Chocolate chip stollen with candied orange peel is the perfect Christmas treat if you love festive spices and marzipan, but don’t like dried fruit. I use milk, white and dark chocolate chips mixed into my sweet stollen dough for an alternative treat with lots of festive flavours.
I love stollen. Classic stollen with raisins and other dried fruit is brilliant.
But, not everyone likes dried fruit that much. Should they have to miss out on the lovely sweet, slightly spiced wonder that is stollen with marzipan? No, they should not!
Well, that was my thinking when I decided to try a chocolate chip stollen at least.
Then, I added candied orange peel for a little extra flavour, and my recipe for chocolate chip stollen turned into one of the best things that I’ve ever eaten, and I’m not sure which I prefer.
Chocolate Chip Stollen certainly isn’t just for people who aren’t keen on dried fruit. It’s for everyone. Chocolate Orange Stollen is absolutely perfect!
Especially warm, straight out the oven, when the chocolate chips are still a little melty and the marzipan is soft.
I can never quite manage to leave it to cool, so my photos aren’t perfect. Like when a meal in a restaurant is that good you actually forget to take a photo of it!
How to Make Traditional Stollen
I have a recipe for a traditional stollen. It’s actually fairly similar to this one. I just add an extra egg and a little more butter to my chocolate chip stollen, because you don’t get the same moisture from the fruit.
Can You Make Stollen with Chocolate?
YES! I did wonder if stollen with chocolate would work as well, but if anything, I think it’s even better. You can totally make stollen with chocolate!
Does Chocolate Chip Stollen Need Fruit?
You could make a stollen without fruit and just use chocolate. But, I really like the addition of candied orange peel. It just gives it extra texture and flavour.
My chocolate stollen has milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, candied orange peel and almonds.
If you prefer, you could switch the orange peel for glace cherries, which would also be amazing!
Why is My Chocolate Chip Stollen Dry?
If your chocolate orange stollen is a little dry, it could be a few things. Your oven might be too hot. I bake mine at 160 degrees, but all ovens are different.
I’d say if you have any doubts it’s better to underbake, so your stollen with chocolate chips is slightly doughy but still soft and yummy than overbake and have it too dry and hard.
It’s worth remembering though that chocolate stollen with orange, like traditional stollen, when homemade without preservatives, doesn’t stay fresh for too long.
Keep it in a sealed tub, or well wrapped, and it will last for a few days, but it’s at its best on the day of baking.
How to Make Candied Orange Peel
You don’t have to make your own candied orange peel for your chocolate stollen recipe, you can absolutely buy some. It is a bit of a faff.
But, if you have got the time and inclination to make your own sweet orange peel it can be worth it. I make a big batch.
It smells amazing, and I use whatever doesn’t go into my chocolate chip stollen for candied orange peel dipped in chocolate which is fab.
I tend to stick to the BBC’s recipe for candied citrus peel, which is fairly straightforward and has always worked well for me.
Is Orange Peel Good for You?
It’s perfectly safe to eat orange peel. In fact, the peel of an orange is rich in fibre, vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6, calcium and other essential nutrients. It also contains polyphenols which can offer protection from severe illness.
Do You Have to Remove the Pith to Make Candied Orange Peel?
Ah. Well. No. Kinda.
The pith of an orange peel is very bitter. But, when it’s been simmered for a long time and has become translucent, it loses that bitterness and becomes quite nice. You can absolutely leave the pith on, and you shouldn’t feel as though you need to scrape it all out.
I am, however, a bit scared of pith. It makes me feel all funny.
To the point that I really struggle to eat an orange, because it takes me so long to remove every tiny bit of pith that I can, and the orange is never really worth such an effort.
So, I do try and remove a lot of it.
If you don’t want any pith at all, you can use a peeler to remove very thin slivers of skin from your orange.
I follow the BBC recipe though, cutting the orange into chunks and scooping out the fresh.
Then, once I’ve simmered my peel fully, I let it cool a little, before using a sharp knife to carefully slice out any flesh that was left on, and any excess pith.
It comes away really easily at this point, and you still get a decent chunk of peel.
Why Does My Candied Orange Peel Taste Bitter?
If your candied orange peel tastes bitter, you might prefer it without pith, or you may need to simmer it for longer to take away that bitterness.
How Long Does Candied Orange Peel Last?
Kept in a sealed tub any leftover candied orange peel will last for around 6 weeks. You can just dip it in chocolate and eat it all though!
If you are making your own candied orange peel for this recipe for chocolate chip stollen, 2 large oranges should be plenty.
Chocolate Chip Stollen
Ingredients
- 100 g Milk Chocolate Chips
- 50 g Dark Chocolate Chips
- 50 g White Chocolate Chips
- 100 g Candied Orange Peel (Chopped into small chunks)
- 50 g Blanched Almonds
- 2 Lemon (Zest only)
- 1.5 teaspoons Ground Cardamom
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Vanilla Essence
- 375 g Bread Flour (Plus extra to dust surface)
- 0.5 teaspoon Salt
- 7 g Sachet Instant “easy” Yeast
- 50 g Caster Sugar
- 2 Eggs (beaten)
- 70 g Butter
- 150 ml Milk
- 200 g Marzipan
- 1 Beaten Egg (To Brush)
- Icing Sugar to dust
Instructions
- Place the candied orange peel and almonds in a bowl, with the lemon zest, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla and mix. Cover and leave to one side until needed.
- In another bowl, mix the different chocolate chips and leave to one side.
- Tip the bread flour, yeast, and sugar into a large mixing bowl and mix before adding salt.
- Add the beaten eggs.
- Melt the butter and milk together in a pan. This should be warm to touch, but not bubbling.
- Pour the milk and butter mixture into the flour.
- Stir until it starts to come together into a dough.
- Tip out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding more milk or flour if required.
- Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave for one hour until doubled in size.
- After this, remove from the bowl and knead in the orange and almond mixture and the chocolate chips, a handful at a time until evenly spread.
- Return to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and line a large baking tray.
- Roll the marzipan into a 30cm long log or baton.
- Roll the stollen dough to 30cm x 15 cm on a well-floured surface.
- Place the marzipan on top, slightly to one side and dampen the edges of the dough with wet fingers.
- Fold over and press down, covering the marzipan.
- Place on a lined baking tray, cover, and leave for 30 minutes.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.
- Once baked, remove from tray and place on a wire rack to cool.
- While still warm, brush with the last beaten egg and dust liberally with icing sugar.
Notes
- If you can’t get white chocolate chips (I can’t always), you can use broken up white buttons.
- I find it easier to knead in the orange and almonds first, to add some moisture to the dough.
- If the chocolate chips keep falling out, just do your best. If some are resting on the top of the dough, it will rise around it and incorporate them.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
