Cherries, Chocolate, and citrus brighten up this German sweet bread. Black Forest Stollen keeps well so you can make it ahead or serve it warm.

I really enjoy the more relaxed pace of the holidays. Spending time with family and friends just catching up. Of course a lot of that time is spent with food.

Breads are great for the holidays. You can make the dough and ignore it while it rises. Then go back and bake it. The smell of fresh baked bread is wonderful. It fills your house with such warmth.

Black Forest Stollen is sweet but not too sweet. So many holiday foods are really sweet that it’s nice to take a break from high intensity desserts. The nutmeg complements the chocolate, cherries and citrus.

I adapted this Dresden Stollen Recipe. My kids don’t like raisins but they love cherries and I happened to have some dried cherries in my pantry. I also had pecan meal on hand instead of the required almond meal. You can buy nut flours from King Arthur Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Flour. If you grind your own, be careful not to make paste out of it.

Instead of kneading all the ingredients together, I pressed my dough flat and spread the chocolate, cherries and citrus on top. Then rolled it like a jelly roll and pinched the ends together in a circle. This keeps the cherries on the inside so they don’t dry out while baking.

This recipe also gave me a chance to use my new Etekcity kitchen scale. I’ve been wanting a kitchen scale for some time. Professional chefs and Europeans use weights instead of our English volumetric measuring system. It’s much more accurate and gives you better results.

I have an antique laboratory balance a friend of mine gave me when University of Texas was closing down a lab. It’s quite accurate but not really intended for large quantities used in baking. I also don’t quite trust the surfaces (even though chemists typically use weighing paper).

You can also use this for portion control if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. I’ve provided weights so you can use your Etekcity scale to make Black Forest Stollen.

Yield: 1 loaf

Black Forest Stollen

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Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Additional Time 9 hours

Total Time 10 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup dried cherries (100 g)
• ¼ cup brandy or water (59 ml)
• 4 cups flour (500 g)
• ¾ cup milk (178 ml), warmed till it's hot to the touch
• 2 ¼ teaspoon dry yeast (9.5 g)
• ½ cup sugar (100 g)
• ½ teaspoon salt (2.8 g)
• Grated rind of 1 orange
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (1.1 g)
• ½ lb unsalted butter (226.8 g), softened and cut into small pieces
• 1.75 oz ground pecans or almonds, (50 g, about ½ cup + 1 tablespoon)
• 2 oz candied orange peel finely chopped, (56.5 g, about 1 medium orange)
• ½ cup chocolate chips (95 g)
• Unsalted butter for coating
• Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Soak cherries in brandy or water overnight. (If you're using water, you can heat the water and soak the cherries in hot water for about 30 minutes to speed up the process).
2. Combine flour, nut flour, yeast, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add milk and butter to form a smooth yeast dough. Knead in some additional flour to make it smooth. Let rest 1 hour.
3. Lay on floured surface and pat into a flattened oval that's about 1.5 - 2 inches thick. Spread cherries, orange peel and chocolate chips on top. Roll up like a jelly roll and then spiral into a circle and pinch the ends to seal.
4. Bake for about 1 hour in preheated 350° F oven.
5. After baking the Stollen, brush them with melted butter and dust generously with confectioner's sugar.
6. Stollen has a long shelf life and can be made weeks ahead of Christmas

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 298Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 62mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 2gSugar: 19gProtein: 4g

Nutrition information is provided as a guide only. Please consult a dietician for specific dietary needs.