The Nuremberg gingerbread (Lebkuchen) is a traditional treat of the Francono-Bavarian town of Nuremberg. Sweetness has been baked since the Middle Ages. The most popular gingerbread recipe is on Christmas Eve, although locals cook them throughout the year. This delicacy is sold in any confectionery shop; moreover, the recipe is patented and protected - this is the Nuremberg trademark under the name of which sweetness is made. Only gingerbread cooked in this town can be called that.
The history of the Nuremberg gingerbread
According to unconfirmed reports, gingerbread cookies were first prepared at the end of the 15th century - the oldest recipe, written on paper, dates from the 1480s. Now it is stored in the German National Museum of Nuremberg. It is believed that according to this recipe, gingerbread cookies were made with a portrait of Frederick III, which he distributed to children on Christmas week 1487. More than 360 years later, when King Maximilian II arrived in Nuremberg, the locals made huge lebcuchenes, on which they wrote: "Glory to our king."
Features of the manufacture of gingerbread
Nuremberg gingerbread cookies differ from ordinary ones not only in that they can be prepared exclusively in the Franco-Bavarian city. You can find many different variations of recipes, both with and without flour. But even if it is on the list of ingredients, there will be very few of this component in the composition of gingerbread .
The recipe, according to which the gingerbread cookies do not contain flour, according to legend, appeared in 1720. She was thought up by a baker who wanted to feed his ill daughter with something very tasty and sweet, but light so that the body would not give all its energy to digest food. Therefore, he completely excluded the flour from the recipe, making the gingerbread cookies melting in the mouth. By the way, the girl's name was Elsa, so such goodies are named after her - Elisenlebkuchen.
Nuremberg gingerbread cookies without flour: components that are necessary for cooking
For the manufacture of Lebcuchene, you will need many different components. By the way, the cost of such a recipe is relatively high. But what can’t you do to fully experience the spirit of Christmas and enjoy the incredibly delicate, delicious taste of gingerbread cookies!
So, for the preparation of goodies, you must purchase the following products in the store:
- eggs - 2 pcs.;
- sugar - 100 g;
- vanilla sugar - 1 sachet;
- nutmeg - ¼ teaspoon;
- salt - 1 pinch;
- cinnamon - 1 teaspoon;
- cloves - ½ teaspoon;
- hazelnuts or ground almonds - 125 g;
- finely chopped almonds - 125 g;
- finely chopped orange and lemon candied fruits - 100 g each;
- rum or almond essence - ½ teaspoon;
- chocolate or lemon glaze;
- waffles - 20 pieces.
Stage One: Product Preparation
The ingredients in the Nuremberg gingerbread recipe can be ready to buy at the store or purchase whole foods and do the cooking yourself. For example, take ready-made almonds (250 g is enough), pour boiling water over it to make it easier to peel, and leave for ten minutes. Then remove the peel, chop one half of the obtained amount of almonds into small pieces, and grind the other part into powder.
Instead of sugar, honey or even beet molasses is allowed - it is cheaper, it gives the finished product darker tones, and its sweetness is not inferior to the first two products. Next, you need to prepare candied fruits, that is, finely chop both lemon and orange. Another recipe for Nuremberg gingerbread without flour includes icing or fudge to decorate ready-made sweets. You can mix 200 g of powdered sugar with two tablespoons of lemon juice and / or plain water or melt the chocolate. It will turn out delicious icing for decoration of confectionery.
Stage Two: Combining Components
First you need to break the eggs, add sugar to them and beat the mass well until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. To sugar powder faster and better dissolved, you should take eggs at room temperature.
All the other components are added to the resulting whipped cream in turn: almonds, candied fruits, spices, salt and vanilla sugar. The mass should be such a consistency that it does not spread over the baking sheet. If too thin, you can add crushed cookies, ground walnuts, or a little flour.
Stage Three: Baking
The mixture obtained for the preparation of the Nuremberg gingerbread is laid out on wafers. At the same time, the thickness of the mass should be about 1 cm. The delicacy is placed in an oven preheated to 175-180 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
If someone doesn’t like waffles or just doesn’t want to see them in this recipe, you can put the mixture prepared for gingerbread cookies directly on a baking sheet pre-coated with baking paper.
In conclusion, it remains only in time to get the gingerbread from the oven so that they do not burn out, and decorate. It is advisable to use the icing on the already cooled lebcuchen so that it does not flow. It will be convenient to use a silicone brush to lubricate the glaze.
Recipe with flour - better or worse?
The above recipe was described with photos of Nuremberg gingerbread cookies, which are prepared without flour at all. There are also options for the manufacture of flour confectionery. In this case, it does not require much. This is the main feature of Lebkuchen. If you look at the recipes for ordinary gingerbread cookies, you will notice that you need to take much more flour in them.
It’s hard to say which recipe is better. With or without flour, the Nuremberg gingerbread cookies are incredibly tasty. The only difference is that a treat prepared without this ingredient is more tender and lighter.
If you want to try gingerbread cookies cooked with flour, you can use this interesting recipe:
- Pour 150 ml of honey into a cup, put on medium heat, then add 50 g of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water and sunflower oil. In this case, the mixture must be stirred. When you get a homogeneous mass, remove from heat and let cool.
- Grate the zest obtained from one orange or lemon.
- 100 g dried apricots cut into small pieces.
- Add a teaspoon of gingerbread spices to the cooled mass, mix well.
- Pour the prepared orange zest and add one egg yolk, stir.
- Add 350 g sifted wheat flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a little cocoa powder.
- Then send to the mixture 75 g of almond flour and 100 g of chopped hazelnuts, as well as 50 g of candied orange and pieces of dried apricots.
The mass must be very well mixed. You should get a sticky, dense dough that will conveniently form. To make Nuremberg gingerbread cookies (lebkuchen) with flour is necessary as follows:
- put on a baking sheet wafers with a diameter of about 9 cm;
- tear off a piece of dough, form a ball and lay it on a cachet so that its edges do not stick out;
- put in an oven preheated to 170 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes.
When they are ready, garnish with icing, as already described above, and the gingerbread cookies are ready. Strictly speaking, this recipe can also be considered without flour, since it is practically absent here - only 350 g. But it is worth remembering that the calorie content in both cases will be quite high due to the content of other products.