Christmas Calendar 2012 Day 21 - Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen before baking

Another type of German Christmas cakes, which I have a serious soft spot for is Lebkuchen. And last Christmas I found this recipe on lebkuchen, which were a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT !!!! They did not even look like the lebkuchen, which you can buy in Germany. However, when my colleagues were eating their way through these DISAPPOINTING lebkuchens, a colleagues told me, that she understood my disappointment, because she had tasted brilliant tasting home-made lebkuchen in Germany.

And this colleague of mine offered to track down this recipe on home-mad lebkuchen next time, she was in Germany. And in the beginning of December this year I got THE recipe, which is very long and contains many different spices. But these lebkuchen are excellent, they are like eatable gold and they are full of sucat, which you like or dislike !!!!

Some of the times mentioned in this recipe you can only get in Germany !!!! Or from my kitchen cupboards :-)

Lebkuchen:

• 250 g sugar
• 250 honey
• 65 g butter
• 3 eggs
• 250 g blanched almonds - chopped
• 250 g sucat - yes 250 g
• 1 bottle of bitter almond oil
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon  cardamon
• 1/4 teaspoon mace
• 1/4 teaspoon lebkuchen gewürz
• ½ teaspoon cocoa
• ½ teaspoon lemon peel
• 2 tablespoon rum
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 400 g (cake) flour
• 8 g salt of hartshorn
• oblates

1. Mix everything together in a mixing bowl.
2. Let the dough rest for minimum 8 hours.
3. Heat up the (conventional) oven to 200'C.
4. Spread the dough on top of the oblates.
5. Place the oblates on baking sheet covered with baking paper with a good distance between each oblate.
6. Bake in the middle of the oven at 200'C for 15 minutes.