Stollen bites

It seems at the moment that I am in a stollen flavour bubble. While I love making the traditional spiced German loaf marbled with marzipan, sometimes I want to ring the ranges. I have made

• Gluten-free stollen
• Stollen
• Stollen cookies
• Stollen muffins

and now introducing stollen bites.

These are

• Moist
• Sticky
• Moreish
• Fruit Packed
• Almondy
• Delicious

This is my final foray into stollen flavoured goodies. These are very quick to make and pack the real taste of stollen bread in one bite.

Delicious with a cup of hot chocolate and signals the festive season is not far away. unlike the bread, this is quick to make and does not require you to soak the fruit beforehand.

*NOTES*

Can this be made gluten-free?

Just use a gluten-free plain flour along with a 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum if there is none added to your flour.

Egg substitutes

There are 3 substitutes that I use to replace eggs in my vegan baking, these work very well in this recipe

1. A flax egg, 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds to 3tbsp of hot water. Mix and leave to thicken.
2. 60ml of Crackd liquid egg substitute. This is still mainly the new kid on the block. It is more pricy but it works very well.
3. 1/4 cup of unsweetened apple sauce for every egg. For me this only works well if you are replacing up to 2 eggs. Any more and I would use flaxseed or crackd.

Stollen bites

• Preparation Time 10 Minutes
• Cooking Time 40-45 Minutes
• Makes 16

Vegan and vegetarian. Also easily made gluten-free

Ingredients

• Zest and juice of 1 large orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 220g dried fruit
• 1/2 tsp of ground mixed spice
• 120g of marzipan chopped into small chunks
• 100g of unsalted dairy-free butter
• 85g of caster sugar
• 300g of plain flour
• 250g of dairy-free Greek style yoghurt
• 1 flax egg or alternative egg replacement
• 1 tsp of almond extract
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 75g of ground almonds

For the topping

• 50g of melted butter
• 60g of icing sugar

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Instructions

If you are using a flax egg, mix 1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds with 3 tbsp of hot water. Set aside until needed.

1. Place the dried fruit, zest and juice into a microwavable bowl, cover with cling film and pierce then microwave on high for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the clingfilm and leave to cool slightly.
2. Line a 20 x 30 tin with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 175C.
3. Using an electric whisk or a stand mixer cream together the butter and the sugar. Next add your egg replacement and the dairy-free yoghurt and beat until smooth and combined.
4. Using a spatula or metal spoon fold in the flour, ground almonds, almond extract, mixed spice, salt and baking powder, making sure all the flour has been incorporated.
5. Fold in the cooled fruit combination and evenly distribute throughout the batter.
6. Spread into the tin and smooth out, the batter will be a thick consistency.
7. Place into the oven for 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the tin. Place on a cooling rack.
9. Brush the top with butter while still warm and sieve over a thick layer of icing sugar.

Once cooled divide equally into 16 pieces. These will keep fresh in an airtight container for up to 12 days. If you want to freeze them I would suggest you freeze them at stage 8. They will freeze well wrapped for up to 3 months.

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• Soft Gluten-Free Bread Rolls
• Hearty Vegetable & Ale stew with Dumplings
• Cream of Mushroom Soup

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.