Recipe for Dresden Christstollen

The day before, place the raisins, the zest, the almonds, the rum, and 50 ml of water in a dish, mix everything together, cover with a cloth, and let sit at room temperature overnight.

The next day, put 150 g of flour in a dish and make a well in the center. Mix the yeast with 75 ml of cold milk, add the sugar, stir, and then add to the flour. Knead the mixture to obtain a firm dough.

Cover the dough and let it rest at room temperature until its volume has doubled. Add the remaining milk, the egg yolk, salt, and spices to the dough. Mix the dough using an electric mixer on low speed. Gradually add 100 g of butter cut into pieces until the dough is smooth. Add the fruit mixture to the dough and mix. Let it rest for 20 minutes covered.

Place the dough on a floured work surface and roll it out into a rectangle approximately 30x20 cm. Spread the almond paste in the middle, previously shaped into a long log 5 cm wide and 30 cm long. Fold the sides over each other like a portfolio, starting with the long sides, then the short sides, and finally, fold the dough one more time. This time, take one side and fold it over the other, but only fold it halfway across, so that one side is higher than the other, giving it the typical shape. Let the dough rest, covered with a cloth, for another 20 minutes.

To finish, place the Stollen on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 200°C for 45 minutes, then at 175°C for another 15 minutes. Brush the still warm Stollen with the remaining butter. Mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla sugar and dust the Stollen.