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.

Marzipan-Stollen (with Milk Roux and Preferment)

I really, really, really love making Stollen. I have many fond memories of doing it with my mother following an old recipe from my grandmother, soaking the raisins and proofing the dough, rolling out the marzipan for the centre and brushing it with butter when it was done. It was a sure sign that Christmas was on the way- Stollen is to be made weeks before, at least three to four, but for us it was usually early or mid-November when we started to give it optimal time to age. Even though there's over a month to the holidays, the fact that there's a stollen in the pantry wrapped up and ready meant the promise of Christmas right around the corner.

The unbaked Stollen, ready to go.

There are many recipes for Stollen, and none are right or wrong- though for my family, the ultimate stollen has got to be a buttery yeast dough full of raisins, currants, citrus peel and almonds, and the marzipan core is a must. I plan to make another batch closer to Christmas with a baking powder-egg-quark dough that's nothing like what we usually have, but there's got to be something traditional there, too- it's Christmas, after all.

Powdered up and ready to lie in wait until Christmas...

While this isn't my Oma's recipe, I think this is an improvement- more butter and less sugar in the dough, with copious amounts of fruit and nuts and lots of different spices. There's a roux in the dough to keep it soft and moist until Christmas, and of course plenty of my beloved marzipan. It's crusted thickly in two types of sugar along with the butter, and is less breadlike and more dense than what we usually have. I think it helps that we didn't use a high-gluten flour this year, instead opting for type 550/all purpose flour, and didn't overdo it with the resting times. I've seen a lot of bread-like stollen recipes, but it just doesn't seem right to me- but hey, to each their own. Stollen is a very personal business.

After baking, I always pick out the burnt nuts and fruits that get totally carbonized on top (it seems you can't avoid that) before brushing on the butter and powdering it up. Next, the loaves get wrapped in baking parchment and aluminium foil and placed in the cabinet above the range for a nice, long time. I'm always a little nervous letting them sit, although I know they've got to- then again, I've heard of fruitcakes that sit for a full year (or more) before consumption. 

And after a long wait... fantastic stollen that's moist and soft but not too much so, crusted in vanillaey sugar and complete with a marzipan centre.

Marzipan-Stollen
Adapted from Hefe und Mehr

For the Fruit and Nuts:
225 g. Mixed yellow, green and dark raisins/sultanas
75 g. Currants
100 g. Slivered/chopped almonds
70 ml. Dark spiced rum
Boiling water, to cover

Mix all and cover with just enough hot water to almost top off the fruits. Leave overnight in the refrigerator to absorb.

(NOTE: I forgot to presoak my fruits overnight, so mine only got about 3-4 hours in the rum mixture... if you want a strong rum flavour, though, go for the full 12-14 hour soak, or add a few drops of rum extracts to the fruits to boost the flavour as a quick fix. I also went a little overboard with the sultanas- but that's a matter of personal taste. The amount given is already very generous.)

For the Roux:
30 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
150 g. Milk

In a small saucepan, cook on medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until 65℃- or until it forms an almost translucent, pudding-like paste. Place in a cool bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature before using.

For the Preferment:
100 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
100 g. Milk, cold
35 g. Fresh yeast

Mix all and let rise until doubled.

Final Dough:
400 g. All purpose/type 550 flour
5 g. Salt
0.5 g. Each mace, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom (approximate with the amount on the tip of a knife!)
Half a vanilla bean, scraped
75 g. Sugar, plus one or two sachets vanilla sugar (optional)
Zest of half a lemon (optional)
250 g. Butter
50 g. Candied citron, diced
50 g. Candied orange peel, diced
150-200 g. Marzipan

Cream butter and sugar (including vanilla sugar, lemon zest and scraped-out vanilla seeds, if using). Sift together flour, spices and salt, and add to the butter mixture, along with the roux and preferment. Knead until homogeneous, keeping the dough cool. 

Let rest covered for 30 minutes. In the mean time, shape the marzipan into two long rods.

Drain the fruits and nuts and mix with the diced peels. Knead into the dough until just incorporated, and divide into two parts. Let rest covered and preheat the oven to 200℃.

Flatten each piece of dough into an oblong oval. In the centre, form a dent and place in the marzipan roll, folding the dough over it. Bake right away for 40 minutes, covering with foil if browning too quickly.

To Finish:
50 g. Melted butter
80 g. Superfine sugar
100 g. Powder sugar

Brush with melted butter and coat thickly in sugar. Dust all over with powder sugar once cool (after a few hours, or the next morning) and roll up in aluminium foil. Store in a cool, dark, dry place for at least a week before eating.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Despite my pie-adverse parentage (I don't understand them either), this is still a beloved favourite that must grace the thanksgiving table. Even though we regrettably hardly observe thanksgiving (sigh), the Pumpkin Pie has to happen. With marzipan pumpkins. 

What makes it special is both the use of homemade roasted pumpkin puree (gotta write down the process for that here sometime) and heavy cream, which is much nicer than canned pumpkin (still passable in a pinch, though) or condensed milk. It's got my favourite flaky butter pastry, lots of creaminess and spice (plus rum) and is topped with both whipped cream and marzipan. It's very easy to make, despite the length of the recipe- I just went into a lot of detail. In addition, many of the steps can be done in advance- like making the marzipan pumpkins (a week in advance in the fridge, or even more in the freezer) or the crust (also can be pre-made, frozen and thawed already in the pan for straight-to-oven convenience). 

I made two crucial mistakes in my pie, mostly due to hubris- One, I forgot to turn the heat up as high as I should have for the blind-baking, so it didn't get as flaky as I wanted. Two, I used a little too much cream, so the filling was a little too liquidy and cracked on top. Still tasted great, though.

The filling is very soft and silky, and contrasts well with the crust. There are a thousand variations of pumpkin pie I'd like to try, but this is the classic for sure. You also don't need to have ready-made pumpkin pie spice, which makes it easier- that stuff tends to sell out right around thanksgiving. Mmmmmmmmmm pie.

Here's a previous year's attempt for reference- poured in too much filling that time. It seems I just can't win.

Classic Pumpkin Pie
Adapted from Baking, by Peter Jameson

For the Crust:
1 Recipe All-star pie crust

Roll out dough and drape overtop a 9" or 10" pie pan or cake pan. Press into the pan as tightly as possible. Allow to refrigerate for about 15 minutes to relax, then trim excess dough, leaving about 1-2 cm around the edges. 

Press the edge until it just reaches over the sides of the pan, using a fork. You can also take the excess dough trimmings and roll out to cut small shapes with a cookie cutter, and overlap those around the edges. If you really can't get it to look good, don't worry- the whipped cream can be used to cover it up later on.

Poke the crust with a fork throughout and refrigerate another 15-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 200℃. 
To blind-bake, use baking parchment or aluminium foil to coat the crust and press down. Weigh it with baking stones or old inedible beans/rice- these will prevent the crust from puffing up too much. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden. 
Remove the weighing insert and if too puffy in any place, push down gently with a fork. Return to oven for another 15 minutes.

For the Filling:
15 Oz. Pumpkin puree, preferably homemade
1 1/2 C. Cream, 30-35%
1 C. Light brown sugar (or a 1:1 ratio dark brown:white, or even 2:1 if you really like the brown sugar taste)
3 Eggs
1 TBSP Dark rum (optional)
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1 /2Tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. Ginger
1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp. Cloves
Pinch of cardamom
1/2 Tsp. Salt

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Mix eggs and sugar until well combined with a whisk. Add the pumpkin puree, rum and vanilla. Whisk in the dry ingredients.

Pour the filling into the pie crust- it might be a bit too much, but you can always bake the excess in ramekins or (if you're very daring with raw eggs) eat it as-is.

Bake the filled pie for 30 minutes at 170℃, covering the crust trim with aluminium foil if it is browning too quickly, until the filling is not liquidy but still jiggles a bit when the pan is shifted- the top of the pumpkin will be browned lightly, smooth and shiny.

Let cool at least an hour before adding whipped cream.

For the Decorations:
1/2 C. Cream, 30-35%
2 TBSP Powdered sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 Tsp. Rum extract, optional

200 g. Marzipan
Red, yellow and green food colouring
about 12-14 whole cloves

Beat the cream, powder sugar and vanilla until firm peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Divide the marzipan into 150 and 50 g. Add a couple of drops each of red and yellow food colouring to the 150 g. piece and knead in. Once the right shade of orange is achieved, divide into 12-14 spheres. Use a toothpick or chopstick to lightly press "segments" into the spheres to mimic the look of a pumpkin. If it becomes too soft or oily, refrigerate for 10 minutes before continuing.

Knead a drop or two of food colouring into the 50 g. piece, until it is the right "leafy" colour. Form small ovals and press down to form leaves- press these on top of the pumpkins, indenting slightly with your finger to form a concavity. Press in a clove for the "stem". Any excess green marzipan can simply be eaten, or used to roll out thin "vines" as an additional decoration. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble, fill a star-tipped pastry bag with the whipped cream and form rosettes or swirls around the edge of the (cooled!) pie. Make one rosette for each pumpkin, then place them in the centre. Keep the whole pie refrigerated until ready to eat.

Prinsesstårta

Today was my mum's birthday, and for the third (or fourth? I lose track) year in a row I made one of her new favourites, the Swedish prinsesstårta. I came across the recipe by chance and was instantly taken by the combination of several of my family's favourite ingredients- marzipan, custard, whipped cream and raspberry jam. While it is a bit tricky to assemble, nobody ever complains that my cake is too messy- they're too busy eating it. 

Still, each year's attempt is a bit nicer than the last one. This year I decided to change it up and modify the original recipe a bit. I added some orange extract to the sponge cake, some rum to the jam (to make it more spreadable and aromatic), some fresh raspberries since they're very good this time of year, and some vanilla bean to the custard. I also reduced the amount of marzipan to make it neater and easier to put away into the fridge- yeah, the dome looks cool, but it doesn't fit with any of my cake covers and is very difficult to arrange nicely. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it one day.

I decorated it with a hint of personalization, adding a Moominmamma figure (from the tales of Tove Jansson) to the top of the cake in honour of my mum. I also made a few vines and flowers, and added some toasted almonds around the sides. I think the modifications turned out really well- especially the fresh berries. You can also use strawberry slices very well in here. The only change I'll try next time is adding more custard, since you could always use more of that. 

A previous year's attempt, featuring the full length marzipan coat. Note how I tried to clean up the edges with slivered almonds.

What I find interesting about this cake is its history. It was originally named "green cake" in its late '40s debut, but received a name change in honour of the Swedish crown princesses' fondness for it. They were educated in household management, including cooking, and so would have been making these cakes themselves. There was even a series of cookbooks written by the home economics instructor for the princesses, featuring the royals on its cover, that published this cake for the whole world to make. Neat!

I one day hope to go to Sweden and try out this cake in its nation of origin- until then, I'm happy to make them year after year. 

Prinsesstårta
Adapted from Semiswede
For the Sponge Cake:
60 g. All purpose flour
82 g. Potato starch
1 Tsp. Baking powder
Pinch of salt
225 g. Sugar, including 1 sachet vanilla sugar (or 2 tsp. vanilla extract)
dash of orange extract or a tablespoon of orange zest (optional)
4 Eggs, at room temperature
Butter and breadcrumbs, to line the pan

using butter, breadcrumbs and parchment cut into a 9" circle, line and grease a 9" cake pan.

Sift together the flour, starch, salt and baking powder.

Beat the sugar and eggs together until fluffy and thick, so that lifting the beater leaves a ribbon of batter in the bowl that lasts a few seconds. It should be pale yellow and very light.

Fold in the dry ingredients one third at a time until completely incorporated. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes at 180℃, or until golden, in the lower half of the oven.

Let cool and use a knife to pry out. Using a sharp serrated knife or a cake cutting wire, cut the cake lengthwise into three thin rounds and set aside.

For the Custard:
4 Egg yolks
2 TBSP Cornstarch
2 TBSP Sugar
1 C. Milk, preferably whole or 2% with a splash of cream
1 Packet vanilla sugar, or 2 Tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 a vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise, otherwise another teaspoon of vanilla extract

Whisk together the yolks, cornstarch and sugar and a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk to a rolling boil with the scraped-out vanilla bean inside. Let steep for half an hour covered off heat.

Heat the milk back up until almost but not quite boiling. quickly whisk 1/4 of a cup of the milk into the yolk mixture, then another 1/4 cup. Pour the milk and yolk mixture back into the rest of the milk through a sieve and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to thicken. Remove from the heat and continue whisking until completely thickened.

Add the vanilla sugar and/or vanilla extract. Let cool and cover with clingfilm until ready to use.

For the Whipped Cream:
2 1/2 C. Cold whipping cream
3 TBSP Powder sugar, or more to taste
2 Tsp. Vanilla extract
2 Packets whipped cream stabilizer, optional but recommended (e.g. Whip It from Dr. Oetker)

Beat all on high until very firm peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To Assemble:
3/4 C. Raspberry jam, about 2/3 of a jar (get a whole jar just to be sure)
1/4 C. Dark rum, to thin the jam (optional)
1/2 Pint of fresh raspberries, optional
200 g. Decorating marzipan (300-400 g. will be needed if covering the whole cake)
1 C. Toasted sliced almonds (optional, if using the lesser amount of marzipan)
Food colouring in green and any other desired marzipan decoration colours (pink roses are nice)
Powdered sugar

Mix the jam with the rum, if using.

Layer a slice of the sponge cake by covering it in one third of the jam (and raspberries, if using), then one third of the custard, then about a quarter of the whipped cream. Repeat for the second layer. For the third layer, finish up all the jam and custard, but spread one quarter of the whipped cream around the sides of the cake and the other quarter on top.

Colour about 150 g. of the marzipan green with a few drops of food colouring and knead in. Roll out between sheets of parchment until you have a 9" circle and cut it out. Place on top of the cake. (If you want to cover the whole cake, use 300 g. of the marzipan and roll it out into the largest, thinnest circle possible. Drape over the cake carefully and trim to fit.)

Decorate the cake with the toasted around the sides if only the top is covered with marzipan.

Use the remaining marzipan and food colouring to make decorations, such as flowers, leaves, hearts, stars, et cetera. Stick these onto the cake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.