1. Chop the cranberries and mix with the rum in a small bowl – let soak for about 30 minutes. Place the marzipan in the refrigerator or freezer to cool down – it should be firm enough so you can grate it easily.

2. Add the flour, about 2 oz. (60g) of the sugar and some salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Add the remaining sugar (0.3 oz./10g), the yeast, and the lukewarm milk to a small bowl and mix. Create a depression in the flour mixture in the bowl and pour in the yeast milk – cover and let it rise for about 15 minutes.

3. Add butter and vanilla extract to the bowl and knead everything for about 5-6 minutes until you get a nice and smooth dough. Add the soaked cranberries and knead in. If the dough is a bit too sticky now, add some more flour until the dough comes off the bowl again. Cover the bowl again and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

4. For the poppy seed filling, mix the poppy seed with the confectioners’ sugar and milk in a bowl. Add the butter to a pot and let it melt over medium heat, then add the poppy seed mix to the pot and heat up for 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly – be careful not to burn anything! Remove from the heat and let cool down. When the mixture has cooled, grate the (cold) marzipan and mix into the poppy seed mixture. Set aside.

5. When the dough has risen enough, place on a lightly floured surface, knock out the air, and shape into a rectangle with about 12×14 inches (30x35cm). Spread the poppy seed and marzipan filling evenly on top – leave a border of about 0.6 inches (1,5cm) free around the edges. Pull the dough slightly over the filling on the shorter sides of the rectangle (so all the filling stays inside), then roll up from the longer side to get a big log. Place that log/roll with the open side down on a baking sheet lined with some baking parchment. Flatten the log/roll slightly to create a new rectangle of about 12×7 inches (30x18cm). Pull the dough along the long side of the rectangle towards the center to create the typical “stollen shape” which means one side should be higher than the other side. Place a ring of aluminum foil around the dough (to keep the shape), cover, and let rise for another 30 minutes.

6. While the dough is rising one last time, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Bake the Stollen for about 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature of the oven to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking for about 35-40 minutes. If the stollen gets too dark during the baking time, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil and continue baking. The ring of aluminum foil can be removed towards the end of the baking time so the sides of the stollen also get some color. Take the finished stollen out of the oven.

7. Melt the butter, spread it all over the still warm stollen and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Repeat this process once more until the butter is gone. Finish with a thick layer of confectioners’ sugar. Let the stollen cool down completely and then wrap it well (I use sandwich paper and aluminum foil) and let it rest in a cool place for at least 2-3 days before serving, after that it should be eaten within 2 weeks.