What Is Stollen? Is It Fruitcake?

As we enter the holiday season, it’s time to dust off those culinary classics that only appear this time of year. Sure, there are the ubiquitous candy canes and gingerbread houses. but there are other classics that seem to defy explanation. For example: the fruitcake, a dense brick filled with dried fruit that is better used as a doorstop than as actual food. There’s got to be some kind of replacement for this abominable creation. Enter: stollen.

What is stollen?

Stollen is a spiced bread filled with nuts, dried fruit, and topped with icing or powdered sugar. “So far, it’s sounding very fruitcake-like.” Keep reading, trust me.

What is in stollen?

The base of stollen is a yeasted bread dough. Once the dough rises, all the goodies are mixed in. These include candied orange and citrus peel, raisins, almonds, cinnamon, cardamom, and marzipan. There are loads of other variations on this traditional recipe that can include different dried fruits, enriching ingredients like eggs or milk, and sometimes even a little rum.

“Okay… so… it’s fruitcake, right? What you’ve described sounds just like fruitcake.” Well, in the same way you anxiously await for Santa Claus to do a B&E on your house on Christmas Eve, you’ll have to hang tight just a little bit longer for the answer.

Is stollen German?

It is! While there are other fruit-infused Christmas breads/cakes out there—check out Italy and their panettone—stollen remains uniquely German.

The first stollens were made in 15th century Germany, particularly in the eastern state of Saxony. There were strict rules concerning its production because it was so intrinsically tied to the Christmas season. Butter was verboten during Advent, the time leading up to Christmas, so stollen was made with oil. And that sucked. 

It soon became an international political issue when some German royalty wrote a letter to the freaking Pope requesting special permission to use butter in their stollen. After some persistence, their request was granted, but only the bakers of Dresden, the capital of Saxony, were allowed to make the swap. 

To this day, Dresden is considered the ancestral home of stollen and they have a yearly festival celebrating it, complete with a massive, several ton stollen and a huge, ceremonial knife to cut it.

“Ok, but what about the damn fruitcake comparison?!” We’re so close, I promise. Just let mom and dad sleep for 30 more minutes.

What does stollen mean?

The word stollen not only references the Christmas bake but also German mining. Stollen were large, wooden posts used to create structure for the mine itself. Since the bread loaf has a similar appearance, it shares the name.

And how do you pronounce stollen? That “o” is more of an “a,” making STAH-LUNN.

Is stollen fruitcake?

Merry Christmas! Stollen is not fruitcake! There are a few key differences. First, stollen is made with yeast while most fruitcakes are made from unyeasted cake batter. You could even make a fruitcake at home with boxed cake mix if you wanted. 

Fruitcakes also tend to be heavy on the alcohol, with the fruit elements soaked in rum for hours, sometimes days, before baking. This leads to a rather densely-textured cake. It also attributes to the fruitcake’s notoriety for an abnormally long shelf life; there are old wives’ tales of last year’s fruitcake appearing on this year’s dinner table. 

Stollen is much lighter in texture and far less sweet than a fruitcake, making it a far better eating experience. So, this year, don’t dust off that fuddy-duddy fruitcake and reach for a stollen instead. Can your mother and I please go back to bed now!?