Berner Haselnusslebkuchen
Encyclopedia
Berner Haselnusslebkuchen are Lebkuchen
– traditional Christmas
cakes – from Berne
, Switzerland. Made from ground hazelnut
s, they are not to be confused with the Berner Honiglebkuchen
, another Bernese specialty.
-like mass of roasted and ground hazelnut
s and about one eighth ground almond
s, as well as a little sugar, honey, cinnamon, candied lemon and orange peel, held together by egg white
. The addition of water or flour is not necessary, as the oil in the hazelnuts helps the mass stick together. The grinding of the hazelnuts requires extensive experience: if ground too hard, the hazelnut oils will liquefy and evaporate during baking, making the Lebkuchen hard like a zwieback
.
The hazelnut mass is rolled out into a spread of dough 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in) thick. The baker may then cut out DIN A5-sized rectangular pieces and press them into a form traditionally depicting a bear, Berne's heraldic animal
(pictured above). He may also use cookie cutter
s in the shapes of a bear or Santa Claus
, or he may cut the dough into small rectangular pieces called Leckerli. The Lebkuchen are then allowed to dry for a few hours, during which the crystallizing sugar forms a faint crust on the dough's surface. Afterwards, they are baked at 200 °C (392 °F) for 10 to 15 minutes. A well-made Haselnusslebkuchen should be crunchy on the outside, but remain soft and moist within. The Lebkuchen may then be decorated further with icing
, hazelnuts or almonds.
The Lebkuchens expensive ingredients such as hazelnuts and sugar indicate that it was always a gift article and a holiday sweet – up until the later 19th century, sugar was largely unaffordable for the Bernese working class. Haselnusslebkuchen continue to be made by bakers in the entire canton of Berne
during the December holiday season. In the city of Berne
, where tourists provide for a steady demand, they can be bought all year round.
Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen is a traditional German baked Christmas treat, somewhat resembling gingerbread.Lebkuchen were invented by Medieval monks in Franconia, Germany in the 13th century. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded as early as 1296 in Ulm, and 1395 in Nürnberg...
– traditional Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
cakes – from Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
, Switzerland. Made from ground hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
s, they are not to be confused with the Berner Honiglebkuchen
Berner Honiglebkuchen
Berner Honiglebkuchen are Lebkuchen traditionally made in Berne, Switzerland. Distinguished from other Lebkuchen by their sometimes elaborate sugar decorations, they are not to be confused with the Berner Haselnusslebkuchen, another Bernese specialty which is made from ground hazelnuts.-Composition...
, another Bernese specialty.
Composition and production
The Berner Haselnusslebkuchen are made of a marzipanMarzipan
Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal. Persipan is a similar, yet less expensive product, in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels...
-like mass of roasted and ground hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
s and about one eighth ground almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s, as well as a little sugar, honey, cinnamon, candied lemon and orange peel, held together by egg white
Egg white
Egg white is the common name for the clear liquid contained within an egg. In chickens it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms around either fertilized or unfertilized egg yolks...
. The addition of water or flour is not necessary, as the oil in the hazelnuts helps the mass stick together. The grinding of the hazelnuts requires extensive experience: if ground too hard, the hazelnut oils will liquefy and evaporate during baking, making the Lebkuchen hard like a zwieback
Zwieback
Zwieback is a type of crisp, sweetened bread, made with eggs and baked twice.It is sliced before it is baked a second time, which produces crisp, brittle slices that closely resemble melba toast...
.
The hazelnut mass is rolled out into a spread of dough 12 millimetre (0.47244094488189 in) thick. The baker may then cut out DIN A5-sized rectangular pieces and press them into a form traditionally depicting a bear, Berne's heraldic animal
Heraldry of Berne
The coat of arms of Bern, which is used by the city, the canton and the district of Bern, is on a red field a yellow diagonal band charged with a black bear walking upwards toward the hoist. The heraldic blazon reads: Gules, on a bend or, a bear passant sable, langued, armed and vilené of the...
(pictured above). He may also use cookie cutter
Cookie cutter
A cookie cutter in American English and biscuit cutter in Commonwealth English is a tool to cut out cookie/biscuit dough in a particular shape. They are often used for seasonal occasions when well-known decorative shapes are desired, or for large batches of cookies where simplicity and uniformity...
s in the shapes of a bear or Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
, or he may cut the dough into small rectangular pieces called Leckerli. The Lebkuchen are then allowed to dry for a few hours, during which the crystallizing sugar forms a faint crust on the dough's surface. Afterwards, they are baked at 200 °C (392 °F) for 10 to 15 minutes. A well-made Haselnusslebkuchen should be crunchy on the outside, but remain soft and moist within. The Lebkuchen may then be decorated further with icing
Icing (food)
Icing, also called frosting in the United States, is a sweet often creamy glaze made of sugar with a liquid such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients such as butter, egg whites, cream cheese, or flavorings and is used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies...
, hazelnuts or almonds.
History and usage
A sweet similar to the Haselnusslebkuchen, although still containing some flour, is first described in the 1835 Neues Berner Kochbuch, a cookbook by Lina Rytz. During the 19th and early 20th century, Bernese cookbooks record numerous recipes for Haselnussleckerli or Bernerläckerli, indicating that the sweet was initially only produced in the small Leckerli form, with the larger rectangular forms coming into use only in the second half of the 20th century. The now-common name of Haselnusslebkuchen is first used in a 1946 baker's manual.The Lebkuchens expensive ingredients such as hazelnuts and sugar indicate that it was always a gift article and a holiday sweet – up until the later 19th century, sugar was largely unaffordable for the Bernese working class. Haselnusslebkuchen continue to be made by bakers in the entire canton of Berne
Canton of Berne
The Canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south...
during the December holiday season. In the city of Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
, where tourists provide for a steady demand, they can be bought all year round.
Further reading
- Guggenbühl, Helen, Schweizer Küchenspezialitäten. Ausgewählte Rezepte aus allen Kantonen, Schweizer-Spiegel-Verlag, Zürich, 1929.
- Hansen, Hans Jürgen, Kunstgeschichte des Backwerks, Gerhard Stalling Verlag, Oldenburg, 1968.
- Krauss, Irene, Chronik bildschöner Backwerke, Hugo Matthaes Druckerei und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, 1999.
- Währen, Max, Hans Luginbühl, Bruno Heilinger et al., Lebkuchen einst und jetzt, Luzern, 1964.