Nürnberger Elisenlebkuchen for Eva

R

richard-in-cincy

Well-known member
Eva,

I will post my recipes under this heading. But first my notes:

The Nürnberg Elisen is very different than the rolled spicy gingerbread type Lebkuchen that is cut out into shapes (hearts for Oktoberfest, witch's houses---gingerbread houses--- for Christmas (Germans...go figure), etc.). The Elisen version contains no honey, little or no flour, "flour" is mostly ground nuts, and it's held together with beaten eggs, mounded onto oblaten (potato/rice/wheat flour wafers), dried over night, then baked.

However, the commerically prepared version you have deviates from the classic recipes in that it does contain flour and a little bit of honey as well as a thick apple sauce/puree and persipan, which is a peculiar German ingredient that we cannot get here in the US, maybe you can in Norway. It's basically a marzipan made with peach pits and sugar.

And lastly, classic Elisen is made with hazelnuts, but the commerical cookies are made with a mixture of hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts.

While they're not truly "authentic" they are amazingly good and I much prefer them over the ancient Elisen recipes (I actually saw the oldest known written recipe in a museum in Nürnberg--it's from around 1400's if I remember correctly) that do not include flour and honey.

That said, I'll post the German "pure" originals then my adaptations and variations in search of a homebaked product that approximates the commercial Elisen that one buys in Germany at the Christkindlemarkt this time of year.

 
Rec: Elisenlebkuchen (Olli Leeb version)

This recipe is from Olli Leeb's "Die feinsten Plätzchen Rezepte" which is also available translated into English under the title "My Favorite Cookies from the Old Country." This is the Elisen recipe in it's original and most pure form:

250 g. granulated white sugar
3 eggs
1 tbls. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 lemon, zested
70 g. each candied orange and lemon peel
100 g. hazelnuts, ground (very fine, should be like flour, but not ground to the point of turning oily or pasty.)
100 g. almonds, ground

In a pan over simmering water beat the eggs and sugar until very light and fluffy. (Richard Note: this will take a while to get the right result. It should be very thick and very light in color.) Do not over heat, not hot, eggs and sugar should only be warm.

Stir in the spice, zest, candied peels, and nut flours.

If you beat the eggs long enough, the batter should be fairly stiff. If not, set it aside now, room temp, and let it rest and thicken.

Dough should be the texture of cake frosting.

When ready, spread the mixture on oblaten (the potato/rice/wheat flour thin wafers). You can buy various sizes of oblaten. The large ones can be trimmed into hearts or other shapes. I can buy oblaten at specialty stores now in Cincinnati, but only until just recently. I have a large suppy in my freezer from Munich.

Spread the dough onto the oblaten, mounding in the center about 1/2 inch high, taper to the edges. Garnish the cookies (Frau Leeb instructs "with love") with almond slivers and candied peel/fruit as desired. If you're going to do the chocolate coating, then don't decorate until after the chocolate dip.

Bake the cookies at 250-300 setting (depending on how hot your oven gets, you want a slow oven). If 300 is too hot, put a wooden stick in the door to prop it open a bit. Bake for 20 minutes for a roughly 3-4 inch round cookie. Elisenlebkuchen should remain pliable on the oblaten side after baking, else they become too hard as they cool. Overbaking is bad here.

Place baked cookies on racks. While still slightly warm, coat the cookies with the following glaze:

200 g confectioner's sugar
1 tbls water
2 tbls armangac, arrack, cognac, or rum

Stir togeter into a thin sugar glaze. You can tint this mixture pink with a little bit of plain beet juice (Germans traditionally do not use artificial food coloring).

Spoon/pour the glaze over the baked cookies, coating completely. Let dry. These will look similar to your second picture link.

OR.

Melt 200 g. unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate with 3 tbls water and add 30 g. coconut butter. Ice the lebkuchen by holding cookies over melted chocolate and spooning chocolate over them.

When coated completely, and before chocolate sets, decorate with nuts, nonpareils, candied fruit/peels, etc.

 
Rec: Elisenlebkuchen (Christian Teubner version)

This recipe is from Christian Teubner's "Weihnachtsbäckerei" (The Christmas Bakery):

60 cookies

350 g. sugar
5 eggs
350 g. ground unblanched almonds
100g. flour
50 g. each diced candied orange and lemon peel
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1 large pinch each cloves, allspice, and ginger
3 inch oblaten wafers
almond halves and candied peel for decorating

Glaze:
200 g. sugar
2 tbls. lemon juice
4 tbls. water

Beat the sugar and eggs until light and foamy (15 minutes min.) in a large bowl set over simmering water. Don't let the eggs get over 115F.

Remove from the double boiler after the mix is thick, light, and fluffy. Continue beating until eggs are cool to room temp.

Combine the nuts with the flour, candied peel, and spices, then stir into the beaten eggs.

Mound 1 tbls. of dough onto the wafers. spread it thin to the edges and leave it mounded in the center. Dip your blade in hot water as you shape the cookies.

Decorate with the almonds and peel.

Leave the cookies out overnight to dry.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Bake for 15-20 min. unti the top is crusty and moist and pliable on the underside. Don't overbake.

Combine the glaze ingredients, simmer, then brush the hot cookies with the glaze.




This cookbook is also available in an English translation: Christmas Baking, traditional recipes made easy.

 
Rec: Elisenlebkuchen (Dr. Oetkers version)

Beat 2 eggs on the highest setting of the mixer until foamy for several minutes.

Add 200 g. sugar and 1 pack of vanilla sugar (sub. 1 tsp vanilla extract if you don't have vanilla sugar) and continue beating the eggs until they are light, thick, and creamy. (Again, this will take a while, you can't overdue this.)

Stir in:

1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. rum extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
50 g. finely diced mixture of candied orange and lemon peel
125 g. ground almonds
1/2 tsp. baking powder
75-125 g. ground hazelnuts (depends on the size of the eggs, add until you get cake frosting consistency batter)

With a tablespoon dipped in hot water, form mounds on 40 oblaten wafers (see previous recipes for description).

Let sit for 6-12 hours.

Bake in 300F. oven for 20-30 min. (see previous recipes for description).

Decorate with sugar glaze or chocolate (as above).

Chocolate glaze should be

75 g. Chocolate
10 g. cocoa butter

 
Rec: Elisenlebkuchen (Barbara Maher version)

This recipe is from "Lust auf Süßes. Kuchen und Torten (Taschenbuch)" (Joy of Sweets. Cakes and Tortes)

This is a little different. Many variations. This is a chocolate version.

60 cookies.

3 egg whites
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/4 cup ground almonds
2 oz. dark choclate, grated
4 tablespoons candied orange and lemon peel, diced fine.
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
60 3-inch oblaten

Beat the whites until firm peaks. Sift the sugar over and continue beating, adding the remaining sugar in two batches. Meringue should be thick and glossy.

Stir together almonds, chocolate peel, and spices. Separate the fruit until well coated with the mixture.

Fold into the meringue.

Mound the dough onto the oblaten, spreading thin to the edges.

Place on baking sheets and set out overnight to dry and age.

Next day, preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake until edges color, but lebkuchen remains soft.

Place on wire racks.

Prepare glazes as in previous recipes.

When cookies are cool enough to handle, dip into glaze (chocolate preferred in this recipe).

Decorate as desired.

Set on racks to dry.

 
Rec: Elisenlebkuchen (Sarah Iaia version)

In a crock bowl over simmering water, beat at high speed:

2 eggs
1 2/3 cup superfine sugar

until the texture of mousse. Remove from heat and beat for an additional 3 minutes.

Add 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and zest of 1 lemon, folding in.

Mix together and fold in 1/3 cup finely minced mixed lemon and orange peel and 2 cups of finely ground blanched almonds. Sit aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Arrange oblaten on baking sheets.

Test the mixture: place a mound of dough on an oblaten. Wait 3 minutes. The dough should smooth out and flanned slightly, but not run off. If it does, return mixture to bowl and fold in more ground almonds. Rest and test again. Continue until mixture holds its shape.

Form the dough onto the oblaten, dip your finger in hot water and smooth it. Decorate with almonds and candied fruit.

Let sit out and dry overnight.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven until barely golden brown and lightly risen, approx. 20-25 minutes.

Cookies should be slightly firm but moist on the inside. Don't overbake.

Beat 6 tbls. water and 3 cups sifted powdered for 5 minutes. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat another 5 minutes to dissolve sugar completely. Add enough extra water or sugar to make a pourable glaze.

Using a pastry brush, ice the cookies.

For chocolate glaze: Beat 4 oz. melted semisweet chocolate into above glaze, adding additional water as necessary to thin it. Brush the cookies with the glaze.

Allow cookies to dry completely before storing in an airtight tin.

 
Thank you so much Richard!!! Guess what my better half also brought home

but kind of "forgot" to give me before last night (It came up when I told him about your passion for lebkuchens too).
My boyfriend then remembered that he also bought me a cookbook - and I checked and found a recipe for Elises gingerbread. The cookbook is from bavaria and the recipe looks similar to how you have described the original bread (the other question is of course, how the heck could my boyfriend FORGET to give me the cookbook *LOL*)


Ok, here it is: Elises gingerbread

3 eggs
1/2 lb sugar
1T vanilla sugar

1/2 lb hazelnuts, lightly toasted and ground
1/8 lb candied lemon rind, finely chopped
1/2 candied orange rind, finely chopped
1/4 cup milk,lukewarm
1T flour
1T ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 lemon rind, grated

round wafers
amonds, peeled and halved
candied lemon rind, sliced

7 oz confectioners sugar
1-2 T hot water
2T arrack, armagnac, cocgnac or rum.

In a heatproof bowl placed over a pot of boiling water, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar until very foamy. The mixture should get lukewarm at the most!

Take the bowl from the heat and add hazelnuts, candied lemon rind, candied orange rind, milk, flour, cinnamon, cloves and lemond rind. Mix dough loosely.

Spread the mixture on round wafers,keeping it approximately 1/2 inch thick in the middle and sloping towards the sides. Decorate in attractive patterns (!) with almond halves and candied lemon rind.

Let the rounds dry slightly before baking, then bake them slowly (approximately 20 minutes) in a preheated 270F oven.

It should be possible to press in slightly the under side of the rounds, otherwise they will be too dry.

Glace with the following mixture while still hot:

Mix the sifted sugar with the hot water and alcohol. Spread on top of hot gingerbread rounds. Let the rounds dry, and store them in a metal box.
They are best when fresh (- so the recipe says. Like they would last for days! smileys/wink.gif

Eva

 
Great! Maybe

he was planning to give you the cookbook as a Christmas present and after seeing your enthusiasm, and thinking he might get more Lebkuchen, he couldn't help himself and gave it to you early? ; )

My current experiments are using a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts. Including appr. 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tbls. honey, 1 tbls. apple butter, and 2 oz. of finely grated marzipan to the traditional recipe. It may be a few days before I can get to this and give you proportions of what I tried and the results because my orchestra's holiday concerts are this weekend and I have rehearsals every night.

 
More on Lebkuchen - The Lebkuchen Story

I found this story on the net.

I'm not sure about the honey part as you said they did use sugar in the early days, but heck, this is a great story. Read it as a bed time story for lebkuchen lovers! smileys/smile.gif

Lebkuchen, Small Cakes with a Big History

Long before the first snowflake falls, people flock to the small shops and kiosks that have magically sprung up to buy one of the seasons bestsellers - Lebkuchen. These wonderful small cakes - it would really do them an injustice to call them cookies - simply melt in your mouth and leave you yearning for more. This is something that you definitely can't eat just one of.

But to buy the best Lebkuchen, you need to look towards the city most famous for its Lebkuchen, Nürnberg. What makes Nürnberg so famous for Lebkuchen? You need only look at a bit of the history of Lebkuchen and to its forerunner, the honey cake, to find the answer to that question,.

The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans considered honey to be a gift of the gods and hoped for magic, healing and life-enhancing properties from the honey cake. So they not only ate honey cakes, but they often wore them into battle as a talisman or were buried with them. The Teutonic people in pre-Christian Europe used the honey cake as protection against evil spirits who were abroad during the twelve nights of Christmas.

Then, in the 13th century, the honey cake became Lebkuchen. The use of wafers on the bottom of the Lebkuchen may indicate a monastery as their origin. The monks particularly liked the dry gingerbread cake seasoned with black pepper, because it caused a thirst, while the nuns preferred the sweeter kind of bread. Naturally, something as good as this couldn't be kept a secret for long. So, in 1395, the first Lebkuchen bakery in Nürnberg was opened.

But again, you ask, why Nürnberg? Its location at the intersection of the ancient salt and trade routes that carried sacks of spices from the east via Venice and Genoa, was the major reason. Extra supplies of spices were brought to Nürnberg for the bakeries. For the second essential ingredient of Lebkuchen, they only needed to look nearby at the imperial woods surrounding Nürnberg. These huge woods, known as the "Holy Roman Emperor's Apiary" offered an abundant supply of honey. Unfortunately, the 30 Years War brought about a decline in the Nürnberg Lebkuchen, as two lengthy sieges of the city cut off the spice trade. After almost two centuries, the old markets had to be built up again.

After almost one hundred years of appealing, in 1643 the city council approved the founding of the Nürnberg Lebkuchen Baker's Guild. Fourteen highly respected master bakers made up the Guild when it was first formed.

In 1927, the Berlin District Court appointed the designation "Nürnberg Lebkuchen" as a mark of origin. This means that only Lebkuchen produced within Nuremberg city limits may bear the name of Nürnberg and its motifs.

The passage of time from the founding of the first bakery has seen some changes to the basic Lebkuchen recipe. These days, the spice cakes come in different flavors and types. Brown Lebkuchen are made of dough that is smoothed out or cut and not baked on a wafer base. They contain 50 parts of sugar or sweetener to 100 parts of ground cereal products and are produced without oil based seeds. White Lebkuchen derives its name from its light colored dough. Its mixture contains at least 15% whole egg and/or egg products. They are only made in rectangular shape and are not iced. Wafer Lebkuchen contain at least 12.5% almonds, walnuts or nut kernels, and have the white wafer on the bottom. Kaiserlein, or Little Emperor Lebkuchen, was named after Emperor Friedrich III. It is said that in 1487 he held an Imperial Diet and invited the 4,000 children of Nuremberg to attend. The children were presented with a Lebkuchen bearing his image, which was perhaps one of the first printed pictures. Elisen Lebkuchen was named after the daughter of a Nürnberg Guild member and have been the Guild's masterpiece since 1808. They must contain at least 25% almonds, hazelnuts and/or walnuts. A wide range of Diät Lebkuchen is also available for diabetics.

Now that you've gotten a general overview of these flavorful cakes, I would be remiss if I didn't leave you with some recipes for them. A perfect drink to go with these cakes is Glühwein, which follows.

Guten appetit!

WEISSE LEBKUCHEN
(White Lebkuchen)

5 eggs
1 pound sugar
1/2 cup unblanched almonds, grated
1/2 cup mixed citron an candied orange peel, finely chopped
grated rind of 1 lemon
4 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Beat eggs with sugar until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Mix in almonds, candied fruits and lemon peel. Sift flour together with baking powder. Stir into egg mixture gradually, blending well between additions. Dough should be fairly stiff and not sticky. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth. Shape dough into finger-thick rolls, then cut in 1" slices. Grease a baking sheet, arrange cookies on it and let dry uncovered, at room temperature, overnight. Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven until cookies are light golden brown, about 20 minutes.

ELISEN LEBKUCHEN
(Elise's Lebkuchen)

5 eggs
1 pound dark brown sugar
1 pound grated unblanched almonds
1/2 cup citron, chopped
1/2 cup candied orange peel, chopped
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon powdered cardamom
1/2 teaspoon powdered nutmeg
grated rind of 1 lemon
Round oblaten*
Egg white or chocolate icing

*The oblaten can be found either at bakers supply companies or fine gourmet shops.

Beat eggs and sugar until mixture is thick. Fold in almonds, candied fruits, spices and lemon rind. Stir well. Spread in mounds on wafers. Place on a greased baking sheet and let dry uncovered, in a warm room, overnight. Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely and brush cookies with icing.

EIWEISSGLASUR
(Egg White Icing)

2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups confections sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Whip egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Add sugar and lemon juice and continue beating until thick and glossy.

SCHOKOLADENGLASUR
(Chocolate Icing)

4 ounces dark semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup butter

Melt chocolate over hot water until dissolved. Cut butter into small pieces and stir into chocolate until melted. Spread while warm.

GLÜHWEIN
(Spiced Wine)

2 bottles red wine
1 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
3 or 4 slices lemon, each studded with 3 or 4 cloves

Heat all ingredients together until they reach the boiling point, but do not boil. Pour into glasses or mugs and serve.

Source:http://www.sheries-kitchen.com/stories/lebkuchen_history.htm

 
Eva, thanks for the history...

Have you read the Tolkien "Lord of the Rings" books? The elves make a journey cake called Lemlas. I always imagined they were eating Elisenlebkuchen.

 
I have read it but I haven't made the connection betwen Lemlas and

Lebkuchen until now! I have always imagined Lemlas as tasting something out of this world - like a pice of heaven. Lebkuchen fit's perfect into the picture!!! smileys/smile.gif

 
Ok, I'm now on a mission to find Oblatten. I think the German sausage shop may have some. I hope.

 
I think so too...

They packed the lemlas and carried it with them for months and existed on it sometimes exclusively when they couldn't find other food. So, with Lebkuchen being very high in protein and complex carbohydrates from eggs, nuts and fruit, and since they keep forever, and since they taste heavenly, it just made sense to me!

 
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