Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen is a traditional German biscuit similar to Gingerbread, but softer. This recipe will make up to 50 pieces and is cut after baking. Time to make about 60 minutes.
Ingredients
| Weight/ Volume |
Ingredients | |
|---|---|---|
| GROUP 1 | ||
| 10 g | Cinnamon, ground | 1¼ tbsp |
| 3 g | Cloves, ground | 1⅓ tsp |
| 1 g | Allspice, ground | ½ tsp |
| ⅓ g | Nutmeg, ground | |
| 0.75 g | Coriander, ground | ⅖ tsp |
| 0.75 g | Cardamom, ground | ⅖ tsp |
| 0.75 g | Ginger, ground | ⅖ tsp |
| GROUP 2 | ||
| 160 g | Golden Syrup | ⅔ cup |
| 125 g | Butter | ½ cup |
| GROUP 3 | ||
| 150 g | Whole Eggs | 3 each |
| GROUP 4 | ||
| 250 g | Wallaby Bakers Flour | 1½ cups |
| 40 g | Cocoa Powder | ½ cup |
| 10 g | Baking Powder | 2 tsp |
| 80 g | Milk | ½ cup |
| GROUP 5 | ||
| 30 g | Orange Rind | 3½ tbsp |
| 6 g | Lemon Rind | 1 tbsp |
Method
Mix all the spices in Group 1 well together, and stand aside.
Place ingredients from Group 2 into a saucepan, and heat until combined. Be careful not to burn. Set aside to cool, and scrape into a mixing bowl.
Using an electric mixer with beater attachment, add all ingredients from Group 3 and Group 1 to the mixing bowl, then cream on high speed for 10 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beater/s down several times.
Sift the dry ingredients of Group 4, well together.
Slowly add the dry sifted ingredients from Group 4 to the mixer running on slow to medium speed, alternating with the milk over 1 - 2 minutes to form a soft paste.
Stir in the lemon and orange zest from Group 5 with a spoon or on slow speed until just mixed through.
Take a papered 30 x 20 cm baking tray, and scrape the paste onto the paper, and press by hand to the desired thickness. If the area of the baking tray is not covered, place a piece of rolled up alfoil across the end of the paste to keep the end square and tidy.
Bake at 180°C until nicely browned 15 - 20 minutes.
When the baking is complete, allow to cool a bit. The cookie base will be easier to cut while still a bit warm.
150 g of icing sugar, and 2 tablespoons of hot water can be mixed together for icing if desired.
If iced, it can be decorated with half cherries, and slivered almonds.
Helpful Hints
- Can be spread more thinly on a larger tray, and baked longer at 160°C to dry like a normal gingerbread.
- Not suitable for making Gingerbread Houses.
