This historic gingerbread recipe comes from a handwritten cookbook by Emma Hasselbach from Falkenstein in the Taunus/ Germany. She kept this book since December 1916 and filled it especially with cake and other pastry recipes. With this pastry, the dry ingredients are first mixed well before the wet ingredients are added. The gingerbread is also suitable for vegans and simply tastes incredibly Christmassy.
1 kilogram of flour (e.g. strong wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
500 grams of raw cane sugar
8 grams of cloves, crushed
15 grams of cinnamon, powder
About 1/4-1/2 teaspoon pepper
500 grams artificial honey (e.g. Lyle's Golden Syrup or a light beet syrup)
1 cup water (or milk)
1. Sift the flour with the baking soda into a bowl.
2. Add the raw cane sugar.
3. Weigh the cloves and grind them fresh in a mortar.
4. Add cinnamon and pepper. I used freshly ground black pepper for this.
5. Now stir in the syrup and 1 cup of water and knead until everything can be formed into a ball.
6. If the dough does not hold together well, add a little bit of water and knead.
7. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 4-5 millimetres using a rolling pin.
8. Either cut out into round biscuits or into squares.
9. Bake on the tray in a preheated oven at 200° C for about 10-15 minutes.
10. Allow the gingerbread to cool on a baking rack and store in a tin can, separated from each other by layers of parchment paper.
Instagram
Facebook