Curd cheese stollen

A simplified version of the classic stollen. Unlike the original, curd cheese stollen does not need a month of resting and can be eaten the next day.

Ingredients

For the filling

• dried fruit (dried cranberries, candied orange peel, dried apricots, raisins) — 500 g
• brandy, dark rum or amaretto — 350 ml
• raw almonds — 200 g

For the base

• sugar — 180 g
• vanilla sugar — 15 g
• butter — 250 g
• eggs — 2
• curd cheese 9% — 250 g
• juice of 1 lemon
• cinnamon — 1 tsp
• nutmeg — 1/2 tsp
• flour — 550 g

To finish

• icing sugar — 100 g
• butter — 100 g

Method

1. Prepare the filling. Cut all the dried fruit to the same size and rinse it. Cover with brandy and leave to steep for at least 3 hours.
2. Cover the almonds with boiling water, leave to stand and then peel them.
3. In a deep bowl, beat the sugar, vanilla sugar and room-temperature butter with a mixer.
4. Add the eggs and beat.
5. Add the spices — cinnamon and nutmeg work well; adjust to taste.
6. Add the curd cheese and the juice of one lemon and beat until smooth. The mixture will be quite fluffy.
7. Add all the dried fruit and nuts. Stir.
8. Add the flour in stages along with the baking powder and bring the dough together. It will be quite soft.
9. Line a baking tray with baking paper and shape the stollen. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for up to an hour.
10. Let the baked stollen cool a little, brush with melted butter, dust generously with icing sugar and wrap in foil.