Note: This Elisenlebkuchen recipe was originally part of my Biscuit Advent Calendar, a one-recipe-a-day email series in December. You can find the other recipes and sign up for the next round if you want here.
Welcome to Day 10. Double digits!
Today, let’s return to gingerbread. Exactly a week ago I gave you a recipe for Aachener Printen, and today we head to Nürnberg… where they basically do the exact opposite.
In Aachen, it’s all about the flour, whereas in Nürnberg, flour is avoided. Like they’re trying to solve some kind of logistics problem between them.
This gingerbread – also called Elisenlebkuchen – has a great backstory, too: legend has it that it was invented by a baker who had a sick daughter named Elisabeth. No doctor was able to help her. So the father went ahead and baked a gingerbread for her with the most valuable oriental spices and only the finest ingredients. And of course, this gingerbread managed to cure poor Elisabeth, so since then it has been called Elisenlebkuchen.
Whether the story is true or not, Elisenlebkuchen may contain no more than 10% flour, and the recipe I’ll present here has none.
This is definitely my favourite kind of gingerbread, and at the Christmas market in Luxembourg there is always a Lebkuchen stand from Germany that sells delicious chocolate-covered ones.
It’s our little family tradition: when we hit the Christmas market for the first time each year, we make a beeline for the Lebkuchen.
I usually prefer the biscuits I bake myself but I make an exception for these.
The only advantage of my homemade ones? I can make them smaller. The market versions are so huge they’re basically a meal. Oh and I’ve had versions where the nuts were slightly off.
Nuts
It happens easily, and I recommend always trying the nuts you buy before turning them into biscuits. You’re bound to get a bad batch sometimes especially when you buy pre-ground ones. It’s also worth looking at the best before date. It should ideally be more than half a year away.
Rest
To keep them from spreading, it helps to let the dough sit in the fridge overnight. This is so that the nuts can absorb all the moisture and the whole biscuit is more cohesive. The batter is initially quite soft but it will firm up.
However, it stays on the sticky side. So, of course there’s another technical solution to get it onto a tray perfectly shaped: the Lebkuchenglocke (gingerbread cloche). You place the dough into the mould, compress a little, then turn it out onto your tray. Yes, biscuit baking IS serious business where I am from : )
Optional Flavoring
Fresh citrus zest (but not much) is a nice addition. You can also deepen the flavor by browning the honey a little and toasting a portion of the nuts (only about 20%).
Citrus peel
If you are not a big fan of candied peel you can replace it (partially) with other dried fruit. I find dried apricots very nice as they are quite fruity. But even if you don’t normally like it, it goes well in this recipe.
The underside
Gingerbreads are often baked on wafer paper but you can absolutely skip it. It makes them spread a tiny bit more. Here are two of the same batch one with and one without.
So, let’s make some healthy (hah) gingerbreads. Well..they are gluten-free at least.
(My recipe is fairly classical but I have reduced the quantity of peel. You could use as much as 400 g (really), so if that sounds good to you then go for it (leave everything else the same)).
They can be kept naked (and you can decorate them with halved almonds for example before baking), sugar glazed or covered with chocolate. I made today’s batch two ways (if you add almonds: put them on before baking for sugar glazed ones, but after baking if you coat with chocolate).
Elisenlebkuchen Recipe
Makes about 50-55
Ingredients
- 250 g ground almonds
- 250 g ground hazelnuts
- 180 g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 150 g mixed peel
- 1 pinch of salt
- 5 medium eggs
- Spice
- 3 tsp gingerbread spice
- OR
- 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- Optional
- wafer paper (one per gingerbread, 4 cm diameter)
- 200 g dark chocolate to dip
- 50 g white chocolate to decorate
- 100 g icing sugar (if you want to glaze)
- halved almonds to put on top
Instructions
Make the batter
Blend the mixed peel or dried fruit very finely.
Beat the eggs with the sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Then fold in the spice, peel, nuts and salt.
The batter will look fairly soft at this stage. If you used large eggs, you may need to add a few more ground nuts (30 g) . Otherwise, put it in the fridge to set overnight.
Shape
If using wafer papers, spread the gingerbread mixture in a dome shape to the edge of the papers. Otherwise, scoop the batter onto the tray in small circles. It should be sticky but firm. Smooth down with a bit of water and your fingers. I made mine 4 cm diameter and 20 g (a heaped tablespoon).
Bake
Preheat the oven to 150°C conventional. Bake for 12-15 minutes. They should not brown and should still be soft.
Leave them on the tray to cool for a few minutes before taking them off.
Decorate
Melt the dark chocolate and brush it on or dip the gingerbread in it. Decorate with nuts and white chocolate (it’s best to use a piping or freezer bag with a tiny hole in it for this). For the sugar glaze stir some water into the icing sugar until it’s runny enough to be smooth but still sticks to the biscuits (add very little water at a time, no more than half a teaspoon). Let them dry completely.
Pack them into tins or boxes. They will last quite a long time but if they get too hard add a slice of apple or bread to the box for 24 hours to rehydrate them (always remember to take it back out otherwise you risk mould).
Enjoy!!
I wanted to show you the commercial Boxemännchen but last week I just didn’t have the energy to go out and take pictures. So here is one from our local supermarket.
