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Inspired by the traditional German yeasted stollen sweet bread recipe, this soft and moist spiced butter cake has a marzipan nestled inside the cake. It is quite a treat for Christmas celebration.
I made yeasted stollen chocolate chip marzipan bread last year and we really enjoyed it. It’s a rich and sweet bread and taste great when you enjoy it in a small amount. It’s just the right amount without being too much. This stollen butter/pound cake combines the idea of the old-fashioned butter/pound cake and stollen bread.
Why you’ll like this recipe
The cake is buttery with the right amount of sweetness. I coat it with less icing sugar because I don’t want it to be too sweet as there is also a marzipan inside the cake, which I also reduce the amount of sugar compared to traditional marzipan. Just know that traditional stollen is coated with a fair thick amount of icing sugar, which keeps the bread moist at the same time. Despite using less icing sugar and less sweet marzipan, this cake still taste fabulous!! If you enjoy butter/pound cake, you will love this stollen butter cake with marzipan.
How to make stollen butter/pound cake
1. Soak dried fruits and peels in rum. Cover and let them soak until you are ready to use them later. If you plan ahead, you can soak this weeks before you plan to bake. When ready to use, drain the rum and squeeze out any extra rum from the dried fruits and peels
2. Put all ingredients for marzipan in a large mixing bowl. Combine and mix into a mass. It should be moist and not too sticky. If it’s very sticky, add a bit more almond flour. Transfer to a work surface and knead a few times. Form into a log, about the length of your cake loaf pan and wrap it tightly with a cling wrap. It can be made ahead and kept in the fridge
3. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. For a convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15. Combine cake flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder, and the spices
4. Please make sure that the butter is really soft, but not melty. The eggs are at room temperature
5. Grease the loaf pan with butter you will use for baking on all sides. Cream the butter and sugar until creamy, light, and fluffy with a stand mixer or hand mixer over high speed. The color turns pale too
6. Then slowly add 1/3 of the egg and continue to beat until it’s mixed before adding the next 1/3 until you run out of the egg
7. Add the soaked fruit and nuts mixture. Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture using the swipe down and fold over motion. As long as you don’t see anymore pockets of flour, don’t overmix the batter
8. Spread half of the cake batter into the loaf pan. Smooth it out with a spatula or use a piping bag, though I feel like it’s not necessary. 
9. Place the marzipan log, off center, either to the left or right. Cover with the rest of the cake batter. Smooth it out with a spatula. Knock the loaf pan on the counter 2-3 times
10. Bake on the middle rack for 40-45 minutes. or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted comes out clean. The time is just for reference. Your oven may need shorter or longer time. You can start checking at about 40-minute mark
11. Remove the cake from the pan and brush with rum syrup on all sides while the cake is still warm. Sift icing sugar on all sides right after that when it’s still warm. Let the cake cools down completely
12. Wrap the all cooled-down stollen cake with a plastic wrap and then another layer of aluminum foil and let it “age” for at least 2 days (do 3 days if you can, it tastes even better). Some of the icing sugar gets absorbs by the cake and that’s normal. Dust with more icing sugar on top. Slice the cake in the middle and slice the amount you want. Then put the two cut side together and wrap it up again and keep in an air-tight container. The cake stays moist this way at room temperature for days
Tips
1. Please make sure butter and eggs are at room temperature. Butter should be soft but not melty. If ingredients aren’t at room temperature, the mixture may curdle and separate when you cream them later
2. Do not overmix the cake batter. As long as you don’t see anymore pockets of flour, stop mixing. Use a swipe down and fold over motion to combine ingredients
3. I highly highly recommend to age the cake for at least 2 days before serving. The cake won’t taste good the same day you bake it. It has a drier texture as it hasn’t had time to develop flavor and distribute the moistness from the butter
Did you make this stollen pound/butter cake recipe?
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Stollen Butter/Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 85 gr softened butter
- 75 gr granulated sugar
- 65 gr eggs
- 30 gr almond flour
- 70 gr cake flour
- 3 gr baking powder
Spices:
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground all-spice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Fruits and nuts:
- 80 gr dark rum
- 30 gr dried cranberries
- 40 gr orange peel
- 20 gr lemon peel
- 60 gr raisins
- 30 gr chopped pecans or any nuts of your choice
Marzipan:
- 40 gr almond flour
- 25 gr icing sugar
- 10 gr egg white plus more as needed
- ¼ tsp almond extract
Rum syrup: (optional)
- 1 Tbsp hot water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp dark rum
Instructions
- This recipe makes a small loaf of cake. As stollen butter cake is rich, I usually don't make a big cake. You are welcome to double the recipe if you like and use 9 x 5 loaf pan and increase baking time to 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean
Soak the dried fruits:
- Soak dried fruits and peels in rum. Cover and let them soak until you are ready to use them later. If you plan ahead, you can soak this weeks before you plan to bake
- When ready to use, drain the rum and squeeze out any extra rum from the dried fruits and peels
Prepare the marzipan:
- Put all ingredients for marzipan in a large mixing bowl. Combine and mix into a mass. It should be moist and not too sticky. If it's very sticky, add a bit more almond flour.
- Transfer to a work surface and knead a few times. Form into a log, about the length of your cake loaf pan and wrap it tightly with a cling wrap. It can be made ahead and kept in the fridge
Prepare the cake batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for a conventional oven. For a convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C
- Combine cake flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder, and the spices
- Please make sure that the butter is really soft, but not melty. The eggs are at room temperature
- Grease the loaf pan with butter you will use for baking on all sides
- Cream the butter and sugar until creamy, light, and fluffy with a stand mixer or hand mixer over high speed. The color turns pale too. Then slowly add 1/3 of the egg and continue to beat until it's mixed before adding the next 1/3 until you run out of the egg
- Add the soaked fruit and nuts mixture. Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture using the swipe down and fold over motion. As long as you don't see anymore pockets of flour, don't overmix the batter
Baking:
- Spread half of the cake batter into the loaf pan. Smooth it out with a spatula. Place the marzipan log, off center, either to the left or right. Cover with the rest of the cake batter. Smooth it out with a spatula. Knock the loaf pan on the counter 2-3 times
- Bake on the middle rack for 40-45 minutes. or until golden brown and a cake tester inserted comes out clean. The time is just for reference. Your oven may need shorter or longer time. You can start checking at about 40-minute mark
Cooling:
- Remove the cake from the pan and brush with rum syrup on all sides while the cake is still warm. Sift icing sugar on all sides right after that when it's still warm. Let the cake cools down completely
Age the cake:
- Wrap the all cooled-down stollen cake with a plastic wrap and then another layer of aluminum foil and let it "age" for at least 2 days (do 3 days if you can, it tastes even better)
Serving:
- Some of the icing sugar gets absorbs by the cake and that's normal. Dust with more icing sugar on top. Slice the cake in the middle and slice the amount you want. Then put the two cut side together and wrap it up again and keep in an air-tight container. The cake stays moist this way at room temperature for days
