INGREDIENTS
- 250 g of honey
- 150 g butter
- 180 g of sugar
- 500 g of flour
- 1 egg
- 2 yolks
- 2 tablespoons of gingerbread spice
- 80 ml of milk
- 1.5 teaspoons of soda
- 50 g walnuts
GEAR RATIO
- approx. 400 g plum jam
- optional: amaretto or orange liqueur
ICING
- chocolate (200 g of dark chocolate, 80 g of butter, 2 teaspoons of honey)
- or cocoa icing (300 g of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of cocoa, 1/3 cup of boiling water, 2 teaspoons of honey)
PREPARATION
- Put the honey, butter and sugar into a wide pot and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Add flour, egg, egg yolks, gingerbread spice to the mass (it can be warm) and knead with a spoon until smooth.
- Pour the milk mixed with soda and add very finely chopped or crushed nuts. Knead with a wooden spoon or mixer at low speed for about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the mass to a glass or stone vessel, cover with a double-folded cloth and leave the lid ajar and leave in a cool place for 2-3 weeks.
- Place the mature gingerbread dough on a floured board and knead into a smooth ball. Roll out on a floured board into an even cake, the size of a large oven tray.
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake at 180 degrees C (top and bottom without convection) for approx. 25 – 30 minutes , but check after 20 minutes because the dough may be ready earlier. It should brown a little, but not burn. The cake will stiffen after cooling.
- Cut vertically (not horizontally) into 3 parts (3 smaller rectangles), layer with jam. Before serving, you can sprinkle the cake with liqueur, but only a small amount, just for taste.
- Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and set aside in a cool place for about 1 week . After this time, bring to room temperature, divide into 3 “cubes” and cover with chocolate icing or icing. Store in a cake container. The gingerbread will get better and better every day.
- Chocolate icing : put the chocolate broken into cubes, chopped butter and honey into a pot. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture over low heat until the chocolate melts and a smooth icing is created. Remove from heat immediately and let cool.
- Cocoa icing : sift powdered sugar and cocoa into a bowl and mix. Dissolve the honey in water and boil, gradually pour it into the sugar, stirring with a spoon until the icing is smooth and shiny.
TIPS
- The gingerbread should soften over time (also due to jam), so soaking it is not necessary. You can sprinkle it with liqueur, but sparingly, for aroma.
- One layer of gingerbread can be made (but not necessarily) from marzipan mass (ready to buy in supermarkets) – visible in the photo. Gingerbread trays with this arrangement can be soaked a little more than those with jam, which are wetter.
- There are also layers of kajmak or nut mass.