1. Start with the vanilla sauce by setting about 1/4 cup (60ml) of the milk to the side. Add the remaining milk together with sugar and salt to a saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean pod lengthwise in half and remove the seeds. Add the seeds and the pod to the milk and warm everything up. Let the vanilla soak in the warm milk for about 10 minutes – the milk should be warm only, neither hot nor boiling.

2. Mix the milk you kept on the side with cornstarch and egg yolk. Next, heat up the milk until it starts boiling, remove the vanilla bean pod, then add the cornstarch mixture while stirring constantly. Let the vanilla sauce bubble and thicken for a moment. Remove from the heat and let cool down completely. Stir frequently to prevent the sauce from getting a skin on top.

3. For the mulled wine plums, add the mulled wine, sugar, and cinnamon to a saucepan and bring the wine to a boil. Let the wine cook and reduce to about half. In the meantime, wash, stone, and cut the plums into slices. Add them to the saucepan and let them cook until soft (but not mushy). The mulled wine should be reduced to a thick sauce. Remove from the heat and let cool down.

4. Cut the bread rolls and the Christmas Stollen into small cubes and add them to a bowl. Warm the milk slightly, add the eggs and orange zest and mix to combine. Add the mixture to the cubed bread/Stollen and mix to combine. Let everything soak for about 15 minutes.

5. Bring a good amount of water in a large cooking pot to a boil and then reduce the heat. Shape six dumplings out of the bread/Stollen mixture, add them to the pot and let them cook/simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes. While the dumplings are in the water, mix the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Take the dumplings out of the water, let them drain for a moment, then roll them in the sugar mixture. Serve immediately with the vanilla sauce and mulled wine plums.