This recipe was created by Vegan Chef Day.

Prep time - 180 minutes

Cook time - 20-25 minutes

Difficulty - Difficult

Serves / makes - 12-16 slices

Ingredients

300g mixed dried fruit, such as sultanas, cherries, cranberries, apricots

60ml brandy

The zest and juice of 1 orange

150g marzipan

600ml plant milk

2t vanilla essence

1T dry yeast

1T gram or fava bean flour

300g gram or fava bean flour

180g potato starch or tapioca flour

100g fine brown sugar

1t salt

1t ground cardamom

1/2t ground nutmeg

1/2t ground cinnamon

30g psyllium husk

1T icing sugar

Equipment

Small bowl

Zester or microplane

Saucepan

Jug

Mixing bowl that can go in the oven

Whisk

Baking tray with baking paper

Fine sieve

Method

1. Put the dried fruit into a bowl. Add the brandy, orange zest and juice, mix well and set aside. Finely chop the marzipan, if it sticks together, toss it in a small amount of the flour mixture. Set aside.

2. Put the milk and vanilla essence into a saucepan on a medium heat. Put the yeast and 1T flour into a jug. Heat the milk until it is lukewarm but not hot. Add the milk to the jug and mix it with the yeast and 1T flour. Allow the mixture to froth up for 10 minutes. 

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the remaining flours, sugar, salt and spices. Use a whisk to remove any lumps. 

4. Add the yeast water to the flour mixture in the bowl, mix it in using the whisk until it is fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Sprinkle in the psyllium husk, whisk this into the batter until just incorporated, do not overmix or the stollen will not rise well.

5. Put the dough into your oven in the bowl (this is why you need to use a mixing bowl that will go into the oven). Turn on the heat at the lowest setting, around 70c/160f. Keep the dough in the oven, for around 1 hour, until it has doubled in size. During this time check on the oven temperature, if it gets too hot turn it off for a while. You want enough heat to help the dough rise but not too much that will start cooking the dough. You can also rise the dough in a warm area of your house like an airing cupboard.

6. Once the dough has risen, mix it again, this will knock some air out of it. Add the dried fruit and marzipan to the batter. Knead them into the dough and then pour the dough onto a baking tray covered with baking paper. Make the dough into a long rectangle. Put this in the oven for another hour to rise, once again the heat needs to be very low, around 70c/160f.

7. After the second rise the stollen may have spread a little too much. If this is the case, gently push the dough back into its’ original shape. Return it to the oven, then turn the temperature to 180c/360f/GM4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 

8. Allow the stollen to cool, then transfer to a cooling rack. Use a fine sieve to give the stollen an ample dusting of icing sugar. 

Tips

• Store the stollen out of the fridge, in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for 3 or 4 days.

• If you do not want to use alcohol simply use the juice of a second orange.