of work and you can always freeze one.

Tip: Check out this charming short film by the Dresden Stollen company. You can watch how the German bakers kneed and shape the dough.

1. Marinate the raisins, candied citrus peel and blanched sliced almonds in dark rum or water for at least an hour or overnight. We usually marinate them overnight.

2. Mix the yeast, warm milk and sugar in a small bowl until it has a foamy head. Be sure to use warm milk, so the yeast mixture foams up quickly. Usually 10-15 minutes.

3. Combine the flour, sugar (or a zero-calorie sugar replacement such as monk fruit), salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg or mace in a large mixing bowl.

4. Mix the ingredients to make German Stollen Cake.

7. Brush your bowl lightly with a flavorless oil (about a teaspoon). Put the dough ball in the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Usually 1–2 hours.

8. There shouldn’t be any extra liquid in the raisin mixture but if there is, drain it, so the dough doesn’t get too sticky. Then mix the raisin mixture into the dough by hand or spatula. Since the raisin mixture is a little moist, the dough might feel a tiny bit sticky. Just keep shaping it and kneeding it in your hands or in the bowl until it forms a ball. The more you work it, the less sticky it gets. We usually don’t add flour at this point. But if you feel you have to, sprinkle in a small amount by hand and shape the dough some more before adding more flour. If you add too much flour, you could dry out the Stollen.

How to shape German Christmas Stollen bread

9. Put the dough ball on your unfloured work surface. To ensure that the raisins are mixed in properly, kneed the dough for about 2 minutes. In other words, push the dough away from you with the heels of your palms, folding it over itself with your fingers, and then pulling it back.

10. If you’re adding marzipan, shape the dough into an oval and skip to the next section that explains how to add marzipan. Otherwise, slice the oval-shaped dough lengthwise about an inch deep to give it the characteristic Stollen look.

11. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for another hour. It will get a bit bigger but won’t double in size.

12. Before baking, press any exposed raisins into the dough. Otherwise, they will burn. Then, bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Pictured on the left is a baked marzipan Stollen with the traditional hump and on the right a baked raisin Stollen.

How to add marzipan to make marzipan Stollen

1. Press down with your rolling pin to form a channel.

2. Roll the pin a bit to widen the channel. The dough on the side closest to you should be a bit thicker and taller.

3. Put the marzipan in the channel.

4. Fold the side furthest from you over the marzipan.

5. The dough should look like this.

6. With your rolling pin, press down to seal the German Christmas bread.

7. Shape the hump by hand and place on parchment sheet.

8. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let it rise for another hour. It will get a bit bigger but won’t double in size. Before popping it into the oven, press any exposed raisins into the dough. Otherwise, they will burn. Then, bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

How to butter & decorate baked German Stollen Cake

See Also

11 Polish Thanksgiving Recipes

1. When the Stollen comes out of the oven, immediately use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes in the Stollen. This will help the Stollen absorb the butter.

2. Immediately brush 3–4 tablespoons of melted butter on each hot Stollen.

3. Then immediately sift powdered sugar on the Stollen, tapping the sugar with a spoon as you generously coat the hot, buttered Stollen. If calories are a concern, use a zero-calorie sugar replacement such as powdered monk fruit.

4. Let the German Christmas bread fully cool and enjoy.

FAQs about this stollen recipe (Christstollen)

Equipment corner

• A stand mixer with dough hook
• A spatula
• A baking sheet
• Parchment paper – for baking
• A sieve – to sift the powdered sugar on the Stollen

How to store your German Christmas bread (Christstollen)

To store:Store in an airtight bag or container in a cool place for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To freeze:You can also freeze the bread in a sealed bag or container for up to 3 months. I recommend making a double batch and freezing one.

DID YOU MAKE THIS GERMAN STOLLEN CAKE?
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