Butter stollen with raisins, almonds and orange zest

Butter stollen made from a yeast dough with spelt flour, butter, honey, raisins, slivered almonds and orange zest, brushed with butter. A Christmas stollen for dessert, left to mature for a week.

At a glance

• Serves 16
• Prep time: 45 min
• Cooking time: 60 min
• Total time: 105 min
• Calories: 329 kcal per serving
• Protein: 6 g
• Fat: 17 g
• Carbs: 37 g

Ingredients

• 500g spelt flour
• 200g raisins
• 100g slivered almonds
• 250g butter
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 1 unwaxed orange
• 1 unwaxed lemon
• 150ml milk
• 80g honey
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 cube of fresh yeast
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp stollen spice

Method

You’ll need: oven · baking tray · grater

1. The day before, soak the raisins in the orange juice. Grate the zest of the orange and lemon.
2. Warm the milk until lukewarm and dissolve the yeast and honey in it. Knead with the flour, salt, stollen spice, citrus zest and 200 g of the soft butter for 8 min into a smooth dough, cover and leave to rise for 1 hour.
3. Briefly knead in the raisins and slivered almonds. Shape the dough into an oval, press it down lengthways with a rolling pin and fold one side over the other. Leave it to rise on a baking tray lined with baking paper for 30 min.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (160 °C fan) and bake the stollen for 55 to 60 min, until golden brown. Cover it with baking paper after 30 min.
5. Melt the remaining butter, brush the hot stollen with it in several layers and sprinkle with finely ground coconut sugar.
6. Wrap the cooled stollen in baking paper and foil and leave it to mature somewhere cool for at least 1 week.

Good to know

Butter stollen needs patience, but no tricks. The raisins soak in orange juice overnight, then the stollen matures in foil for a week. Finely ground coconut sugar goes on top of the butter layer.

Swaps

Spelt flour → plain flour (type 550). Raisins → replace half with unsulphured dried apricots. Slivered almonds → chopped walnuts. Honey → maple syrup.

Cooking tips

Add the raisins only at the very end and knead them in briefly, otherwise they tear and turn the dough grey. Press in any raisins poking out before baking so they don't burn.

Storage

Well wrapped and stored somewhere cool, it keeps for 4 to 6 weeks.

Allergens

Contains gluten (spelt), milk and almonds. Because of the honey, not for babies under 1 year old. Suitable in pregnancy.