Weicher Lebkuchen – Soft German Gingerbread #BundtBakers

This weicher lebkuchen or soft German gingerbread recipe is a lovely spice cake made without molasses so it will really appeal to those who aren’t fans of the darker, molasses-y gingerbread. It uses a bit of honey, grated chocolate and lots of spices for delicious Christmasy flavor.

I was keen to find a gingerbread recipe that was different from the normal gingerbread I usually make for this month’s Bundt Bakers theme of International Holiday Bundts. So I headed over to ChefKoch.de, a German language recipe site. It’s always a fun adventure to search in a language I don’t speak. I do a lot of back and forth with Google Translate. When I came across this weicher lebkuchen or soft gingerbread I couldn't wait to give it a try.

The original recipe was shared by member Junifloh which apparently translates to June Flea. S/he baked his/hers in a rectangular cake pan. I baked mine, as you can see from the photos, in my Nordic Ware mini Bundt pan, filling the holes about three-quarter full. Despite my attempt to downside the recipe, the batter made 17 mini Bundts.

Weicher Lebkuchen - Soft German Gingerbread

This recipe is adapted from one on ChefKoch, translated with the help of Google Translate. The original call simply for gingerbread spice so I looked up a recipe for German gingerbread spice and created my closest approximation. If you have ready mixed spices, go ahead and use those, of course. If not, use the spice amounts in the parenthetical list (OR) in the ingredients.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups or 280g flour
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 2/3 oz or 75g dark chocolate
1 3/4 oz or 50g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
3 rounded tablespoons gingerbread spice
(OR
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground fennel)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
zest 1 lemon
2 large eggs
1 cup or 240ml milk
2/3 cup or 150g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for buttering pan
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1/2 cup or 65g powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Optional to decorate: sprinkle of cinnamon

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your mini Bundt pan by brushing it with melted butter and set aside.

Grate the chocolate bar with the small side of your grater or a microplane.

Mix the flour, sugar, grated chocolate, hazelnuts, gingerbread spice(s), baking powder and lemon zest in a large bowl.

In another smaller bowl, beat your eggs then whisk in the milk, softened butter, honey and vanilla.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir  until well combined.

Spoon into your prepared mini Bundt pan and bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool until the mini Bundts are cool enough to handle. Transfer them to a wire rack and put the pan under your cold water faucet to cool off the pan completely. Butter 5 or 6 of the Bundt pan cups and fill them with the balance of the batter. Bake as with the first full batch for 20-25 minutes.

While the mini Bundts are cooling, mix together the glaze ingredients. Once they are completely cool, you might want to trim the bottom of the mini Bundts so they stand up straight. (The cut bits make a great snack!) Use a plastic bag with a corner cut off or piping bag to drizzle on the glaze.

Sprinkle with pinches of cinnamon, if desired.

Enjoy!

Check out the link list of international holiday Bundts the rest of our group is sharing! Many thanks to this month's host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

• Bundt Cake of Squashed Pumpkin from Merce`s Cake
• Chocolate Malai Bundt Eggless Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Dutch Speculaas Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra
• Potica from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Vegan Panettone Bundt Cake from Katin špajz
• Weicher Lebkuchen – Soft German Gingerbread from Food Lust People Love
• White Chocolate Cream Bundt Cake from Making Miracles

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

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Soft German Gingerbread Mini Bundts!

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Cinnamon Chocolate Shortbread #CreativeCookieExchange

Cinnamon Chocolate Shortbread is the perfect cookie for your holiday table or cookie exchange. The rich buttery shortbread is enhanced by cinnamon and cocoa for a delightful treat that keeps well in a tin for days.

Six years ago, when I first moved to Dubai, I was invited to a cookie exchange. The hostess was a friend of a friend who lived on Palm Jumeirah so I was most excited to go. If you’ve ever looked up Dubai, you have no doubt seen photos of the Palm. In an aerial view, it looks like a great big palm tree, with multiple fronds arcing gracefully out in the Arabian Gulf. Each frond is a gated community of homes so without an invitation, the best one can do is to drive up the “trunk” to the hotel at the top of the palm tree.

The house was beautifully decorated for Christmas and because the weather at this time of year is lovely, we were able to sit outside overlooking the sea. Gorgeous! But the very best part was getting to meet some wonderful ladies and munch on cookies together.

This month my Creative Cookie Exchange group is sharing cookies that last well in a tin, which I translate to mean, would also be perfect for gifting to neighbors and friends or bringing to a cookie exchange. These cinnamon chocolate shortbread cookies fit the bill.

Cinnamon Chocolate Shortbread

This recipe is adapted from two I found on the internet, from the BBC Good Food site and Country Living. I topped mine with amber sugar crystals for a more festive look plus added sweetness and crunch. You can find them on Amazon if your local shops don't carry them. <affiliate link

Ingredients
3/4 cup or 170g butter, softened
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 2/3 cups or 200g plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 oz or 100g good quality dark chocolate, cut into small chunks (I used Lindt.)

Optional for decoration:
2-3 tablespoons amber sugar crystals (26-42g)

Method
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with electric beaters or, if you are feeling energetic, use a wooden spoon.

Sift in the flour, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.

Mix well until you have a thick dough. Add in the chocolate bits and mix again.

Roll the dough into log about 2 inches or 5cm thick. Wrap the log in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour or for several days. This dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line two baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone mats.

Slice the log into 1/2 in or 1cm-thick rounds.

Transfer the cookies to your prepared baking pans.

Top with amber sugar crystals, if desired. Press them in gently to stop them falling off and then bake for 10-12 minutes in your preheated oven.

Cool on the pan completely before transferring the shortbread cookies to a serving plate or a cookie tin.

Enjoy!

Check out all of the lovely cookies that last in a tin! Many thanks to Holly of A Baker's House for hosting the group this month.

• Almond Flour Sugar Cookies from A Baker's House
• Carrot Cake Biscotti from What Smells so Good?
• Cinnamon Chocolate Shortbread from Food Lust People Love
• Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oatmeal Lace Cookies from The Spiced Life

You can also use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.

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Blackberry Blue Cheese Walnut Loaf #BreadBakers

Slightly sweet with a good dollop of honey, each bite of this blackberry walnut blue cheese loaf is delightful mix of salty and fruity and nutty. It’s especially lovely toasted.

This month our Bread Bakers host is Renu, the author and recipe creator behind Cook with Renu. She challenged us to create a bread with fresh fruit, sweetened without white sugar. I cannot tell you how long I agonized over this one, until it suddenly occurred to me that Renu never said it had to be a very sweet bread!

Blackberry Walnut Blue Cheese Loaf

I am a fan of sweet and salty together and, when I can, I also love to add a bit of crunch, so nuts were essential. This lovely loaf was inspired by a muffin I baked a few years ago with thyme, goat cheese and blackberries.

Ingredients
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
1/4 cup butter or 56g
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon flakey sea salt or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 1/2 oz or 100g blue cheese
6 oz or 170g fresh blackberries
1/2 cup or g roughly chopped walnut, plus extra for decoration, if desired

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your loaf by lightly rubbing it with oil or lining it with baking parchment.

Crumble the blue cheese and set aside. Reserve some cheese for topping the loaf before baking.

Measure your milk and honey into a microwaveable vessel then warm in the microwave. Add in the butter, cut into cubes and set aside so the butter melts and the mixture cools.

Cut the large blackberries in half or thirds, leaving the little ones whole. When the butter mixture is just slightly warm, whisk in the eggs.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, salt and baking powder. Add the blackberries to the dry ingredients and stir to coat and separate the pieces.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones and stir a couple of times.

Add in the blue cheese and walnuts and fold gently to combine.

Spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan and top with the reserved cheese and walnuts.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until the loaf is golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the loaf to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan then remove it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month’s Bread Bakers host Renu from Cooking with Renu for the fun challenge! Check out all the other lovely no-white-sugar breads with fresh fruit we've baked for you this month:

• Apricot Sour Cream Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Blackberry Blue Cheese Walnut Loaf from Food Lust People Love
• Eggless Whole Wheat Pear Bread from I Camp in my Kitchen
• Hawaiian Sweet Buns from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Honey Oatmeal Applesauce Bread from the Mad Scientist's Kitchen
• Julekage from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Sugar free Harvest Muffins from Cook's Hideout
• Sugarless and Vegan Apple and Carrot Loaf from Cook with Renu
• Vegan Orange Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread from Ambrosia

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Blackberry Blue Cheese Walnut Loaf!

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