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.
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
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C and line a muffin tin with 12 cases.
- Mix 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds with 3 tbsp of hot water and leave to one side to thicken.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, spices, sugar, fruit, marzipan, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and orange zest and stir.
- 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.
- Divide equally between the cases and place into the oven.
- 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.
- 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.
- Cheesy Scottish Oatcakes
- Gluten-free Hobnobs
- Vegan Bolognese Sauce
- Cherry Bakewell Cookies
- Soda Bread
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.
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