Stollen with a Drunken Cherry

Stollen is a traditional German muffin baked at Christmas in Germany. The birthplace of Stollen is Dresden, where the Stollenfest is held annually, a celebration dedicated to this Christmas dessert.

Ingredients

• 500 g flour
• 170 g butter
• 130 g sugar
• 125 ml milk
• 40 g fresh yeast
• 125 ml cognac or brandy
• 350 g pitted cherries
• 2 tbsp. l. honey
• juice and zest of half a lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 100 g butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix honey with cognac and pour over cherry. Leave on for 8-10 hours.
2. Make a dough. Heat milk to 38 ° C. Put the yeast in a bowl and, adding a little milk, crush into a homogeneous paste. Add 1 tbsp. l. sugar and 4 tbsp. l. flour, stir and leave in a warm place to approach, about 30 minutes.
3. Whisk in the softened butter with sugar and vanilla extract, add the dough and add the remaining flour. Add zest and lemon juice, salt to the dough, mix the dough well. Stir in the cherries and leave in a warm place to approach for 1.5 hours, then knead the dough and leave for another 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 220 ˚C. Divide the dough in half. Place the dough on a floured work surface and form an oval loaf. Use a rolling pin or the edge of your palm to lightly press down on the dough, dividing the loaf into two unequal parts: 2/3 and 1/3. Wrap the smaller part over the larger one, making the stollen the shape of a swaddled baby.
5. Carefully transfer the shtolles to a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cover with a napkin and leave to approach for 15-20 minutes.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the stollens for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 170 ° C and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until tender.
7. Remove the stollens from the oven and cool slightly on a wire rack, covering with a napkin.
8. Melt 100 g of butter and brush generously over the warm stollens. Sprinkle the stollens with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Wrap the finished stollens in parchment, and then in foil and leave to ripen for 1-2 weeks in a dark place.