Christmas Curd Stollen
12 servings
120 minutes
Christmas cottage cheese stollen is a traditional German pastry embodying the holiday and warmth of home comfort. Its history dates back to medieval Germany, where stollen was made as a symbol of the swaddled baby Jesus. This version of stollen, with added cottage cheese, has an incredibly tender, moist texture and a rich aroma of vanilla, citrus, and cognac. Sweet dried fruits, nuts, and candied fruits provide a wealth of flavor and make it especially festive. After baking, the stollen is soaked in butter and generously dusted with powdered sugar, creating a snowy coating like a winter outfit. To reveal its full depth of flavor, it needs to mature for several weeks. It is not just a dessert – it is a true symbol of Christmas that brings warmth to every home.
1
Beat 200 g of softened butter (not melted!) at room temperature with 1 cup of powdered sugar, add eggs, and continue beating until smooth. Add cottage cheese (if lumpy, it's better to strain it), vanilla, lemon juice, and cognac.
- Butter: 300 g
- Powdered sugar: 2.5 glasss
- Chicken egg: 2 pieces
- Cottage cheese: 250 g
- Vanilla: pinch
- Lemon juice: 2 tablespoons
- Cognac: 2 tablespoons
2
We wash dried fruits if necessary. We cut the apricots into pieces. We dip the almonds in boiling water for a few minutes to easily remove the skin, then dry the peeled ones in a pan or oven and grind them into fine crumbs. We lightly coat the candied fruits and washed dried fruits in a handful of flour. We mix all our nuts, candied fruits, and dried fruits into the dough.
- Dried apricots: 100 g
- Almond: 200 g
- Candied fruit: 150 g
- Raisin: 150 g
3
Mix the flour separately with the baking powder and gradually add it to the other ingredients. Knead the dough.
- Wheat flour: 600 g
- Baking powder: 15 g
4
We place our dough on a floured table and divide it in half, shaping each half into an elongated loaf. With the edge of our palm, we make a groove on the loaf, separating one third of it. We fold this third over the larger part. This is the shape of stollen - symbolizing the swaddled infant Christ. We do the same with the second half of the dough.
5
Place the stollen on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about an hour until done (smaller stollen bake faster, so check more often). Remove from the oven, place on a rack, and while still hot, soak with melted butter (about 100 g). Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar, about one to one and a half cups will be used. Let the stollen cool.
- Butter: 300 g
- Powdered sugar: 2.5 glasss
6
Wrap in several layers of foil or parchment paper and let it mature for 2-3 weeks in a cool place - for example, in the refrigerator or on the balcony. It's better to take out the stollen periodically and sprinkle with a new layer of powdered sugar. It can be eaten right away, but the 'matured' stollen is tastier.