Lebkuchen The Authentic German Honey Cake Food

AUTHENTIC GERMAN LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange backoblaten (German baking wafers) on top, leaving a 1-inch space between them.
• Combine almond flour, sugar, eggs, ground hazelnuts, candied lemon and orange peel, ground cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and ground cloves and mix into a firm dough.
• Shape mixture into balls. Arrange balls on the prepared wafers; press gently to flatten into 1/2-inch-high rounds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until light brown in color, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Place chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Cover the top of each lebkuchen with chocolate.

LEBKUCHEN (GERMAN XMAS HONEY CAKES)

Steps:

• 1. in a small pan Mix honey and molasses and bring to a boil. Once to a boil, take off heat and cool thoroughly.
• 2. Once cooled, stir in brown sugar, egg, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix well.
• 3. sift together and stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg mixing well.
• 4. Mix in chopped nuts and if you want to add the cut up citron do this now. I prefer not to use the citron.
• 5. Form dough into a ball, wrap well with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
• 6. You are going to work the dough a little at a time as you want to keep remainder chilled while you are working a portion. lightly flour your surface and using a small amount about baseball size (be sure to put rest of your dough back in fridge), roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut into oblong 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pieces.
• 7. Bakers Tip... While cookies bake make your glazing icing
• 8. Place 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until when touched lightly, no imprint remains.
• 9. While cookies are baking you will want to make your glazing icing. Boil together sugar and water to 230 degees. The liquid should look almost like a thread when drizzled. Remove from heat. Stir in confectioners sugar. (when icing gets sugary, reheat slightly, adding a little water until clear again.)
• 10. Brush hot icing thinly over cookies the minute they are out of the oven. Then quickly remove from baking sheet. Cool and store to mellow
• 11. Bakers Tip: How to "Mellow" cookies... store in air tight container for a few days. Add a few apple slices, changing it 2x a day to insure freshness

AUTHENTIC GERMAN LEBKUCHEN (NüRNBERGER ELISENLEBKUCHEN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Toss the candied lemon and orange peel with about 1/4 cup all-purpose flour to keep it from sticking together and then pulse in a food processor until finely minced. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the sugar, honey and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
• Add the ground almonds and hazelnuts, salt, baking powder, Lebkuchengewürz, and candied lemon and orange peels and stir vigorously until thoroughly combined. (You can use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for about 2 minutes). The mixture will be wet but if it is too thin to scoop onto the oblaten add some more almond or hazelnut meal.
• Scoop the mixture onto the Backoblaten, smoothing down the top and leaving just a slight space around the edges. Set them on a lined cookie sheet.
• Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
• Once cooled, place a wire rack over a cookie sheet (to catch the drippings). Dip half the Lebkuchen in the chocolate glaze and half in the sugar glaze, letting the excess drip back into the bowl and then place the Lebkuchen on the wire rack. Arrange 3 almonds on each Lebkuchen while the glaze is still wet. Let the Lebkuchen dry completely until the glaze is hardened.
• Keep stored in an airtight container. Will keep for several weeks and the flavor improves with time.
• Makes about 35 if using 70mm Backoblaten and about 25 if using 90mm Backoblaten.

LEBKUCHEN (GERMAN HONEY BARS)

Steps:

• Honey bars:
• Heat honey and water in a large heavy saucepan until runny. Remove from heat, and stir in butter until melted. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in brown sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
• Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture and stir just until combined. Add almonds, citron, and candied orange peel. Stir until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours or up to 1 month.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper so it extends over the 2 long sides.
• Firmly press the dough into the prepared pan to form a smooth, even layer. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, about 30 minutes.
• Citrus glaze and decoration:
• In a medium bowl, beat together powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. While the lebkuchen is still warm, spread glaze evenly over the top.
• Mark into bars by cutting into the lebkuchen about ¼ inch deep with a knife. Decorate, if desired, by placing 1 candied cherry in the center of each bar. And arrange 4 blanched almonds around each cherry.
• Let stand in the pan on a rack until completely cool and the icing is set. Using the overhanging parchment as handles, transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars. If possible, let the cookies age for at least 2 weeks to allow the spices to ripen. Lebkuchen will keep for months in an airtight container.

GERMAN LEBKUCHEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the egg, brown sugar and honey until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and allspice; stir into the molasses mixture. Stir in the almonds and candied fruit peel. Cover or wrap dough, and chill overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into 2x3 inch rectangles. Place cookies 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. While still warm, brush the cookies with the lemon glaze.
• To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the egg white, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Brush over cookies.

HONIGKUCHEN (GERMAN HONEY CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Use a paper towel to rub the softened butter over the bottom and sides of a jelly roll pan. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of flour over the butter and tip the pan from side to side to spread evenly. Invert the pan and tap to remove any excess flour.
• In a large bowl, stir together the 5 cups of flour, baking powder, ground almonds, coco, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon peel, and almond extract. In a large saucepan, bring the honey, sugar, and water to boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Pour the hot honey mixture over the flour mixture and stir together until a smooth dough is formed.
• Spread the dough into the pan. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle with slivered almonds, pressing them gently into the surface of the cake. Let the cake rest for 4-5 minutes, then cut. You can cut it into squares, rectangles, or any sort of fancy shape! Transfer pieces to a wire rack to cool.
• I've heard this is better if you store it wrapped in foil for several days before serving, but I've never done it.

LEBKUCHEN (GERMAN CHRISTMAS HONEY COOKIES)

Steps:

• Mix honey and molasses and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely.
• Stir in brown sugar, egg, lemon juice and lemon rind.
• Sift together flour, baking soda and spices, then stir into the honey-molasses mix.
• Mix in the citron and chopped nuts, place the dough in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
• Roll out a small amount of dough at a time to 1/4 inch thick, keeping the rest in the fridge. You can either cut out oblong shapes about 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" or just cut out circle shapes about 2" in diameter.
• Place on a GREASED baking sheet about 1" apart.
• Place 3 almonds on top of each cookie in a flower shape, and place in a 400 deg oven for 10-12 min or until no imprint remains when touched lightly.
• While cookies bake, make glaze by boiling the water and sugar to 230 degrees - until it just barely begins to thread.
• Remove from heat and stir in confectioners sugar.
• Brush the hot glaze lightly over the cookies (if it gets grainy reheat slightly with a little water to thin again).