honigkuchen
My grandmother used to make honigkuchen (very similar to lebkuchen, but cake rather than cookie bars) every year, in October for Christmas. When her health began to fail, she gave us a copy of her recipe. We made it a couple of times, but too late to age it properly so it wasn't the same. Then we lost the recipe. I turned Mom's kitchen upside down--twice--looking for it, to no avail. Online recipes vary too much to be reliable, especially since it's been a good thirty years. A year or so ago, my aunt gave me a pamphlet of German and Viennese recipes from my grandmother's collection, with annotations in what may be Grossmutti's handwriting. So I made it this year, in mid-November. It came out very well; Dad pronounced the taste "familiar".
Honigkuchen
Grease a 9"x13" rectangular or two 8" round cake pan(s).
Finely chop and set aside:
3/4 cup (about 4 oz.) unblanched almonds or nuts
2 oz. candied orange peel* (about 1/3 cup, chopped)
2 oz. candied lemon peel* (about 1/3 cup, chopped)
Sift together and set aside:
3 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon [ground] cloves
Beat until thick and piled softly:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
Beat in:
1/2 cup honey
Gently fold in the dry ingredients in fourths. Mix in the almonds and candied peel. Turn batter into pan(s), spreading to corners.
Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in center. Set pan on cooling rack.
Meanwhile, blend together:
1/3 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
When Honigkuchen is slightly cooled, spread mixture evenly over top and cut into pieces.† Remove to cooling rack.
For best results, age 6-10 weeks in airtight container.
*My grandmother used mixed candied fruit. I substituted dried fruit: pineapple, cherry, and apricot.
†The icing becomes very hard and difficult to cut after it's cool.
----------------
This batch didn't rise as much as it should, probably mainly because I used the wrong kind of flour (whole wheat, aka brown, flour). If I'd known Mom had whole grain white, I would have used that instead. I also iced it too early, so the icing soaked in more than it's supposed to. I should have waited until the cake was a bit cooler before mixing the icing.
My mother has undertaken to make this for next Christmas. She's planning to use a bit more dried fruit, probably a total of a cup instead of 2/3 cup.
My brother thinks he has Grossmutti's handwritten recipe, which would explain why it's no longer in Mom's kitchen. I told him that if he does and can find it, I definitely want a copy.
Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are
comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Honigkuchen
Grease a 9"x13" rectangular or two 8" round cake pan(s).
Finely chop and set aside:
3/4 cup (about 4 oz.) unblanched almonds or nuts
2 oz. candied orange peel* (about 1/3 cup, chopped)
2 oz. candied lemon peel* (about 1/3 cup, chopped)
Sift together and set aside:
3 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon [ground] cloves
Beat until thick and piled softly:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
Beat in:
1/2 cup honey
Gently fold in the dry ingredients in fourths. Mix in the almonds and candied peel. Turn batter into pan(s), spreading to corners.
Bake at 350°F 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in center. Set pan on cooling rack.
Meanwhile, blend together:
1/3 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
When Honigkuchen is slightly cooled, spread mixture evenly over top and cut into pieces.† Remove to cooling rack.
For best results, age 6-10 weeks in airtight container.
*My grandmother used mixed candied fruit. I substituted dried fruit: pineapple, cherry, and apricot.
†The icing becomes very hard and difficult to cut after it's cool.
----------------
This batch didn't rise as much as it should, probably mainly because I used the wrong kind of flour (whole wheat, aka brown, flour). If I'd known Mom had whole grain white, I would have used that instead. I also iced it too early, so the icing soaked in more than it's supposed to. I should have waited until the cake was a bit cooler before mixing the icing.
My mother has undertaken to make this for next Christmas. She's planning to use a bit more dried fruit, probably a total of a cup instead of 2/3 cup.
My brother thinks he has Grossmutti's handwritten recipe, which would explain why it's no longer in Mom's kitchen. I told him that if he does and can find it, I definitely want a copy.
Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are
comments. Comments welcome here or there.