This time there is no genealogy, just one old and one new recipe!!

- Not for dieters! -

If you want to bake the amount of stolle (a traditional German Christmas loaf) I usually bake, you first have to buy a large bowl which can hold some 15 pounds of dough. It's also nice to have one of the guys around when it is time to start baking, preferably one with very strong hands because mixing this dough is really hard work. Of course, you can also do only half or a quarter of the amount given in the recipe, but here it is for the full quantity.

In a smaller bowl, mix 1 lb of ground white almonds with 2 lbs of flour. Add 4-5 lbs of raisins that had been soaked in 1/2 pint of rum, and 1/2 lb of small pieces of candied citron.

In the large bowl you now mix 8 oz of yeast (or the corresponding amount of dry yeast, about 3-4oz) with 1 quart of milk, 4 lbs of flour, 1 1/4 lb of sugar, 2 1/2 lbs of sweet, unsalted butter (no margarine, please, it's not the time to think of cholesterol!. Great-grandmother used butter which had been melted first and contained no water at all; she also added about two ounces of suet), some salt, some nutmeg, and some ground lemon peel. Add the contents of the smaller bowl. Mix. And mix. Use your hands. It's great exercise for your fingers.

Cover and let rise. I usually leave it covered and wrapped in a blanket until the next morning.

Form four loaves. I always fit two on one sheet separating them with foil. Bake on medium heat. They should be in the oven for about an hour and come out nice and brown, not burned. They are done when you stab the loaf with a wooden toothpick and it comes out clean.

Brush with liquid butter and powder it with a thick coat of sugar.

Once the loaves are completely cool, you can pack them and keep them in a plastic ice box. They keep for weeks. In former times people baked more than a dozen loaves to last until Easter.

Don't slice them until they are really cold, otherwise you reduce part of a loaf to crumbs. Actually, you shouldn't even try a piece until one or two days later. The taste is somewhat disappointing when eaten fresh. After a day or two, you have a hard time to stop eating! If you are very daring and don't count absolutely no calories ever, spread some nice cool butter on your slice before you bite into it.

Stir 4 oz of sweet butter until foamy (easy with mixer! slow by hand!) And add little by little 8 oz of sugar and 4 whole eggs - keep stirring - add a pinch of salt, vanilla, some nutmeg, a pinch of cloves, a level teaspoon of cinnamon, 12 oz of flour mixed with 2 oz of chocolate powder and 4 level teaspoons of baking powder. You may mix in about ½ cup of milk. Personally I also add some citron or fruitcake mix.

The mold:
Grease your baking pan and powder it with plain breadcrumbs; this way the dough will not stick to the pan.

Baking:
For about one hour at 250 - 300 F.

Icing:
Mix confectionary sugar with a bit of rum and milk. Be careful, you need very little liquid. When smooth, brush it on the cold cake, cut cake after the frosting has hardened.