Low Carb Christmas Stollen - Keto Fruit Cake

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.

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. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Variations

Chocolate chip: Replace the raisins with sugar free chocolate chips.

Use more spices: Mixed spice, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves would all be a good fit for this recipe.

Storage

Store this keto Christmas cake in an airtight container for 1 week or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Alternatively, freeze sliced for up to 3 months.

Related recipes

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Recipe

Low Carb Stollen - Keto Christmas Fruit Cake

Katrin Nürnberger

from Sugar Free Londoner

This gluten free, low carb stollen is made with almond flour and coconut flour. It has a moist sugar free marzipan filling and gorgeous festive flavours - just like the German original. Even though I am using sultanas in this recipe, one generous slice is only 7.3g net carbs.

5 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

cooling time 20 mins

Total Time 1 hr 25 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Servings 12

Calories 298 kcal

Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ ½ batch keto marzipan

For the fruit mix

• ▢ ¼ cup / 45g sultanas or raisins
• ▢ ¼ cup / 8g freeze dried cranberries or dried cranberries (measure in cups as will weigh more)
• ▢ ¼ cup / 25g flaked almonds
• ▢ 1 tablespoon orange peel thinly sliced (grate the rest of the orange zest)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon peel thinly sliced (grate the remaining lemon zest)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon brandy

For the dough

• ▢ 2 eggs large, room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup / 115g quark or Greek yoghurt, room temperature
• ▢ ⅓ cup / 76g butter softened
• ▢ ⅓ cup / 70g granulated sweetener use ½ cup for a sweeter cake
• ▢ 3 cup / 300g almond flour I used ground almonds
• ▢ 2 tbsp /16g coconut flour
• ▢ ½ tsp xanthan gum
• ▢ 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

• ▢ 2 tablespoon butter melted
• ▢ powdered sweetener for dusting

Instructions

 

• Prepare ½ batch of keto marzipan (prepare the recipe with water and not with egg) and set aside.
• Cut off thin slivers of orange and lemon peel (only the coloured part, not the white pith) and chop into very fine slices. Grate the rest of the peel from both the lemon and the orange. Soak the peel together with the sultanas, cranberries and flaked almonds in 1 tablespoon rum or brandy. Minimum soaking time: 30 minutes, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit (electric) or 160C / 320F fan.
• In a bowl using an electric mixer or in a food processor, blend the eggs until frothy, pale and double the size - about 2 minutes. Add the sweetener, quark or Greek yoghurt, vanilla and butter. Blend until smooth. 
• Now add the dry ingredients - almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, pinch of salt, allspice and baking powder and blend until well-combined.
• Last, stir through the sultana and cranberry mix with a spatula.
• Now, transfer the dough onto parchment paper and press into a rectangle ***see notes. Roll the marzipan into a log and place down the middle of the stollen dough.
• 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.
• Bake for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Don't insert into the marzipan bit - that's supposed to stay moist! After about 15-20 minutes check the stollen and cover with aluminium paper once it's golden on top to prevent burning.
• Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter while still warm, then dust with powdered sweetener. Let cool completely before cutting. Option to dust with more powdered sweetener once fully cooled.

Notes

7.3g net carbs per slice. Makes 12 generous slices (or 14 regular slices).

***If the dough is too sticky to work with, let it chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. 

You are using the peel and zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon.

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

Store in an airtight container for 1 week or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months. 

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcalTotal Carbohydrates: 11.5gProtein: 10.1gFat: 24.7gSaturated Fat: 5.1gFiber: 4.2gSugar: 5g

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