The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Holiday baking input

MommaT's picture
MommaT

Holiday baking input

Hi,

I'm starting to plan for my frenzy of holiday baking and gift-giving and need some recipe advice.

Last year, I made my father-in-laws favorite very traditional (i.e., pre-war english bookbook) English Christmas Cake for everyone.  This is highly sought-after in South Africa, where we spent the previous 11 Christmases, and extremely delicious (being filled with real dried and candied fruit as opposed to glaceed cherries in unnatural hues) so I gave nary a thought to it being confused with what is called fruit cake here.  

Unfortunately, there were two major hurdles for most recipients before they could even test if they liked it or not.  If they managed to get through the hard Royal Icing shell (and without being pricked by the holly) and past the stereotypical aversion to anything called "fruitcake", they probably tasted it and loved it.  Certainly the generous lashings of brandy applied over the month before shipping would have had a mellowing effect.  However, overall we seemed to have a 50-70% hit rate and in some circles I became known as the weird old auntie who sends fruitcakes in the mail.  

This year, I'm looking to do something more universally acceptable, and will save my Christmas cakes for those "in the know" and those with English backgrounds.   DH suggested stollen would be a better alternative for the fruitcake-resistant.  

Which FINALLY brings me to the point of writing to this forum.....

Do any of you have a stollen recipe you recommend highly?  The more traditional the better IMO.    Or another Christmas-related treat that would ship well across the USA?  If all else fails, I may turn to my second option - candies.

Thanks!

MommaT

MommaT's picture
MommaT

Thanks SO much for tracking all these down.

I thought about Panettone, but (personally) find it a little dry.  Now while I don't mind that, my fickle 'kin' may give it the ol' fruitcake treatment.  :-)

I'm going to start reading now!

MommaT

JeremyCherfas's picture
JeremyCherfas

is not all that traditional (no <i>choux</i> style dough, for one thing. But it is good. see if you can track it down; if not, I'll scan or re-type and upload it. It is the one I do every year, although I do also have a bunch of other recipes from a book called Traditional German Holiday Baking, or some such.

Jeremy

MommaT's picture
MommaT

Thanks, Jeremy!

Here is a link to it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/dec/02/foodanddrink.recipes

 

MommaT

rhomp2002's picture
rhomp2002

The rest of it is no problem but what is the equivalent of the 40 g fresh yeast in SAF instant dry yeast.  This sounds like something my friends would love for Xmas.

JeremyCherfas's picture
JeremyCherfas

I think I used two packets of dried yeast, about 15 gm.

Jeremy

summerbaker's picture
summerbaker

I love the stollen recipe in Richard Bertinet's Crust.  I posted about it last summer here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/12924/german-christmas-florida-july