Cranberry and amaretto stollen cake recipe

Fiona Cairns
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My friend Jacqui created this delicious cake by taking some of the elements of the German sweet bread stollen – such as the fruited moist crumb and marzipan centre – and turning it into a cake.

It’s packed with cranberries laced with amaretto and given a hint of spice and orange… slightly unusual flavours for a stollen, but utterly delicious. Make this at least a day before you want to eat it.

Ingredients

150 g dried cranberries
100 ml amaretto
0.5 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
0.5 tsp freshly ground cardamom seeds
1 organic orange, finely grated zest, and juice of ½
120 g unsalted butter, really soft, in pieces, plus more for the tin
200 g very good-quality shop-bought marzipan, or home-made
350 g white spelt flour (or plain flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
120 g golden caster sugar
200 ml crème fraîche
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100 g ground almonds

For the topping

40 g unsalted butter, melted
1 –1½ tbsp amaretto

Details

Cuisine: German
Recipe Type: Cake
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Cooking Time: 60 mins
Serves: 12

Step-by-step

First of all (and the night before if you can) place the cranberries, amaretto, nutmeg, cardamom and orange zest and juice in a bowl, stir, then leave for at least a few hours.
Butter a 30 x 10 x 10cm loaf tin and line with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
Roll the marzipan into a log about 2.5cm in diameter and 3–4cm shorter than the tin.
To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Place the butter and sugar in a food mixer (or use a large bowl and a hand-held electric whisk) and cream together for four or five minutes, until light and creamy. Add the crème fraîche and mix. Continuing to whisk, slowly add the eggs, tipping in 1 tbsp of the flour mixture to stop it curdling. Fold in the remaining flour, ground almonds, cranberry mixture and every drop of liquid.
Tip half the batter into the prepared tin, lay the marzipan roll right down the centre, slightly pressing it down, then cover with the remaining mix. Smooth the top and bake for 45–55 minutes. Test with a skewer down the sides (not the middle because of the marzipan). It will probably be slightly cracked on top; this is fine.

Recipe taken from Seasonal Baking by Fiona Cairns, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson £25