“German” Stollen – Oracibo

Ingredients

• 1 cup Thompson raisins
• 1/3 cup currants, rinsed with warm & water & dried on paper towels
• ½ cup each: mixed peel, cut up glacé cherries & citron
• ¼ cup dark rum
• 1 1/3 cups + 1 ½ tsp. lukewarm milk
• 1 ½ tsp lukewarm water
• 1 ½ tsp. sugar
• 1 packet or 2 ¼ tsp. regular/traditional yeast
• 1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
• 3 ½ cups + 3 Tbsp. unbleached flour (you may not need all of the 3 ½ cups flour)
• 2/3 cups blanched silvered almonds
• 1 cup (8 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature (but nice and soft)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp. ground cardamom (also known as desiccated cardamom)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• (Optional) but according to everyone, necessary, marzipan. (approximately ½ lb., room temperature) I recommend Odense brand from Denmark
• 3 – 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup each of icing sugar & berry sugar, aka castor sugar in the UK, combined in a small bowl