Marzipan haters look away now – it’s stollen time! Supposedly created by a German baker envisioning a marzipan Jesus swaddled in a breaded, fruit-studded blanket (he or she may have had too much mulled wine that particular Christmas), this enriched loaf comes with a core of marzipan, lashings of rum, nuts, dried fruit, spice and icing sugar. Those who have never had it before are missing out.
All the supermarkets now create a stollen for Christmas, and artisan bakeries throw their sugar-dusted hats into the ring too. We chomped our way through ten of them to find the best for your Christmas table.
Traditional stollen comes as a whole loaf, ready for slicing and serving to your guests. However, many of the supermarkets now dish them out in ready-made slices, making it easier than ever to march them into your mouth one after the other before guiltily hiding the packaging at the bottom of the bin. These slices from Tesco had a distinct layer of marzipan running throughout, a nice hit of rum in the aftertaste and a moist, chewy texture.
What a beast! Sticking to the traditional way of things, this London-based bakery (which delivers nationwide) bakes hundreds of these beautiful stollen for the purists out there every Christmas. The spicing is the best bit; strong cinnamon, cardamom and ginger flavours permeate the dough, while whole almonds and raisins are studded throughout. The marzipan comes in the form of a log which runs throughout the loaf, so those who don’t like the stuff can nibble around it.
Yes, they’re expensive. Yes, you don’t get that many in a packet. But the flavour of these mini stollen bites absolutely blew us away. Every cube tasted like it had been swimming in buttery rum, with an incredibly moist, almost wet (in a good way) texture that keeps you going back for more. The marzipan was certainly there but not overpowering, and the chewy dried fruit add some welcome sweetness. If you’re a stollen connoisseur, this is the one to go for. Just don’t expect them to last for long at a party.
