Hallo ihr lieben,

door number 17 of our Advent Calendar, and this time we’re in for … drumroll please…. some serious calories. The traditional German Christmas cake called

der Stollen

Wow, what a name for a pastry. Stollen. Katchung. Sounds uber German. And it’s actually not only the name for a cake, it’s also what mining tunnels are called. How do these two things connect? Well, the origin of Stollen is actually a word we all know really well: stellen (to put).  A Stollen originally had the idea of “thing that stands/makes stand” and before it was used for the mining tunnel itself, Stollen was the word for the rough, wooden posts and lumps that were used in mining.

And that’s what probably inspired people hundreds of years ago to name their cake-bread after it –  because Stollen isn’t an elegant, noble cake. Not at all. It’s a bulky lump. And it’s super heavy, too. Like… the average weight of one pound of Stollen is 2.3 pounds. I know, sounds surreal, right?

Stollen is made from a yeast dough with wheat flour and plenty of fat. And sugar of course. It often contains raisins and it is usually covered by a THICK layer of powder sugar, which will cover your shoulders with a white layer – just like snow.
There are several variations, like with almond, butter, marzipan or puppy.
Hahaha… gotcha. I mean poppy of course.

Is Stollen tasty? Well, yeah usually it is. But as I said before, it’s suuuper heavy so it really stuffs you good. In combination with some Glühwein, which contains WAY more sugar than you’d ever want to know,  you’re pretty much good with calories for the day. But hey, it’s called Girthmas for a reason, right?

Most people eat Stollen only around Christmas but then it is absolutely mandatory. Like…  if you haven’t eaten at least one slice, you failed Christmas.

So… better have some Stollen ready.
Or else!!!
And to make sure you have some, here’s two generations explaining how it’s done. And oh my god, they’re super  lovely. Check them both out :).

So that’s it for today. How about you? Have you had Stollen before? And did you like it? Do you have Stollen in your country? How is it called? Let me know in the comments below and win today’s giveaway.
Viel Spaß mit den Videos und bis morgen.

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