Vegan Stollen Rolls (Stollen-Schnecken)

Check out the cute edible gold stars I got. Totally festive, right? Even though it's autumn...

For when Christmas is taking too long to arrive, I like to have something with its characteristic flavours- dried fruit, nuts, marzipan, spices and lots of butter- but enough of a twist that it doesn't make you feel bad that you aren't on winter break yet.

That's why I love these rolls- they really taste like Christmas come early. And, to make the deal sweeter, they're actually vegan! I was skeptical, since butter is one of the predominant flavours in the Stollen that I know and love, but a little butter-vanilla essence (I used Dr. Oetker brand) goes a long way. The copious amount of vegan butter (I used a coconut-oil based brand called Melt that was very nice, but any that's marketed for baking will work)... or just plain baking margarine. After all, my Oma's old DDR cookbooks all call for it in their Stollen, making them inadvertently vegan as well.

These are nontraditional on more fronts than just animal product content, though- they also have a pudding-marzipan filling that tastes creamy and delicious despite being made with soya milk. You can also use almond milk, of course- it might be even better, so long as it's not reduced-calorie/fat.

I have but one warning- even when completely cooked through, the pudding-marzipan filling and marzipan in the dough makes these buns really, really moist- too much for some, I suppose- and you might want to make them a little drier by removing the marzipan in the dough (I went crazy because the blocks I had were getting close to their expiration date, and I didn't want them to go to waste) and not squishing your buns together when baking them like I did. I love it when baked good are really moist, though, so for me it's perfect the way it is.

One more thing- very, very rich. It may be tough to get through even one bun in one sitting. I still think it's worth is, since the taste is glorious. They're not tricky to make, so don't let the long instructions scare you- there's only a few simple components that you need to put together and then assemble. Like flatpack furniture but less aggravating!

Obviously you don't have to make them vegan, especially if the ingredients are hard to find- I had them available and I wanted to play with them and see how good they'd taste in pastry and if anyone would miss the dairy. Nobody did!

Vegan Stollen-Rolls
Makes 9-12
Adapted from Veganer Kuchen

For the dough:
500 g. Flour
150 ml Soya or almond milk
200 g. Marzipan, finely chopped or grated (or use 80 g. sugar)
1 Packet vanilla sugar, or 1 TBSP homemade
A few drops butter-vanilla extract (or 1-2 Tsp. if it's not the super-concentrated type in tiny glass tubes)
1/2 Tsp. Almond extract, optional
Zest of 1 orange or lemon
2 TBSP Rum, or 1 Tsp. Rum extract
2 Tsp. Stollen spices (or, mix 1/2 Tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and cardamom)
42 g. Fresh yeast, or 2 1/2 Tsp. Active dry yeast
150 g. Margarine or vegan baking-suitable butter, in cubes

Warm milk and dissolve yeast. Let sit 15 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, spices, zest and vanilla sugar. Add the milk mixture and all the extracts (and rum) being used. Knead until smooth, then add the chunks of marzipan one by one and knead until all are completely mixed into the dough. Repeat with the margarine. 

Let rise in a greased, covered bowl for about 1 hour, or until doubled. After about 45 minutes, begin preheating the oven to 190℃. Then, roll out on a floured surface to form a large rectangle and prepare as in the following filling instructions.

For the Filling:
200 g. Marzipan, finely chopped
2 TBSP Rum, or 1 Tsp. Rum extract
250 ml. Soya or almond milk, plus more as necessary
1 (43 g.)  Packet Dr. Oetker vanilla, almond or cream flavoured pudding powder (or, use corn/potato starch)
1 Packet Vanilla sugar, or 1 TBSP homemade
100 g. Margarine or vegan baking-suitable butter (you can cut this to half or even omit it)

Whisk together pudding powder, soya/almond milk and vanilla sugar. Bring to a boil and let thicken. Stir in the margarine and marzipan and whisk until thoroughly combined. add the rum and more of the milk to thin as necessary to get a pastey, spreadable consistency.

Let cool slightly until just warm, then spread across the dough rectangle, leaving about 1 inch of room on one of the long sides of the rectangle. Finish with the dried fruits, as following.

For the Dried Fruit:
150 g. Raisins, sultanas and/or currants
50 g. Candied orange peel, chopped finely
50 g. Candied citron peel, chopped finely
75 g. Almonds, chopped or slivered
1/4 C. Rum, optional

Cover the fruits with rum, if using, and enough hot water to cover them up in a bowl. Let sit at least 30 minutes, then drain.

Sprinkle evenly across the filling and roll the whole thing up like a jelly roll, finishing so that the long side with the clean edge is rolled up last. Use this clean end to stick the roll together and seal the "seam". 

Using a sharp knife, wire or floss, cut the resulting log into 9-12 pieces. Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment, or in a greased baking dish.

Bake for about 1 hour, covering with aluminium foil after about 20 minutes to avoid overbrowning. They are finished when they reach 190℉ or 90℃ inside.

To Finish:
50 g. Margarine or vegan baking-suitable butter, melted
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract, or a few drops butter-vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Mix melted margarine and extract. 

While the rolls are still warm, brush with the margarine mixture. Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Roasted Eggplant and Fried Halloumi Sandwiches

I feel like I've invented a new classic of quick and easy crowd pleasing food. Though normally I'm not fond of the idea of sandwiches for lunch or dinner at home (I grew up with a constant deluge of repetitive sandwich lunches, so they scream "on the go" to me), these are really hearty, satisfying and delicious. The eggplant takes on a new depth of flavour when you roast it, especially with a bit of za'atar, now very trendy even here in Anglo-Saxon Suburbia and available in the local grocery stores. The eggplant becomes almost smokey in flavour, and has even impressed my supposedly eggplant-disliking brother.

The halloumi (a Cypriot cheese) is also not at all hard to find anymore, as it's been discovered for its remarkable capacity for keeping it together under pressure, or rather, heat. It doesn't melt or stick but rather develops a crust of brownish spots of toasty goodness that taste not unlike brown butter (not surprising- both have the flavour of browned milk solids to account for them).

The deep, rich flavours of the star ingredients are balanced out with a super-simple combo of zesty lemon and parsley. A few cherry tomatoes for some freshness, and you're good to go. I've made this with both sandwich rolls and pita breads to equal effect- use whatever you prefer.

Roasted Eggplant and Fried Halloumi Sandwiches
Makes 4 big sandwiches

4 Submarine sandwich rolls, or pita breads
1 Large eggplant, in 1 cm thick slices

1 Lb. Halloumi, in 1 cm thick slices
1 C. Parsley, roughly chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 C. Cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt, pepper and plenty of olive oil
1-2 TBSP Za'atar, optional (You can also mix 50/50 sesame seeds with dried thyme to simulate it)

Cut open the sandwich rolls to make a large "pocket" with a sharp knife, but not all the way through so that the knife goes through the other side.

Mix the parsley with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper and set aside.

On a baking tray, drizzle some olive oil and evenly place the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with salt and za'atar if using, and drizzle on more olive oil. Bake at 250 for about 15 minutes, or until the eggplant is very soft. Change to a broil setting and let brown, then flip with a spatula and let the other side brown. You can also fry the eggplant slices in a large skillet on medium-high heat until both sides are well-browned, but this will take more oil to keep the eggplant from burning.

Fry the halloumi slices in a skillet or frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil until the bottom is covered with crisp brown "cow spots", about 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Flip and fry the other side, then transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain of oil. 

If you want a softer sandwich, peel the skin off the roasted eggplant slices, as they get quite hard after baking- they should come right off.

Into each roll, add an equal portion of eggplant, halloumi, the parsley mixture and cherry tomatoes. Serve immediately.