Amaretto and Praline Stollen

Preparation: 30 mins
Cooking: 45 mins
Makes: about 20 slices

Ingredients

Dough:

• 500g (1lb 4oz) flour
• 100g (4oz) ground almonds
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 2 medium eggs
• 125g (5oz) sugar
• ~1 tsp vanilla essence (might need to experiment)
• 250g (10oz) quark
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder (again, maybe need to experiment)
• 175g (7oz) softened butter

• 200g (8oz) special German 'nougat' (praline) – I used sweets from Lidl, labelled 'nougat')
• 75g (3oz) Amarettini biscuits (could use more)
• 20ml Amaretto (could use more)

• 25g (1oz) butter
• 30g (~1oz) flaked almonds
• icing sugar
  [NB: next time I make it, I won't bother with the butter / almonds - all they did was fall off]

Method

1. Knead all the dough ingredients together until smooth
2. Sprinkle the amarettini with the Amaretto. Cut the nougat into small pieces. Roll out the dough to a 40cm x 40cm square, spread with the amarettini and nougat over and lightly press in. Fold over the dough and form into a stollen shape.
3. Put the stollen on a greased baking tray. Bake for 40-45 mins in a preheated oven at 200°C / 175°C fan / Gas mark 3.
4. Roast the almonds, melt the butter and brush over the stollen and sprinkle with the almonds. Leave to cool and then dust with icing sugar