German Christmas Stollen

Prepare the dried fruits for the German Christmas stollen. Place the raisins, candied fruits, and nut mix in a glass bowl, pour in the rum, and leave for 4-6 hours.

Then drain in a sieve, dry (the soaking liquid will no longer be needed), and coat in flour to prevent the pieces from sticking together.

For the stollen Christmas cake dough, mix the milk with regular sugar in a deep bowl, add the yeast and 5 tbsp. of sifted flour; knead the starter until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Chop the lemon zest for the stollen. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and mix with the softened 120g of butter.

Add the remaining flour, brown sugar, vanilla oil, and yolks to the starter; knead a smooth dough.

Add the prepared mixture of candied fruits, fruit and nuts, zest and salt. Knead on a floured work surface. Place the stollen dough in a deep bowl, cover with a towel, and put in a warm place for 2 hours.

Roll the stollen dough into an oval shape. Using the edge of your hand, make a longitudinal indentation in the middle of the oval and fold the right half of the dough over the left so that it slightly overlaps the center. Place the stollen dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment, cover with a towel, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.

Bake the stollen in an oven preheated to 170–180°C until done, about 1 hour. After 40 minutes, you can cover it with foil to prevent burning. A wooden stick inserted into the cake should come out dry.

Melt 100g of butter for coating. Slice the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and add them to the butter, stir.

Brush the hot Christmas stollen, just taken out of the oven, with 1/4 of the butter, then sprinkle 1/4 of the powdered sugar through a fine sieve. Wait for a crust to form, and repeat 3 more times with the remaining butter and sugar.