Stollen Muffins

If I had a pound for every Stollen I have made over the years, I would be a wealthy woman.

I started baking these fragrant loaves around 30 years ago, at that time they were not found in supermarkets. Now it is nice to ring the changes a little and incorporate the same essential flavours into muffins, cookies and cakes. Adapting these recipes to be suitable for vegans was quite straightforward, making them gluten-free took a little more time.

My family and friends love anything stollen flavoured and it is the most requested bake at Christmas time.

Originating from Germany Stollen is a fruit bread incorporated with the festive flavours and ingredients we love. This includes nuts, spices, dried fruit and marzipan, It is then coated in a thick snowstorm of icing sugar.

I will leave links below to my stollen loaves and cookie recipes.

These muffins are

• Fruity
• Festive
• Zesty
• Almond flavoured
• Filling
• Delicious

These are not light little sponge cakes as they are packed to the brim with ingredients. Served warm at Christmas with a little brandy butter or cream they are a wonderful treat.

Can they be made gluten-free?

The good news is yes, they can easily be adapted using a good quality gluten-free plain flour with the addition of a 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum. You may have to add a little more liquid in the form of melted butter or milk. The batter for these should be nice and thick.

I am not vegan

If that is the case just use 1 egg and your usual butter and plain yoghurt for this recipe.

Can I use an alternative to yoghurt?

Instead of yoghurt, you could add buttermilk. For vegan buttermilk, to 225 ml of dairy-free milk add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Stir and leave to curdle for 10 minutes.

You could also add different ingredients such as

• Sour dried cherries
• Chopped dried apricots
• A dash of brandy
• Glace cherries
• Chopped mixed peel

I usually batch cook these as they are so popular and freeze so well. I hope you love them as much as my family.

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Stollen Muffins

• Makes 12
• Preparation Time 10 Minutes
• Baking Time 20 Minutes

Vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian

Ingredients

• 270 g of plain flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• Zest of 1 large orange
• 175 g of ready to roll marzipan chopped into small pieces
• 70 g of granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp of almond extract
• 175 g of dried fruit
• 225 g of dairy-free plain yoghurt
• 6 tbsp of melted butter
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds and 3 tbsp of hot water)

Topping

Melted dairy-free butter and icing sugar

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and line a muffin tin with 12 cases.
2. Mix 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds with 3 tbsp of hot water and leave to one side to thicken.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour, spices, sugar, fruit, marzipan, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and orange zest and stir.
4. Add in the yoghurt, almond extract, melted butter and flax egg. Combine quickly, using a large serving spoon. Do not overmix as this will result in heavy and tough muffins once baked. Don’t worry if there is still a few floury lumps in the mix.
5. Divide equally between the cases and place into the oven.
6. After 20 minutes, check to see if they are completely cooked. They should be a lovely golden brown colour. Remove from the oven and after 5 minutes transfer the cakes onto a cooling rack.
7. Leave them to cool slightly and then brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle liberally with icing sugar.

These are best served warm, so if they have cooled I normally give them a very short time in the microwave. These will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container. If you want to freeze them, then do so before you add the topping.

• Vegan Cottage Pie
• Smoky Red Lentil & Carrot Soup
• Soft Gluten-Free Bread Rolls
• Hearty Vegetable & Ale stew with Dumplings
• Cream of Mushroom Soup

Gluten-free stollen

Stollen

If you decide to give this recipe a try, please tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of the recipes. I would love to hear your comments.