Fabiana's Lozärner Lebkuchen
Last week, Sam had an excursion with some colleagues to celebrate a project they had been working on, which took him up to Kemmeriboden for a fall hike and then down to the Entlebuch to eat at wizard chef Stefan Wiesner’s restaurant.
According to Sam the meal was incredible (as always, they don’t call Wiesner the wizard for nothing). He had a version of Wildteller that included the traditional preparation of Pfeffer, marinated game, using Gämse (known in English as Chamois, a mountain dweller somewhere between goat and antelope), but that was neither cloying or too sweet, as much Pfeffer can be, instead with a nice acidic bite. Perfect Spätzli accompanied the meal and for dessert, diners were treated to a spray of Arven (Swiss pine) as they were presented with similarly flavoured ice cream on a bed of lichen and pine nuts.
Sam’s highlight, however, was the starter: deer sausage and a thick round of apple, perched on Lebkuchen, gingerbread.
“Like, sweet gingerbread? Or savoury?” I queried.
“Pretty sweet. And perfectly spiced. Almost exactly like Fabiana’s.”
Fabiana’s Lözarner Lebkuchen, her Lucernese gingerbread, is a fan favourite among her five children, numerous grandchildren, and Sam’s family, who lived next door for over a decade.
Although Fabiana kindly let me use her recipe in my Helvetic Kitchen cookbook, I realized that I hadn’t posted the recipe on my blog yet.
So here is the perfect Lözarner Lebkuchen, a true grandmother’s recipe—no-fail, always delicious, and it always reminds Sam of home.
One of the main ingredients is Birnenhonig, pear syrup beloved especially in central Switzerland. If you’re not familiar with it, you can find out more here.
300 ml milk
300 ml cream
250 g sugar
1 pinch salt
3 tbsp Birnenhonig
60 ml strong coffee
500 g flour
3 tsp Lebkuchen spice mix
1 tsp baking soda
10 ml warm water
Glaze
2 tbsp Birnenhonig
Preheat oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6.
Line a 28 cm / 11 inch springform pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, sugar and salt.
In a small bowl, dissolve the Birnenhonig into the coffee. Whisk this into the milk mixture.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and Lebkuchen spice mix. Sift and, with a spatula, gently fold this into the wet ingredients.
In a small bowl dissolve the baking soda in the warm water, then fold gently into the batter.
Scrape into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until the top is fully set, the sides have started come away from the pan and the top springs back when you press it.
Glaze
Warm the Birnenhonig and brush over the cake.
Be sure to sift the flour into the wet ingredients. If you don’t, you can get little chewy clumps of flour in your finished product.
If you don’t have Lebkuchen spice mix, mixed spice or gingerbread spice can be used.
Alternatively, you can make your own:
Lebkuchen Spice Mix
Mix together:
1 tsp each ground ginger, anise, cinnamon, coriander
1 generous pinch ground nutmeg and cloves
If you don't have Birnenhonig, you could try honey, treacle or golden syrup. More on Birnenhonig, here.
If you are feeling ambitious, it's also possible to make your own Birnenhonig. The procedure below is taken from the excellent online database of old Swiss recipes doazmol.
Birnenhonig
Wash, core and cut pears into pieces, then cover with water and boil for about an hour.
Strain through a cheese cloth and add about 100 g sugar per liter of juice obtained.
Cook this juice slowly until you get a honey-like consistency.
Another seasonal favourite?
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