Now I have posted my chocolate and cherry semi-naked cake I, as promised, will return to Christmas bakes; since it is now only 1 week away from the actual day (explaining why I am slightly nervous that I still haven’t finished my shopping) I think it is probably a fairly acceptable thing to do. Since I have already done my take on mince pies, I thought I would have a bash at another of my favourite ways to gain weight at Christmas, stollen.
However, this is not really stollen in any traditional sense. Not only do I not use any yeast, but the recipe is actually adapted from an old favourite I found on the Land O’Lakes website a few years ago. It has always gone down a storm in my house, but when I decided to give it a shot at work a few weeks ago a lot of people compared it to stollen and cogs instantly started turning. I have been planning on experimenting with different recipes for a long time, but have constantly been switching between adapting it into a cookie or a brownie etc. etc. So a more definitive idea was definitely welcome.
It is safe to say I haven’t changed the original a huge amount. I simply added a few sultanas and some marzipan into the mix before baking. I did have a bash at making my own using (shock) a BBC Good Food recipe and, although I didn’t, you could easily try and flavour it to bring out more of the other elements of the recipe. At the same time, however, you can always by shop bought. Although the addition of the marzipan did mean the mixture spread more, it still tasted delicious. The texture was a lot softer and stickier, but it was still just as moreish once you popped the icing on top. You’ll also probably be shocked to hear that it definitely caused some trouble in the Myers diet regime. If you want a more solid structure you can simply add a little bit less, but at the same time the original recipe is pretty good if you’re that person who scrapes the marzipan off the Christmas cake (yes, I’m judging). But, either way, I hope you enjoy!
Apricot, Almond and Orange Stollen Slices (makes approx. 9)
- 220g plain flour.
- Large handful of dried apricots, roughly chopped.
- 60g caster sugar.
- Zest of one orange.
- 1.5 tsp baking powder.
- 0.5 tsp baking soda.
- 0.25 tsp salt.
- 60g unsalted butter.
- 0.25 cup sour cream.
- 1 egg.
- 3 tbsp orange juice.
- Large handful of sultanas.
- Marzipan, torn into small chunks.
- 1 tsp almond essence plus extra for glaze.
- Icing sugar.
Method:
- Heat your oven to 190C/ 170C Fan/ 375F.
- Put the flour, caster sugar, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Combine the egg, sour cream, orange juice, and almond essence in a separate bowl and then add to the flour mix. Stir together and then add the dried fruit and marzipan and stir until more evenly distributed. Tip out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times to bring it together.
- Put on a lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes until golden. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- For the glaze, mix the icing sugar with the almond essence to make a thick water icing. Once your slices have cooled slightly drizzle over the top and leave to set.
Cakehole Bakes - Newcastle upon Tyne 