If you’re looking for something truly special to serve for brunch or a special holiday breakfast, a Swedish Tea Ring is both delicious and a beautiful centerpiece!
This sweet bread pastry is brimming with cherries and covered in toasted almonds to pair up perfectly with crispy bacon and a cup of coffee or tea.
For as long as I can remember, my mom made what she called stollen every year at Christmas and the family tradition is still going strong.
Traditionalists would not recognize our family’s rendition of stollen since authentic Stollen is a German bread similar to fruitcake.
Her recipe is really best described as a Swedish Tea Ring—a bread pastry made with tender sweet roll dough, fresh or canned fruit, nuts, and spices topped with sweet almond icing—though she never made it in the shape of a ring. Mom always made it in smaller boat-shaped pieces so she could give them as gifts.
Christmas morning wouldn’t be the same at our house without a slice of this pastry we call “stollen” alongside a steaming cup of French press coffee. Now that my mom is gone, the tradition is that much sweeter.
Swedish Tea Ring Make-Ahead Tips
- Prepare the dough and refrigerate or freeze before shaping. HERE’S HOW: Allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and refrigerate for up to 4 days or transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 1 month (defrost in the fridge). When ready to use, allow dough to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Roll out and shape as directed starting in STEP 2 in the recipe.
- Look for pre-made dough at the store, but be careful to get sweet roll dough and not regular bread dough. Sweet roll dough is different from bread dough because it has more fat (butter) and sugar so the finished pastry is flakier and sweeter than regular bread.
- Prepare and bake the tea ring as indicated in the recipe, except the final step of icing. Once the pastry is baked and cooled completely, wrap in two layers of plastic wrap, then wrap again with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. (The ring can also be cut into serving size peices and frozen separately.)
- When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and completely unwrap the pastry. Place on a serving tray and cover with a lightweight dish towel; allow to defrost at room temperature until defrosted (2-3 hours). Mix the icing and decorate the tea ring. Serve at room temperature or gently warm individual servings for 20 seconds in the microwave.
TIP: It’s super easy to customize! Simply swap the cherries with other fruits like apricot or blackberry, just keep the fruit fairly dry or in the form of a paste for the best texture.
Can I Use Frozen Bread Dough to Make a Tea Ring?
Yes, you can make and freeze your own dough or purchase frozen sweet roll dough for this recipe.
- Simply defrost the dough in a bowl and allow it to come to room temperature.
- Start at STEP 2 in the recipe and follow as written, allowing a little more time for the tea ring to rise before baking.
Can I Make My Own Pie Filling with Fresh Cherries?
We use canned cherry pie filling in our stollen recipe because it is quick and easy, and cherries are not in season in December when we make it every year. But if you have fresh cherries and a few extra minutes, making fresh fruit pie filling is very easy.
In order to make a pie filling with fresh cherries, the cherries must be pitted and cooked to release extra juices so it doesn’t make the dough soggy.
To use fresh cherries for this recipe, you’ll first cook the cherries in a syrup much like what you’d find in canned pie filling. Since this recipe is for pastry and not pie, you’ll still want to drain off most of the syrup once your filling is made.
Homemade Fresh Cherry Pie Filling
This is the basic fresh cherry pie filling recipe we use in our Fresh Cherry Turnovers.
Ingredients for Fresh Cherry Filling:
- 2 cups fresh cherries , pitted
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions for Fresh Cherry Filling:
In a saucepan, combine pitted cherries with the water, sugar, cornstarch, and almond extract. Over med-high heat, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. Cool completely before using.
RECIPE VARIATIONS
- Add a layer of cream cheese filling before spreading the cherries over the dough.
- Substitute blueberry or apple pie filling for the cherry and strain in the same way.
- Substitute walnuts or pecans for the almonds.
- Flavor icing with essential oils or other extracts like orange, butterscotch, or vanilla.
- Make it with 100% whole wheat flour and follow the sweet roll dough recipe for our Sprouted Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
- Make it Gluten-Free by using this gluten-free sweet roll dough recipe or purchase a handy gluten-free sweet dough mix
- Make it Vegan with this recipe for a Festive Vegan Tea Ring.
MORE Brunch and Breakfast Recipes You’ll Love
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Stollen
- Blueberry Christmas Stollen
- Cream Cheese Fruit Tart
- Sprouted Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
- Wholesome Apple Cranberry Crisp
- Banana Nut Bread Supreme
- 65 Brunch Muffins, Scones, and Tea Cakes
Cherry Swedish Tea Ring: “Christmas Stollen”
Sweet pastry bread filled with plump cherries, shaped into a ring, baked golden brown, and topped with icing and toasted almonds.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1/2 recipe Recipe Sweet Roll Dough (see recipe below)
FILLING:
- 1 can Wilderness More Fruit Cherry Pie Filling , drained of syrup
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds , toasted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter
EGG WASH:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon cream or half and half
ICING:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract , or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Strain pie filling in a colander with fairly large holes by shaking colander from side to side to remove as much filling as you can so that mainly the fruit remains. Transfer the cherries to a cutting board and coarsely chop to make a very chunky paste.
- Roll 1/2 Sweet Roll Dough recipe into rectangle, 15×9 inches, on a lightly floured surface. The dough should be about a 1/4-inch thick. Spread the cherry paste evenly over the dough leaving a 1-inch border of dough at the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the cherries and dot with butter.
- Starting from the 15-inch side, roll the dough into a log, like you would when making cinnamon rolls. Pinch the open edge seam of the dough to seal the log.
- To shape the log into a ring, pick up the dough in your hands and gently stretch as you bring the two ends together as you lay it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down (if not using parchment paper, butter baking sheet).Once it is on the pan it is easier to move it as needed to get the dough into a circle with the two ends touching. Slip one of the ends into the other just a little and pinch the dough around it to seal the ring.
- Using sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals to create open sections. Gently separate the sections just a little and let rise until double, about 40 minutes.
- Heat oven to 375°F. Arrange sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast while the oven is heating (about 10 minutes). Continually check the almonds until they are lightly browned at the edges.Just before baking, prepare the egg wash by whisking 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of cream together (half and half can also be used). Using a pastry brush, gently brush the risen dough with the egg wash to give the finished pastry a shiny, golden appearance.
- Bake stollen until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Check after 15 minutes of baking; if the top is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil while it finishes baking.
- Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool (this is where the parchment comes in handy as you can grab the corner of the paper and slide the tea ring off the pan onto the rack).
- Once completely cooled, dress with icing and sprinkle with sliced toasted almonds while the icing is still wet.
For the ICING:
- Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract until the icing is smooth (add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time if needed until the icing is completely smooth). Transfer to a zip-type storage bag and press icing down to a bottom corner. Snip the corner when you are ready to glaze and simply squeeze the icing out onto the ring.
Notes
Nutritional info does not include dough. For complete nutritional information, add sweet roll dough numbers to the numbers in this recipe.
A pie filling with a higher quantity of actual fruit like the “More Fruit” type is important so there is less thick syrup to strain and there is more fruit for this application.
Store loosely wrapped in aluminum foil or in a storage container with the lid slightly askew.
Variations:
- Add a layer of cream cheese filling before spreading the cherries over the dough.
- Substitute other fruit pie filling for the cherry and strain in the same way.
- Substitute walnuts or pecans for the almonds.
- Flavor icing with essential oils or other extracts like orange, butterscotch, or vanilla.
- Make it with 100% whole wheat flour and follow the sweet roll dough recipe for our Sprouted Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
- Make it Gluten-Free by using this gluten-free sweet roll dough recipe or purchase a handy gluten-free sweet dough mix
- Make it Vegan with this recipe for a Festive Vegan Tea Ring.
Make-ahead TIPS:
- Prepare the dough and refrigerate or freeze before shaping. HERE’S HOW: Allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size. Punch down dough and refrigerate for up to 4 days or transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 1 month (defrost in the fridge). When ready to use, allow dough to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Roll out and shape as directed starting in STEP 2 in the recipe.
- Look for pre-made dough at the store, but be careful to get sweet roll dough and not regular bread dough. Sweet roll dough is different from bread dough because it has more fat (butter) and sugar so the finished pastry is flakier and sweeter than regular bread.
- Prepare and bake the tea ring as indicated in the recipe, except the final step of icing. Once the pastry is baked and cooled completely, wrap in two layers of plastic wrap, then wrap again with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. (The ring can also be cut into serving size peices and frozen separately.) When ready to serve, remove from the freezer and completely unwrap the pastry. Place on a serving tray and cover with a lightweight dish towel; allow to defrost at room temperature until defrosted (2-3 hours). Mix the icing and decorate the tea ring. Serve at room temperature or gently warm individual servings for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 49mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 304IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg
Learn how to make this and all recipes even easier!Check out our Monthly Meal Prep System!
Sweet Roll Dough
Servings: 16 This recipe will yield enough for 2 tea rings.
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water warmed to 110°F
- 1/2 cup whole milk warmed to 110°F
- 1/3 cup sugar , or honey
- 1/2 cup butter , softened but not melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Warm the water and milk to 110°F then combine with yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl. Allow yeast mixture to proof for 5 minutes. Stir in butter, egg, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix until smooth. Add salt and mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Punch down dough. Shape and bake based on primary recipe instructions.
Notes
For whole wheat dough, follow the recipe for our Sprouted Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls.
Nutrition
Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 207IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
Learn how to make this and all recipes even easier!Check out our Monthly Meal Prep System!
Claire Sieber says
Can I make this the night before. Will it hold well if I ice it in the morning?
I have a lunch guest and I’m working in the morning. How do I keep this fresh?
Judy Purcell says
Hi Claire, I always make mine Christmas Eve for Christmas morning, so you can definitely make it the day before. The best way to store it is loosely … like on a platter with a large bowl inverted over it like a dome. That way, you can even ice it and it won’t be disturbed. 🙂 It also freezes well if you want to make it well in advance, though fresh is best.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
How wonderful that you are carrying on your mother’s tradition of making this tea ring…it is beautiful and I’m sure delicious. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas Day.
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Yum! Love festive baked goods, and this one is gorgeous! Lovely recipe — thanks.
Brenda says
Cherry danish is our family’s absolute favorite – this hit the spot!
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
This looks so good! I like how your stollen has so much lovely fruit, as well as gorgeous spices.