Stollen Bites recipe
I can’t help myself, I am addicted to marzipan. My addiction gets worse over the festive period and it won’t be long before I am having to attend Marzipan Anonymous to seek help. Stollen is a Christmas favourite of mine and we have been eating a lot of shop bought Stollen Bites in the office. So, when I found this recipe on Good Housekeeping I knew I could stoke my addiction by making my own.
Stollen Bites are a yeast dough based recipe, so they do require a bit of time. No real effort, but a couple of hours for a rise and some calories burnt in advance of eating them with a ten minute knead. The reward, however, is huge. 25 tiny Stollen Bites packed with rum soaked fruit, layered with marzipan and tossed in butter and icing sugar. Unlike a full sized stollen, you can happily eat 2 or 3 bites without feeling guilty as they are only teeny tiny squares *I’m lying*.
Christmas is all about eating and drinking and it’s already the 4th of December so, for goodness sake, let’s just get on with it. Stollen Bites should be on the menu from now until the 25th, please.
Such a christmassy line up for these Stollen Bites. The smells alone will have you feeling oh so festive. Either that or you’ll have been at the rum used to steep the fruit.
Speaking of which, make a start by steeping your fruit in rum. If the cherries are big, give them a little chop then toss these, along with the mixed fruit and mixed peel in the rum.
Set these aside for two hours to steep while you crack on with your dough. Take a small jug or pan and measure in the milk, 75g butter and the zest of an orange or satsuma. Either microwave or heat on the stove until the butter is just melted. Leave to cool until you can happily put your finger in the milk without it feeling too hot.
While this cools, measure into a large bowl the strong bread flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, ground cardamom and a pinch of salt.
Crack in the egg and the egg yolk then pour in the slightly cooled milk and butter mixture.
Go in with the spatula and fashion the mixture into a ragged dough. Tip this out onto the work surface and bring the dough together.
Now for a bit of a work out, knead the dough for around 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be ready when it’s smooth and feels less sticky and more elastic.
Put the dough into an oiled bowl and leave to rise, covered with a tea towel somewhere warm, for around 2 hours. At this point your dough will have risen and feel plump.
Drain your marinated fruit and then knead it into the risen dough.
Divide the dough into two equal portions and roll out into two 8 inch squares, roughly the same size as your tin.
Roll the marzipan out into a similar square shape, vaguely trimming the edges to make sure it fits your tin.
Now assemble the stollen. Line your square tin with greaseproof paper and place the first square of fruit dough on the bottom. Top with the square of marzipan.
Top the marzipan with the second square of dough and press down to seal the whole business. Leave to rise for a further 20 to 30 minutes in a warm spot while you pre heat your oven to 150 degrees fan assisted.
Pop this into the oven for 25 minutes or until golden, firm and smelling wonderful.
Leave the stollen to cool while you melt the butter and mix it with a tablespoon of rum. Remove it from the tin once it’s cool enough then brush the whole bake with the butter mix.
Cut your bake into 25 squares, not worrying too much about making them all the same; I didn’t.
Dip each bite in icing sugar and roughly coat.
And that’s it. Tuck in while these are still a tiny bit warm. There’s plenty to go around. Or not.
I promise this is the last marzipan based recipe I’ll post before Christmas. Well, apart from icing the Christmas cake, of course. This is good news for me, because my party season preparation is ruined due to all the marzipan nibbling I’ve been doing. I’m off to buy some big knickers.
Lucy x
Stollen Bites recipe
Makes 25 bites
You will need bowls and a lined 20cm square tin
75gmixed dried fruit
25gmixed peel
25gdried sour cherries, chopped if on the big side
2 tablespoons rum
75 mlmilk
75gbutter
Zest of 1 orange or a satsuma
1 teaspoon easy dried yeast, the sort you add to the flour
225 gstrong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
A pinch of salt
1 egg, plus 1 yolk, lightly beaten
200g marzipan
To coat
1 tablespoon icing sugar
25g butter, melted
1 tablespoon rum
Take a small bowl and add your mixed dried fruit, mixed peel and dried cherries. Pour on the 2 tablespoons rum and stir. Cover and leave for two hours to soak.
In a small jug, measure in the milk, 75g butter and the orange or satsuma zest. Microwave for a minute or so or heat in a pan until the butter has just melted. Leave on the side to cool until it feels lukewarm when you test it with your finger.
In a large bowl, measure in the flour, yeast, caster sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and mixed spice along with a pinch of salt. Give it a little stir then add the egg and egg yolk. Pour in the cooled milk and butter mixture and stir until a rough dough forms.
Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and bring together into a soft ball. Knead for around 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, soft and less sticky. Pop into an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for around 2 hours.
While this is rising, roll the marzipan into a rough 20cm square and trim the edges.
Once the time’s up and your dough has risen, knead in your rum soaked fruit, draining first if there is excess rum. Divide the fruited dough into two pieces. Roll each piece into a 20cm square, roughly the same size as your tin and the rolled out marzipan.
Place one of the squares of the dough into the base of your lined tin then top with the square of marzipan and press down. Place the second piece of dough on top and press together. Cover the tin with a cloth and let the bake rise for a further 20 to 30 minutes in a warm place.
Pre heat your oven to 150 degrees fan assisted. Place your Stollen into the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until golden, risen and smelling amazing. Take out of the oven and leave to cool before removing from the tin.
Melt the 25g of butter then mix with the rum. Brush this over the slightly cooled bake. Cut the bake into 25 small squares then toss in icing sugar.
Devour, or keep in an airtight tin for a couple of days.
