Cut curd Stollen stands on a wooden table. View from above Cut curd Stollen stands on a wooden table. Around it lie cinnamon and other spices, as well as candied fruits and ribbons for packaging.

Dessert+baking

Stollen with Cottage Cheese (Quarkstollen)

Prep Time: 10 min / Cook Time: 35 min / Total Time: 45 min

A traditional German Stollen recipe can be intimidating if it's your first time baking with yeast. Or perhaps you are too busy to spend hours in the kitchen. Well, the Cottage Cheese easy Christmas Stollen recipe has NO YEAST or any other difficulties. It is perfect when you're in a hurry - and it tastes so-o-o-o good!

Author and photographs: Olga

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Ah, the wonderful aromas of freshly-baked homemade Stollen wafting throughout the house at Christmas time. Can you smell it? The sweetness of dried fruit and candied lemon mingling with the scent of nuts and the zesty aroma of grated citrus peel. What a festive treat!

How does it maintain its freshness when the use of preservatives is prohibited by law?

This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that stollen inherently contains natural preservatives. To begin with, sugar and fat play a crucial role in maintaining the dough's softness. Raisins, candied fruits, and marzipan effectively retain moisture, preventing the stollen from drying out. Moreover, the candied fruits undergo alcohol soaking. Pouring Rum over the stollen not only imparts a delightful aroma but also acts as an excellent antiseptic.

Following baking, the hot stollen receives a generous coating of melted butter and a dusting of powdered sugar. This process is repeated one or two more times over the next few hours. The outcome is the formation of a protective layer consisting of fat and sugar on the stollen. This shell makes it highly challenging for moisture to penetrate either from the stollen to the exterior or from the surrounding air into the stollen.

Stollen with Cottage Cheese (Quarkstollen)

Yield: 3 small Stollen

Ingredients

For the loaf

180 g unsalted butter (82% fat)
160 g sugar
2 eggs
180 g cottage cheese (dry)
200-300 g candied fruit (+100 g orange juice for soaking candied fruit)
500 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
150 g nuts (optional, I used marzipan paste)

For the post-baking coating:

50 g unsalted butter
50-75 g rum
50 g powdered sugar

Instructions

Boil the candied fruit in orange juice and let it cool (you can add 25 g of rum).

Beat softened butter with sugar, salt, and cottage cheese. Add eggs one at a time.

Add flour, baking powder, candied fruit (and nuts if using) to the dough. Mix thoroughly with a spatula or hands - not with a mixer!

Divide the dough into 3 parts. Form circles. If using marzipan, place strips of marzipan in the middle of the circle and cover with the second half, forming the stollen.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25-35 minutes.(30 +-)

While still hot, soak the finished dessert with rum, then immediately with butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. After a few hours, the operation is repeated one or two more times.

Wrap in parchment paper. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks or enjoyed immediately.