It’s lebkuchen time again
[NOTE: Regulars here may remember that most years I put up a family Christmas recipe. And here it is again.]
This recipe was brought over from Germany sometime in the mid-1800s, and was my favorite of all the wonderful treats cooked by my great-aunt, a baker of rare gifts. She and my great-uncle were not only exceptionally wonderful people, but to my childish and wondering eyes they looked very much like Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
The name of the treat is lebkuchen. But it’s quite a different one from the traditional recipe, which I don’t much care for. This is sweet and dense, can be made ahead, and keeps very well when stored in tins.
Flora’s Lebkuchen:
(preheat the oven to 375 degrees)
1 pound dark brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 oz. chopped dates
1 cup raisins
1 tsp. orange juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. lemon juice
Sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon).
Beat the eggs and brown sugar together with a rotary beater till the mixture forms the ribbon. Add the orange juice, lemon juice, and extracts to it.
Add the dry mixture to it, a little at a time, stirring.
Add the raisins, dates, and walnuts.
Grease and flour two 8 X 8 cake pans [NOTE: In previous years I sometimes said 9 X 9, but 8 X 8 is actually much better and makes for a far moister product.] Put batter in pans and bake for about 25 minutes (or a little less; test the cake with a cake tester at 21 or 22 minutes to see if it’s done yet). You don’t want it to get too dark and dry on the edges, but the middle can’t still be wet when tested.
Meanwhile, make the frosting.
Melt about 6 Tbs. of unsalted butter and add 2 Tbs. hot milk, and 1 Tbs. almond extract. Add enough confectioner’s sugar to make a frosting of spreading consistency (the recipe says “2 cups,” but I’ve always noticed that’s not exactly correct). You can make even more frosting if you like a lot of frosting.
Let cake cool to at least lukewarm, and spread generously with the frosting. Then cut into small pieces and store (or eat!).
Enjoy!
I finally got around to baking this recipe – and it was splendid! Although, I think that the full 1 TBsp of almond extract in the frosting was a bit too much for American tastes. We backed off on it, for the second batch – but the full quantity was good enough for people who really love full-flavored European marzipan.
Has anyone here made it with a substitute for the raisins? All dates, maybe?
It sounds yummy but I don’t like raisins in baked goods.
Here’s an interesting recipe….
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(Actually, a major use for this type of concrete was for underwater construction, e.g., ports…)
Concrete slab, heal thyself!
Molly, we made it with white raisins, and it was good. Maybe substitute finely chopped pitted prunes for the raisins… or currents.
Christmas would not be Christmas without Flora’s Lebkuchen. The lebkuchen I grew up on, that my Scots-Irish mother cooked—obviously not a family recipe—was teeth-jarringly hard. Flora’s Lebkuchen has more of a brownie texture. Both versions delicious, however.
When a friend sampled Flora’s Lebkuchen, his immediate response was that it was German. Nailed it.