Mary Jo’s Stollen

Method

1. Mix fruits, stir in brandy, cover with cling film and macerate overnight. To mix yeast sponge, crumble fresh yeast into warm milk in a pyrex bowl. Allow yeast to soften. Mix in 175g flour and beat well with a wooden spoon. Cover with clingfilm and allow to rest for 30-45 minutes.

2. Place 75g caster sugar in a mixer bowl, grate in lemon rind and rub into sugar with your fingertips. Add butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs one at a time; add the salt and scrape down the bowl to make a soft creamed mixture. When sponge is light and well risen, add to creamed mixture along with 275g flour. Scrape off beater and replace with dough hook. Knead on moderate speed for 10 minutes until is silky and soft. The dough should not stick to your fingers. Remove hook, cover bowl with Clingfilm and allow dough to rise until doubled in size.

3. Knock back dough and scrape out onto a flour-dusted clean surface. Flatten to 1cm and sprinkle brandied fruit on top. Roll up like a Swiss roll and knead fruit through dough. The dough may grow sticky, but avoid adding more flour. Scrape fruited dough into a bowl, cover with Clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

4. Prepare the marzipan by mixing sugar, ground almonds and egg white. Flavour with almond essence if desired. Knead to a lump, divide in half and roll each into a log. Next day, remove dough from the fridge. Scrape out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Shape each half into an oval and roll out to 2cm thickness. Make an indentation lengthways along the centre and place in long sausage shape piece of marzipan. Fold the oval in half with long sides meeting. Press together and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

5. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place until light.

6. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes or until deeply golden and tests done. While still hot, brush with melted butter and sift icing sugar thickly over the top. Cool well before slicing. Will keep wrapped for 4-5 days and may be frozen.
   This recipe was shared with Darina Allen by Mary Jo