Basler leckerli

There’s something gingerbready about basler leckerli – despite the absence of ginger. And something Christmassy too, with the cloves, nutmeg and mixed peel.

So they weren’t my first choice for our World Cup cook-off, but the thought of eating cheese fondue in the sweltering heat tipped it in their favour.

I’ve discovered that it’s easier make the honey syrup in a large enough saucepan that you can add the dry ingredients, rather than trying to stir the syrup into the flour.

As I’ve noticed before with honey-based baking, the flavour of the honey emerges after the first day. The texture improves too, acquiring a slightly softened chewiness. (Even the edge trimmings, which were tooth crackingly hard on the first day.)

I’ll definitely be adding basler leckerli to this year’s Christmas baking list.

I pretty much followed the recipe for basler leckerli on the Putney Farm website.

Basler leckerli
(makes about 40 bars)

• 1 Tb butter
• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1½ cups finely chopped almonds
• ½ cup mixed peel
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 2 Tb Kirsch

For the glaze:

• ½ cup caster sugar
• 2 Tb water
• 2 Tb icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a 20x30cm rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Butter and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, combine the almonds and peel, and set aside.
4. In a large saucepan over a medium flame, heat the sugar and honey until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the Kirsch.
5. Stir the dry ingredients into the syrup, then stir in the nut mixture.
6. Press the dough into the prepared baking sheet. Lower the temperature to 300°F (150°C) and bake for about a half an hour until firm, but not hard.
7. Cool in the baking sheet on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and peel off the tin foil, and cut off the hard edges.
8. To glaze, heat the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, and stir in the icing sugar.
9. Brush the surface of the basler laekerli with the hot glaze, working quickly before it cools. Leave to set, then cut into bars with a large knife.

Family score: 8.7 out of 10

Tags: almonds, honey, vegetarian