Der Stollen ist da! / We've got Stollen!

Here's the finished product with a fresh pot of coffee all ready to go.

The Grand Duchess, despite a small cold, whipped up a stollen for us late this afternoon, and the Young Master helped her for the first time.  So, I think this year's stollen will taste extra specially good this year.  

Longtime visitors to the Grand Duchy of Stollen blog might recall that the name for this ongoing project came to me in mid-December 2005 one afternoon in our old apartment a few blocks away from the current Stollen Central.  The semester was over, final grades had been submitted, and there was finally time for daydreaming and note-making for a then as yet unamed fictitious mid-18th century campaign in the tradition of The War Game and Charge!  

I mulled over everything at my desk as the Grand Duchess baked our very first stollen right across the hall in the kitchen, wondering what I might call the project.  Suddenly, it hit me.  The Grand Duchy of Stollen. . .  Yes, that's it!  And here we are.  Eight years and close to 1000 25-30mm painted figures later.  Christmas can come along now.  We've got stollen in the kitchen, and I feel ready for anything.

 A few minutes before, the Young Master and Grand Duchess applied melted butter before dusting heavily with Vanilla Sugar.

And finally, the Young Master and Grand Duchess applied the heavy dusting of the Vanilla Sugar.