Mastering Marzipan Stollen: A Festive Guide to Christmas Baking

German Christmas stollen is traditionally made from yeast dough, with lots of filling. We’ve already made a classic stollen with dried and candied fruits, but this time I want to offer you a marzipan stollen recipe. We will not look for where to buy that marzipan, but make it ourselves! This Christmas, stollen will definitely be the highlight of your holiday table!

Stollen is a classic German Christmas pastry that has become famous all over the world. They are prepared 2–4 weeks before Christmas, and today they are common far beyond Germany. And for purely practical reasons, this is very convenient, as you can prepare stollens before the Christmas rush begins. When the holidays come, you have the gifts ready and the treats on the table.

By the way, you can freeze a stollen and store it for up to 6 months. Without a freezer, a stollen bread will keep for 1–2 months, so it will last almost until the end of winter. Just keep them wrapped tightly so they don’t turn into crackers.

If you don’t want to mess around with yeast, I sincerely recommend making an English Christmas fruit cake, which tastes like a stollen, also contains a huge amount of filling, and also takes 2–3 weeks to ripen. But the cooking process is much easier and faster.

Tips and Tricks for Mastering Marzipan Stollen

1. Choose High-Quality Ingredients. Use premium almond flour for the marzipan and fresh, fragrant dried fruits. Soak the fruits in rum or your preferred alcohol at least a day in advance for maximum flavor.
2. Make Marzipan at Home. Homemade marzipan ensures a fresh, customizable flavor. Add almond extract and rose essence sparingly to balance the sweetness of the powdered sugar.
3. Perfect the Dough Consistency. Stollen dough is naturally dense and heavy, so don’t expect it to double like lighter doughs. You don’t need to knead for too long, just ensure everything is evenly mixed.
4. Prevent Stickiness While Shaping. While mixing in the fruit filling, a small dusting of flour can help prevent sticking, but don’t overdo it as too much flour may dry out the dough.
5. Seal the Marzipan Properly. Roll the marzipan into a tight “sausage” and securely wrap the dough around it to prevent leaks during baking. Press and seal edges firmly.
6. Rest the Dough Fully Before Baking. Give the shaped stollen enough time to proof. It won’t rise much, but this step ensures the right texture and consistency.
7. Check Baking Time Carefully. Depending on your oven and stollen size, baking times may vary. Test with a toothpick—if it comes out clean, your stollen is ready.
8. Brush with Butter Generously. After baking, coat the stollen liberally with melted butter to lock in moisture. Let it soak in before adding powdered sugar for a perfect, festive finish.
9. Let It Ripen. Wrap your stollen tightly in parchment and store it in a cool place for 2–3 weeks. This ripening process enhances flavor and texture.
10. Freeze for Long-Term Enjoyment. If you make stollen ahead of the holidays, freeze it for up to 6 months. Thaw it a few hours before serving and sprinkle fresh powdered sugar on top.
11. Experiment with Fillings. While the recipe calls for cranberries, raisins, and candied orange peel, you can add other favorites like dried cherries, figs, or even a touch of chocolate.

By following these tips, you’ll master marzipan stollen that’s rich, flavorful, and ready to dazzle your holiday table!

The given amount of products makes 2 large stollens of about 800 grams (1.76 lbs) each, but you can divide the dough into 3 or 4 stollens, they will be smaller.

Ingredients for the starter

• milk
• fresh or dry yeast
• sugar
• all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the stollen dough

• starter
• eggs
• unsalted butter at room temperature
• sugar
• salt
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg (optional)
• orange zest
• vanilla extract
• all-purpose flour

Ingredients for the stollen filling

• candied fruit and dried fruit (I have cranberries, raisins and homemade candied orange peel)
• rum
• water
• almond flakes

Ingredients for the homemade marzipan

• almond flour
• powdered sugar
• egg white
• almond extract
• nutritional rose essence

Ingredients for the stollen decorating

• unsalted butter
• powdered sugar

First, soak the dried fruits in a mixture of rum and water (1:1) at least one day before baking the stollen.

Candied fruit does not need to be soaked.

Prepare the soaked dried fruits on the day of baking the stollen. Drain them in a sieve and leave them to drain before adding them to the dough to get rid of excess liquid.

For the starter, mix the milk, yeast, sugar and flour, stir, cover with a towel (or lid, or film) and leave for half an hour. During this time, the starter will rise and become fluffy.

If you have any problems with your yeast dough, you can find the solution in my article Why yeast dough doesn’t rise.

Add sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, soft butter, and grate the zest from the orange to the finished starter. Mix everything with a whisk until smooth.

Sift the ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, salt and all the flour into the dough and knead it. You don’t need to knead for too long, just let all the ingredients combine well, that’s enough.

Place the dough in a deep bowl, cover with plastic wrap (or a lid or towel), and put it in a warm place for 1 hour. I usually proof yeast dough in a cold oven with a light on inside.

Stollen dough is quite heavy and dense, and contains little liquid, so it will not rise 2–3 times as much as panettone. This is how it should be, so don’t worry.

Meanwhile, prepare the marzipan. This can be done in a food processor with knives.

Mix the almond flour with the icing sugar. Next, add the white of 1 egg, almond and rose essences. Mix until the mixture comes together into a lump. You can add a little more water to get an almond paste with a fairly soft consistency. It will become firmer in the refrigerator, and then it will be easier to work with.

Mash the risen dough with your fingers into a pancake, pour the filling (prepared dried fruit, candied fruit and almond flakes) on top, and gently mix the dough slowly until the dried fruit is distributed.

In this case, the dough may start to stick a little to your hands and the surface, then add flour a little at a time.

Divide the marzipan into 2 parts and roll the “sausage” from each part.

Next, form the stollen: divide the dough in half, form each half into a ball and roll it into a pancake. Put a marzipan “sausage” in the middle and wrap one part of the dough over the other.

Seal the dough around the marzipan well so that it does not leak out during baking.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the stollen formation.

Transfer the stollens to a baking sheet covered with parchment, cover with foil and leave for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F), bottom-up or convection mode.

Bake the stollens for approximately 50–60 minutes, depending on their size and the characteristics of your oven. Check the readiness with a toothpick, it should come out of the dough dry.

Generously brush the finished hot stollens with melted butter. After 10–15 minutes, sprinkle the stollens with powdered sugar on all sides.

Cool the marzipan stollens completely, wrap them in parchment, and put them in an airtight container or bag. Put them in a cool place to “ripen” for 2–3 weeks.

Before serving, sprinkle the stollen generously with powdered sugar again.

Of course, stollen is delicious even right after baking, but it will be special after it ripens, trust me. During the time, it will ripen, soak in the aromas of candied fruit, the moisture will be distributed, and you will get a deliciously flavorful holiday dessert!

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out! Share your experience or any creative twists you made in the comments below. Let me know if you have any questions. Your feedback helps me create even more delicious content. Enjoy your homemade treat and happy baking!