Low Carb Christmas Stollen - Keto Fruit Cake

Name: Low Carb Stollen - Keto Christmas Fruit Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 1/2 batch keto marzipan; 1/4 cup / 45g sultanas or raisins; 1/4 cup / 8g freeze dried cranberries (or dried cranberries (measure in cups as will weigh more)); 1/4 cup / 25g flaked almonds; 1 tbsp orange peel (thinly sliced (grate the rest of the orange zest)); 1 tbsp lemon peel (thinly sliced (grate the remaining lemon zest)); 1 tbsp brandy; 2 eggs (large, room temperature ); 1/2 cup / 115g quark (or Greek yoghurt, room temperature); 1/3 cup / 76g butter (softened); 1/3 cup / 70g granulated sweetener (use 1/2 cup for a sweeter cake); 3 cup / 300g almond flour (I used ground almonds); 2 tbsp /16g coconut flour; 1/2 tsp xanthan gum; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp allspice; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tbsp butter (melted); powdered sweetener (for dusting)

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This low carb stollen is my healthy gluten-free version of the traditional stollen recipe. A keto Christmas cake that tastes just as rich, buttery and delicious as the German original.

Stollen is the most traditional Christmas sweet bread in Germany and the festive season would just not be the same without it.

I remember how excited I got every year when it appeared in the shops around November.

There are two main versions of this popular holiday fruit cake. One is the classic "Dresdner Christstollen", which is a fruit bread made with a yeast dough and filled with marzipan.

The other popular version is the "Quarkstollen", which also contains dried fruit, almonds and spices, but is made with the addition of quark. This makes the stollen super moist.

To make my keto stollen bread, I replaced the wheat with almond and coconut flour. I also used sweetener instead of sugar and replaced some of the raisins with cranberries.

This way, I managed to get the carbs down to 7.3g net carbs per generous slice!

Of course, there are other cakes that are lower in carbs. You could decide to forget about making a keto fruit cake recipe altogether and simply serve a keto chocolate cheesecake, keto pecan pie or keto panettone.

But if you miss stollen or indeed traditional fruit cake, this recipe is going to make you very, very happy.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Top tip
FAQ
Variations
Storage
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Recipe

Ingredients

Almond flour and coconut flour - I always use ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you have super-fine almond flour, use ¼ cup less.

Eggs, butter and quark - Quark is a German cooking cheese. You can use Greek yoghurt instead of quark - or even cream cheese. All must be room temperature.

Sweetener - Allulose, Bocha Sweet or any granulated erythritol monk fruit sweetener blends will work well.

Flaked almonds - for a bit of crunch

For flavour: Orange peel and zest, lemon zest and peel, allspice, Brandy, vanilla extract - Rum will work in place of the Brandy. Lemons and oranges must be unwaxed. Use only the coloured parts, not the white pith.

Baking powder and xanthan gum - The xanthan gum is essential because it helps give a stronger texture. Since our stollen is gluten-free and contains only 2 eggs, it is very fragile. I made my first version without xanthan gum and found it too crumbly.

Cranberries - I used freeze-dried unsweetened cranberries. You could also make my sugar free dried cranberries.

Raisins - In my opinion, a good stollen needs raisins. I only use ¼ cup to keep the carbs in check. However, they do account for 2.6g net carbs per slice. You could use ½ cup dried cranberries and maybe some chopped walnuts or pecans instead to further lower the carbs.

Instructions

This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Step 1: Prepare ½ batch of keto marzipan and set aside. Make the recipe with water and not with egg. Option to add brandy as well.

thinly sliced orange and lemon peel and zest on a plate with a grater

Step 2: Cut off thin slivers of orange and lemon peel and chop into fine slices. Grate the rest of the peel from both the lemon and the orange.

Step 3: Soak the peel and zest together with the sultanas, cranberries and flaked almonds in rum or brandy. Soak at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

beaten wet ingredients in a food processor bowl

Step 4: In a bowl using an electric mixer or in a food processor, blend the eggs until frothy, pale and double in size. Add the sweetener, quark, vanilla and room temperature butter until smooth.

almond flour dough in a food processor bowl

Step 5: Now add the dry ingredients and blend until well-combined.

Step 6: Last, stir through the sultana and cranberry mix with a spatula.

dough rectangle topped with a log go marzipan

Step 7: Transfer the dough onto parchment paper and press into a rectangle. Roll the marzipan into a log and place down the middle of the stollen dough.

Step 8: Lift one side of the parchment paper to fold the dough over the marzipan. Wet your hands and press the stollen into shape, thereby sealing the marzipan into the loaf. Use the image in the post for reference.

Step 9: Bake until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Step 10: Remove from the oven and brush your keto fruit bread with melted butter while still warm, then dust with powdered sweetener.

Step 11: Let cool completely before cutting. Option to dust with more powdered sweetener once fully cooled.

Top tip

Don't insert into the marzipan when you test for doneness. It is supposed to stay moist! Also, check the stollen after about 15-20 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil once it's golden on top to prevent burning.

FAQ

How many carbs are in fruit cake?

One slice of regular fruit cake can easily have 40 to 60 grams of carbs. My keto fruit cake contains just 7.3g net carbs.

Can fruit cakes be keto?

Regular fruit cakes are not suitable for a keto diet. They are made with wheat flour, table sugar and lots of dried fruit. This recipe is keto friendly, because I replaced all the high carb ingredients with low carb options.

Do I have to use the marzipan?

Low carb stollen will taste just as good without the marzipan filling. If you omit it, consider baking the stollen in a bread pan lined with parchment paper. Baking time may reduce by 5 minutes.

Can I leave out the sultanas?

Yes. It's possible to reduce the net carbs to 5.4g per slice by using ½ cup cranberries and omitting the raisins.