Bakehouse German-style Stollen Is Zingin’!
A 2025 holiday-season hit at Mail Order
This time of year, a lot of Americans are watching the college football rankings to see who falls where with playoffs, top-10 lists, and so on! Here, we pay more attention to the top 10 list that comes out from Mail Order—folks around the ZCoB are always curious as to what’s selling especially well. There’s still a little while to go in our season, but right now, the amazing Bakehouse Stollen is at the top of the list!
I’m excited to see the Bakehouse Stollen getting this kind of national recognition! I really think this is one of the all-time best things we make at the Bakehouse. It’s always been good, and to my taste, it continues to get a bit better every year. The dedication to steady improvement, mastering technique, and always trying to take things to the next level comes through in the flavor!
Stollen, as you probably already know, is the traditional German Christmas cake. It’s made with an incredible array of ingredients, including sweet butter, Bacardi rum, candied orange and lemon zest, fresh orange juice, Michigan dried cherries, citron, currants, almonds, golden and red flame raisins, organic wheat flour, Indonesian cinnamon, lots of real vanilla, and more. The whole thing is brushed with rum butter—not once but three times—and then dusted with powdered sugar.
The Bakehouse Stollen’s complex flavors are so balanced and also so big. You get a touch of creaminess up front from the powdered sugar. Then you taste the butter and dried fruit as you break through the thin crust, followed by the tartness of the dried cherries and the sweetness of the raisins. The citrus stays in the background, and the vanilla and cinnamon come through subtly but meaningfully in a really nice finish. I’ll run with what Amy Emberling, one of the two managing partners at the Bakehouse, said about it: “When you taste it, you understand why it’s been a German Christmas tradition since 1545! Who can argue with 480 years of customer appreciation?”
My suggestion? Keep a few stollen on hand in case company comes by unexpectedly! It also warms up beautifully on Christmas morning—or any other morning, for that matter. If you want to take a holiday brunch to the next level, try making stollen French toast. It’s seriously good! Serve it with Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter (always at room temperature) and some apricot jam!
This year, the stollen are packaged in Zingerman’s-designed cloth bags, making them look as exceptional as they taste. There’s still time to ship a stollen or six to friends, relatives, clients, or neighbors!
Ship some stollen
