Dresden Stollen – how a meagre bread served during Lent became the most popular Christmas delicacy

Stollen has been baked in Dresden for more than half a millennium.

There is hardly any other type of Christmas cake that has retained such significance over the centuries. Whether eaten during Lent as in the past, or enjoyed as a delicious treat at Christmas – the traditional Christmas fruitcake is sure to be found on any festively decorated table.

Its tradition can be traced back to the year 1400. In 1474, it appeared for the first time on an invoice for the Christian hospital of St. Bartholomy in Dresden. The cake, which was meant to symbolize the Infant Jesus wrapped in white swaddling cloths, was to be made only from flour, yeast, and water, in accordance with the church doctrine at the time. It was forbidden to add butter. Since the Stollen tasted rather plain, however, the Elector Ernest of Saxony and his brother Albert asked the Pope to lift the ban on butter. The Holy Father agreed to this request, which has gone down in the annals of history as the “butter letter”. He decreed that butter and milk may be used “with the blessing of God” after a fine had been paid. Ever since that time, the Stollen has inspired master bakers and their sovereigns not only to perfect its taste at Christmas, but also to set new baking records:

Around 1560, Dresden bakers baked a Stollen weighing 36 pounds for their sovereign. It took eight master bakers and eight journeymen to carry the Stollen to the castle. This record was broken by Elector August the Strong of Saxony some two hundred years later, in 1730. “His” giant Stollen, produced by Dresden bakers on the occasion of the festivities at the Zeithain camp, weighed 1.8 tons.

It was not until the twentieth century that the taste of the Dresden Christmas Stollen was refined by adding exquisite and top-quality ingredients from faraway countries, such as candied lemon and orange peel. The basic recipe for the production of the traditional Dresden Stollen, baked by about 150 bakeries and patisseries in Dresden and the surrounding area, is now trademarked. Each Christmas, millions of Stollen leave the bakeries to be sent all over Europe and overseas.

People have often tried to imitate the popular fruitcake and to sell their cakes as “original“. Nowadays, however, the Dresden bakers und pastry cooks are protected against these attempts: in 1991, the “Dresdner Stollen e.V.”, a trade society for the protection of the Dresden Stollen, was founded by the professional producers of this original Christmas cake in Dresden and the surrounding area. Ever since, this society has awarded the Dresden Stollen seal – a golden oval with the famous Dresden horseman on it, as well as the number of the association and the individual identification number of the producer. This seal is the most important sign of quality of the Dresden Chistmas Stollen, ensuring it has been made in accordance with tradition. However, there are slight individual differences in taste, because every Stollen baker adds spices according to his or her own secret traditional family recipe.

One thing is certain: this cake is a masterpiece of high professional skill, exquisite ingredients from faraway countries and mysterious spices.

In Dresden, there are already clear signs that Chistmas is approaching: the delicious cake causes tempting smells to waft from the numerous bakeries in the old Saxonian capital.
 
Some advice concerning storage:
T he best way to store the Stollen is to leave it in the original packaging in a cardboard box or in a wooden box on the balcony. At any rate, it should be kept in a cool place. The traditional housewife does not put the Stollen into the refrigerator. It should be taken from the cool storage place just before it is sliced up and served at the feast.

A recommendation from the Saxonians: do not fail to serve the Stollen with an aromatic, well-brewed coffee. This can only be topped by serving it on Meißen china, and it goes perfectly with original Christmas figures from the Erzgebirge and Christmas music sung by the Dresden Kreuz Choir or played by Ludwig Güttler on his trumpet.