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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