If you are a fan of plum cakes and look forward to December to dig into them in the spirit of the season, then chances are you will love this juicy fruit bread just as much. Stollen (also known as Christollen) is a traditional Christmas fruit bread that originated in Germany in the 1400s. It is made with flour, butter, candied peels, soaked dry fruits and spices, with a log of marzipan in the middle. With the shape of the loaf symbolising infant Jesus swaddled in a white cloth, stollen is not too sweet or tart, quite easy on the palate, and tastes better as it ages, provided it is stored well.
A staple at German homes during Christmas with most families having their own recipe, stollen is yet to gain the popularity of its world famous counterpart – the plum cake. Yet, with an increasing appreciation of global cuisine among food enthusiasts in the country, it is gathering a following of its own. And if you fear that you have to travel halfway across the world to savour this delicacy, worry not. Many local bakers, patisseries, and hotels are dishing out the aromatic, flavourful bread in their own sweet ways.
The much-loved SAPA Sourdough & Pastry from Mysuru stands at the forefront. Started by Chef Dina Weber, who hails from Germany, SAPA’s stollen gives one a glimpse into the cosy winters of the nation. “It gets dark after 4.30 pm, so you sit at home with family, light a candle, sing carols, and enjoy a slice of stollen with some hot tea,” reminisces Dina.
With each region of Germany preparing the fruit cake in a different way, Dina tells us that SAPA’s eggless stollen is specific to the one prepared in the Ore Mountains. Elaborating on the process of making stollen, she says, “The fruits are soaked a few months in advance and many different components go into the dough, such as almond flour, warm butter, and an in-house spice mix. This is then rested for 24 hours and baked with a marzipan log in the centre and topped with an icing sugar coating.” She adds, “Since the dough has no sugar, the end product is not very sweet. The sweetness in our stollen comes mainly from the marzipan in the centre and the sugared frosting on the top.”
When it comes to the art and science of baking, Lavonne Café and Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts in Bengaluru need absolutely no introduction. Known for its bakes and desserts, Lavonne introduced stollen as part of its Christmas menu in its first year itself around 12 years ago. “It was a recipe from an old book and we tweaked it a bit to make it better,” reveals Chef Vinesh Johny, who is also the co-founder of the much-loved patisserie and baking academy.
“The process is quite amazing – the fruits are soaked for over a year and the marzipan we put in is different from the regular ones. The sweetness on the outside and right in the centre balances it all out. Although it tastes better when it’s more mature, ensure that it doesn’t lose out on moisture when you store it,” he advises.
Star hotels too aren’t lagging behind in their efforts to treat customers to the best stollens of the season. Baranidharan Thirunavukkarasu, Executive Pastry Chef at JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru, believes that the German bread is distinctive thanks to its rich history, symbolic shape, and of course, its taste which is a harmony of nuts, fruits, and spices.
“Due to its historical significance and its association with the German holiday season, stollen has found its way onto many Christmas menus. It was once a special treat enjoyed during Advent, but eventually gained popularity as a Christmas specialty not only in Germany but many other parts of the world too,” he says.
The stollen from Anthara Cakery & Chocolatier, another Bengaluru patisserie, is crafted with precision and made using the most aromatic spices, soaked Christmas fruits, and an almond marzipan rolled into a unique pillow shape. “It is then baked to perfection and dunked in fresh butter to enhance the flavours of the ingredients, finished off with icing sugar, resembling a snowy winter,” explains Chef Balasundram, Director of Anthara.
“Prepared by our highly skilled team of bakers, our stollen is made using a rich dough balanced with winter spices and soaked Christmas fruits, which is then rolled and wrapped around our in-house almond marzipan logs. Kept aside to rest and proof so that it rises to perfection yet stays moist on the inside, it is then baked. Once cooled, we soak it in generous amounts of freshly churned butter, and later we dust it with icing sugar to give it a traditional look,” he says.
Although the laborious preparation may restrict several chefs from making it, the demand for stollen has only been growing over the years. According to Ashik Ali Saha, Executive Chef of Two Moons, a fine dining space in Bengaluru’s 1MG-Lido Mall, “Its popularity used to be limited to certain communities or regions with stronger European influences where Christmas traditions are celebrated more prominently. However, thanks to a growing interest in international cuisines and celebrations in India, some people appreciate and enjoy stollen during the Christmas season.”
SAPA’s numbers too speak for themselves – from 30 stollens in 2019, the year the bakery was established, to 1,500 in 2022. “This year, people have been asking me about them since November and we are hoping we can make even more stollens than last year,” reveals Dina.
When wrapped well and stored in a cool, dry place, stollen stays moist for days even after it is sliced. One can toast it or butter it up for an extra rich flavour. But if you are in no mood to make that additional effort, then slice it thick and relish it as is, just like the way Lavonne’s Vinesh Johny does – “with a cup of coffee”.
Deepa Natarajan Lobo is an independent journalist and content writer from Bengaluru with over 15 years of experience in the field of media and writing. She writes on a broad range of topics like human interest, lifestyle, food, art & culture, and entertainment among others, and has also edited two books.