Hello, and welcome to the new year, 2022.

I should have been relaxing all day, doing nothing special, seeing as it is a holiday. But, no, I have spent a few hours busy in the kitchen today.

I saw a post on social media late last year in which someone made Stollen and it looked so good that I kept the idea in my head. Almost every year in December I make fruitcake which we enjoy over the holidays. Usually I buy a mixture of dried fruits and spices from a baking shop, and the mixture is more than enough for one fruitcake (which is what I make).

This year I thought that if I made fruitcake, I could use the leftover fruit for making Stollen. I've never made it before, so after looking at a few recipes, I decided to follow the recipe at Simply Recipes, as I always have good results from the recipes at that site.

The recipe was fairly easy to make and the result looked wonderful. How did it taste? Amazing! It's similar to my traditional fruit cake, but it's also spiced a bit differently, it's lighter, it has crunchy bits and soft bits, and it's difficult to stop at one piece.

I will be making this recipe again in the future and urge others to try it if you haven't yet.

Today has been busier than I thought it would, but the result was worth it. This has been a pleasant start to the new year. Best wishes.