Wishing you a berry merry Christmas with stollen (Daring Bakers challenge Dec 2010).

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go...ok, technically I haven’t packed my bags yet, but at least the presents are wrapped.

We’re heading off to spend Christmas with the in-laws, so this is probably my last post for the year. And of course, I cannot leave without wishing all of you a happy and blessed Christmas, and best wishes for the New Year. If you aren’t celebrating, hope you have a wonderfully relaxing holiday season.

But before I leave, I need to reveal my Daring Bakers challenge for December. Not one, but two stollens for your viewing pleasure (is the plural of stollen, stollens?).

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

Fresh out of the oven - stollen number one - currant, craisin, cherry, ginger and almond.

I divided the given dough recipe and turned half of it into a currant, craisin, cherry, ginger and almond stollen, while the other one was a blueberry and peanut marzipan stollen (inspired by PB & J).

We loved the currant, craisin, cherry, ginger, almond stollen but the MCs found the peanut marzipan one a bit too peanutty (I thought it was great).


Thanks Penny for a great challenge.  Don’t forget to check out what the other Daring Bakers have done, and the recipe can be found at the Daring Kitchen.

The "before" shot

The "before" close-up

The "after" shot 

The "after" close-up

Home made peanut marzipan left over from a previous recipe

Peanut marzipan on stollen dough, about to be rolled up

Trying out some fancy-schmancy wreath making - not quite successfully.

Stollen number two - these babies are HUGE ! How on earth did the Daring Bakers who made the whole portion actually fit these into their ovens?

Stollen number two dredged with icing sugar then coated in a layer of warmed berry jam, then more icing sugar over the top (of course)

We were asked to package our stollen creatively. Not sure that bunging it onto a foil covered plate and wrapping cellophane all round it could be called very creative, but the packaging held together very well when I took it along to a carols by candlelight do.

Stollen on the sand

I used the challenge recipe with the following changes:
1) Made the dough but didn’t add fruit in until time to knead. I divided the dough into two by weight, so I could bake smaller sized stollen and change the flavour as needed.
2) I added some grated nutmeg and allspice to the flour.
3) For the first stollen, I soaked the fruit in Cointreau because I wanted a citrus note without having to use peel. For the second stollen, I soaked the blueberries in bourbon.

Thanks for visiting, take care and I will come by to visit your blogs soon :)