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Here are two baked holiday treats my sister and I have baked and
gifted for nearly 40 years.
>our family Stollen recipe (updated with Cornell Mix ingredients
for a hint of nutrition, you can sub same measure of AP flour for
wheat germ & soy flour), and
>Kentucky Whiskey Cake (which we'll think of as a very fancy quick bread).
In true holiday tradition, the recipes are a bit fussy, but I promise
you the results are very worthwhile!
STOLLEN - makes 12, 1# loaves; can make half or quarter of the recipe.
For the bread dough:
1 cup butter
4 cups whole milk
4 eggs, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp nutmeg (one whole, freshly grated)
10 cups flour
10 tsp wheat germ
10 Tbsp soy flour
3 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk, warm
2 lbs mixed candied fruit
10 oz. blanched slivered almonds
15 oz. white raisins
For the filling:
5 oz. blanched almonds, grated fine or pulverized in food processor
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp cardamom (substitute cinnamon if preferred)
15 oz. white raisins
1/2 c. butter, melted
For the icing:
4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
6 Tbsp butter, soft
4 tsp pure vanilla extract (NOT artificial)
1/4 c. whole milk
Grease or butter loaf pans (I make 12, 1# loaves but you could opt
for 6, 2# loaves in larger pans)
Melt butter in a saucepan, add milk until very warm. Heat 1/2 c.
milk, stir in yeast and let sit until foamy. In a VERY LARGE bowl,
combine heated milk & butter, sugar, salt & nutmeg. Whisk in eggs,
flour, and proofed yeast. Beat well (120 strokes with the
whisk). Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 90 minutes.
Put candied fruit and raisins into a sturdy paper bag with about 1/2
c. flour. Shake well to coat and separate pieces (hold the bottom of
the bag!). Add contents of bag, the slivered almonds, and up to 3
cups flour. The dough should be stiff enough to knead. Cover and
let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 90 minutes.
Combine all filling ingredients except the butter; melt the butter in
a small saucepan toward the end of the rising period.
Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, adding as little flour as
possible. Portion into 12 equal pieces (a kitchen scale is
helpful). Roll out each piece to a 1/2" thick rectangle no wider
than your bread pan is long. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle a
scant 1/3 cup filling evenly over the surface. Roll up from one
narrow end; seal ends and bottom and place, seam-side down, in
prepared loaf pan. Brush the top of the loaf with butter. Repeat
until all loaves are formed. (If there's any filling left over, try
it mixed into oatmeal!)
Cover the loaves with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in
bulk, about an hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F.
When loaves are risen, bake 40-45 minutes; rearrange after 25 minutes
to ensure even browning.
Make the icing: combine all ingredients in a food processor, adding
a little milk or sugar if necessary. The icing should be stiff
enough to spread. Set up cooling racks with newspaper or waxed paper
underneath to catch drips of icing.
When the loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped on
the bottom, turn out onto cooling racks top-side-up. Working quickly
with an offset spatula, frost the tops of the loaves allowing the
frosting to drip down the sides decoratively. Cool COMPLETELY; wrap
in plastic wrap. Tie with curling ribbon if desired. (Cooled &
wrapped loaves can be frozen in zipper freezer bags up to 3 months;
add ribbon after removing from the freezer.)
KENTUCKY WHISKEY CAKE makes one angel-food-cake sized cake or 12
mini-tube-pan cakes, or several loaf-pan cakes
1. This cake is soaked in bourbon after baking, and needs to age at
least ONE MONTH before being served.
2. Pan preparation is key to successful release of the
cake(s): Determine your preferred pan: a full-sized tube pan (angel
cake pan), an oversized loaf pan (or several), or a dozen
mini-tube-pans. Either grease, cover COMPLETELY with waxed paper
pieces cut to fit, then grease the paper (for tube pan, first cover
sides and tube of greased pan with strips of waxed paper taller than
the side of the pan, extending across the junction of tube piece and
side; then cover the bottom with a doughnut-shaped flat piece of
waxed paper to hold the stubs down, then butter the inside of the
paper-lined pan). Alternative is Laurel's Kitchen non-stick goop: 2
parts vegetable oil to one part liquid lecithin; mix well and brush
on. "Nonstick spray" is INSUFFICIENT.
1/2 lb. white raisins
1 lb. red candied cherries
1 pint bourbon whiskey (decent, not great)
3/4 lb. butter, soft
3 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
6 eggs, separated
1 lb. pecans, the larger the better
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. freshly-grated nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
More bourbon (up to about another fifth) for soaking
The night BEFORE baking, soak the raisins & cherries in the pint of
bourbon overnight. In the morning, cut the cherries into quarters
with a knife or kitchen shears. Prepare baking pan(s). Preheat oven to 300F.
Beat egg whites until stiff, using a little of the sugar to stablize
them. Reserve.
Put pecans into a sturdy paper bag with about 3Tbsp flour; shake well
to coat nuts with flour. Reserve, discarding any extra flour.
Cream butter and remaining sugar, beat in egg yolks. Sift the 5 cups
of flour, nutmeg and baking powder together; add to creamed mixture.
Fold in stiff egg whites, 1/4 at a time, alternating with the bourbon
from the soaked fruit. Fold just until no white streaks
remain. Fold in fruit and floured pecans, just until well
distributed. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s).
Bake at 300F for 3 to 4 hours, until the cake(s) crack on top and the
bottom of the crack is dry. Crust will be well-browned and
shiny. Remove from pan(s) and cool, top-side-up, on a rack. Peel
off waxed paper if used.
Wrap cooled cake(s) in bourbon-soaked kitchen towels or heavy layers
of cheesecloth. Be generous in the soaking. Store in a heavy
plastic bag in the refrigerator; age AT LEAST one month before serving.
To serve, cut thin while chilled (the large pecans make for a very
pretty cross-section). This is a potent dessert, but beautiful and
tasty. When we gift these, we put stickers usually used on
prescriptions: Caution, may cause dizziness or drowsiness!