Cherry and Almond Stollen

I have been baking a christmas essential, a stollen, This is a dough flavoured with lemon zest, almond extract, and spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. It contains rum soaked dried cherries, chopped blanched almonds, and homemade almond marzipan in each bun. The top is finished in the traditional way of brushing with melted butter and dusting with icing sugar,

The level of spice and lemon flavour is perfectly balanced and the sweetness of the cherries contrast this well. The crunch of the almonds is great, adding a different texture to the bread. It is a high butter content loaf and contains only egg yolks rather than whole eggs making it rich and brioche-like. A more luxurious loaf perfect for christmas. I am very happy with the way it proved to produce not individual buns but a loaf instead, with marzipan dotted throughout. It is fantastic!