Stollen Day 2011

Since today is the last day of Christmas for this season it is appropriate for the annual Stollen Day to take place.  Every year this cake hour commando gets presented up to 3 or 4 Stollens for Christmas. That's a lot of Stollen for one person to eat so since it is the season of giving a few of them are given up for Stollen Day at cake time.

Dimpflmeier Stollen

Tbe rum version - note the advisory "Keeps for a long time"

The classic look

Sugar Coated for the finishing touch

For those of you who don't know a Stollen is the traditional German Christmas Cake. It is associated with the City of Dresden where they make the largest Stollen in the world every year at their Striezelmarkt or Christmas Market.  (If you haven't been to Dresden you should go as it is one of the most interesting cities in Europe and used to be on the Grand Tour of Europe. The Green Vault is of particular interest. Check it out here:


http://www.skd.museum/en/museums-institutions/residenzschloss/gruenes-gewoelbe/index.html

But I digress..Stollen is a bit like a fruit cake but it is edible.. I mean unlike a lot of American fruit cakes it actually tastes pretty good.  There are several versions the favorite being the one filled with Marzipan but today we had Rum Stollens that were flavored with - you guessed it - rum.  The dough is always folded before baking giving it the unique shaped and it is always covered with powdered or granulated sugar.  It goes real well with Glühwein as you are standing out in a cold Christmas market but it's always good with coffee or tea and helps to make the season bright kind of like turkey and some mistletoe.  These Stollens are courtesy of Dimpflmeier Bakery in Toronto, Ontario. www.dimpflmeierbakery.com.
In addition to Stollen, they make all sort of the thick, seed filled breads that Germans love and that really keep your digestion going. They are pretty good so if you are so inclined check out what they have to offer.

There was the added treat of some Weinbrand Bohnen or dark chocolate bean shaped pralines filled with brandy.  (This is a rare occasion where the German expression is shorter than the English.)  A nice treat to go with the Stollen and a cup of java.

Brandy Beans - direct translation

Classic shape with the good stuff inside

Today we tried to figure out the best way to get one of our cake hour comrades home within a reasonable time frame.  She lives three miles away and it takes her half an hour to drive there thanks to construction work on I-95 in Providence. You do the math. That's 6 miles per hour.  Those of us that live in East Providence or Boston spend less travel time.  Several suggestions were made and we look forward to hearing how and if the various routes will ameliorate the three mile commute from hell.