The traditional Christmas stollen is a cake that keeps a long time, studded with spices and candied fruit. It can be eaten at any time.

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the milk, sugar, crumbled yeast and 5 tbsp. of the sieved flour. Cover the yeast mixture with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
2. Wash and drain the raisins and blot them dry with paper towel.
3. Combine the flour, lukewarm butter, egg yolks and yeast mixture in a mixer, kneading with a dough hook until it forms a smooth dough.
4. Add the raisins, almonds, candied lemon and orange peels, rum, vanilla sugar, lemon zest and salt to the dough and knead thoroughly. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in volume.
5. Butter a stollen tin and sprinkle it with flour. Shake out the excess flour.
6. Give the risen dough another kneading. Place in the prepared tin and let rise 30 minutes, until the tin is three-quarters filled by the dough.
7. Place the tin containing the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, dough-side down. Bake in a preheated 170° C (340° F) oven for 45 minutes. Remove the tin and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes.
8. When done, remove the stollen from the oven and immediately brush it with the melted butter. As soon as the butter has been absorbed by the stollen, brush it again until all the butter has been used.
9. Mix the sifted icing sugar with the allspice and thickly dust the stollen. Allow it to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to stand for two to four weeks.