Lebkuchen

Name: Lebkuchen
Prep time: 3 d 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: about 25
Ingredients: 400 g honey; 150 g brown sugar; 100 g butter; 3 eggs; 300 g ground almonds; 150 g ground hazelnuts; 100 g candied orange peel, finely chopped; 50 g candied lemon peel, finely chopped; 50 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking ammonia or baking powder; 2 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp ground clove; 1 tsp ground allspice; 1 tsp ground cardamom; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; ½ tsp ground coriander; ½ tsp ground anise; ¼ tsp ground mace; 25 Oblaten wafer discs; whole almonds; 150 g icing sugar with lemon juice, or 150 g dark chocolate

Units

Ingredients

Dough

400 ghoney
150 gbrown sugar
100 gbutter
3eggs
300 gground almonds
150 gground hazelnuts
100 gcandied orange peel, finely chopped
50 gcandied lemon peel, finely chopped
50 gplain flour
1 tspbaking ammonia or baking powder

Lebkuchengewürz

2 tspcinnamon
1 tspground clove
1 tspground allspice
1 tspground cardamom
½ tspground nutmeg
½ tspground coriander
½ tspground anise
¼ tspground mace

To assemble

25Oblaten wafer discs
whole almonds

Glaze

150 gicing sugar with lemon juice, or 150 g dark chocolate

Directions

Warm the honey, sugar and butter together until melted and smooth, then cool it completely. Nuremberg Elisenlebkuchen is defined by law: it must contain at least 25 per cent almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts and no more than 10 per cent flour.
Grind the nuts finely and chop the candied peel as small as you can manage. Chop the peel very fine.
Beat the eggs into the cooled honey mixture, then work in the nuts, peel, flour, spice mix and raising agent. The mixture will be very soft and sticky, which is correct.
Cover it and leave it at room temperature for two to three days before baking.
Spoon the mixture onto the Oblaten wafers, mounding it slightly, and smooth the top with a wet spoon. The Oblaten wafer is the base and it is what stops the very sticky mixture welding itself to the tray.
Press whole almonds into the top in a pattern. Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 18 to 22 minutes. Take them out while they still feel soft in the middle. They firm considerably as they cool, and a lebkuchen baked until firm turns hard.
Cool them completely, then glaze half with lemon icing and half with melted chocolate. Store them in a tin with a slice of apple, which keeps them soft.

Technique

Elisenlebkuchen is the highest grade, with the most nuts and the least flour.
Oblaten wafers are sold in packs wherever lebkuchen ingredients are sold.
The spice blend is sold ready-mixed as Lebkuchengewürz and every family adjusts it.

Substitutions

Baking powder in place of baking ammonia, giving a slightly denser result.
All ground almonds if hazelnuts are unavailable.

Variations

Glazed with dark chocolate rather than lemon icing.
Made without wafers, as free-form rounds.
Pfeffernüsse and Printen, the related German spiced biscuits.

History

A spiced gingerbread-style cookie, made with honey, cinnamon, clove and other warming spices, often coated in chocolate or a sugar glaze, documented across Germany, particularly the city of Nuremberg, for many centuries as a traditional Christmas treat with roots tracing back to medieval monastery baking, since monks with access to imported spices and honey were among the earliest documented bakers of early gingerbread-style confections in Europe. Nuremberg specifically developed a strong historical reputation for lebkuchen production, partly due to the city’s position along significant medieval trade routes that provided access to the imported spices essential to the recipe. Lebkuchen remains one of Germany’s most iconic Christmas treats, closely associated with Nuremberg’s specific baking tradition and the country’s broader Christmas market culture.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lebkuchen?

Lebkuchen is a snack from Germany: spiced honey gingerbread from Nuremberg’s Christmas markets. A spiced gingerbread-style cookie, made with honey, cinnamon, clove and other warming spices, often coated in chocolate or a sugar glaze, documented across Germany, particularly the city of Nuremberg, for many centuries as a traditional Christmas treat with roots tracing back to medieval monastery baking, since monks with access to imported spices and honey were among the earliest documented bakers of early gingerbread-style confections in Europe. Nuremberg specifically developed a strong historical reputation for lebkuchen production, partly due to the city’s position along significant medieval trade routes that provided access to the imported spices essential to the recipe. Lebkuchen remains one of Germany’s most iconic Christmas treats, closely associated with Nuremberg’s specific baking tradition and the country’s broader Christmas market culture.

How long does Lebkuchen take to make?

Lebkuchen takes 40 min plus 3 days resting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 25. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Lebkuchen?

Yes, within limits. Baking powder in place of baking ammonia, giving a slightly denser result. All ground almonds if hazelnuts are unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lebkuchen?

Warm the honey, sugar and butter together until melted and smooth, then cool it completely. Nuremberg Elisenlebkuchen is defined by law: it must contain at least 25 per cent almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts and no more than 10 per cent flour.