Lebkuchen
Adapted from BBC food
Traditional German Christmas Ginger biscuits that are great for the kids to cut out and decorate as they hold together well
Ingredients
Lebkuchen
200g honey
85g butter
200g plain flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice or mixed spice
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves (optional)
1 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)
½ unwaxed orange, finely grated zest and juice
Salt to taste
Sugar glaze
100g icing sugar
2 tbsp boiling water
Chocolate glaze
200g dark, milk or white chocolate, finely chopped
Old recipe
100g honey
4 eggs
400g sugar
15ml ground cinnamon
5ml ground ginger
2½ ml ground cloves
2½ ml mixed spice
1 ml ground nutmeg
5 ml lemon rind
juice of a lemon
600ml flour
7½ ml bicarbonate of soda
50g flaked almonds
1 whisked egg white for glazing
Method
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Heat the honey and butter in a small saucepan over a low heat until melted. Tip into a large mixing bowl and put in the fridge for 5 minutes.
Remove the honey-butter mixture from the fridge and sieve in the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. (The mixture will be sticky.) Return to the fridge for about 1 hour, or until completely cold.
With damp hands, break off pieces of the dough and roll into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball. Transfer to the baking trays and flatten down slightly, leaving enough space between each lebkuchen to spread during cooking. Bake for 15 minutes at 180C, or until the lebkuchen has risen and are firm to the touch. Set aside to cool slightly on the baking trays, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the sugar glaze, mix the icing sugar and water in a bowl. Dip one side of the lebkuchen into the glaze and return to the wire rack, icing side up, to set.
Alternatively, to make the chocolate glaze, melt half the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl over a simmering saucepan of water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. When the chocolate has almost melted, take the pan off the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate has melted. Dip one side of the lebkuchen into the chocolate and return to the wire rack, chocolate side up, to set.
You can also use a combination of the icing and the chocolate glaze. Simply dunk one side of the lebkuchen in the icing and leave to set, before dunking the other side in the glaze and leave to set to completely.
Old recipe
Mix together all wet ingredients except egg white
Mix in all remaining ingredients except egg white
Knead to a dough consistency, adding a little more flour if too sticky
Cover in clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for an hour
Roll out dough to about 6mm thick
Cut out shapes, place on a greased baking tray and glaze with egg white
Bake at 190°C for about 20 minutes