According to the magazine «Lecker» there is no uniform gingerbread spice.

According to the magazine «Lecker» there is no uniform gingerbread spice.

The more you brown products like toast, potatoes and homemade cookies, the more acrylamide is formed in the food.Sources used: test results Stiftung Warentest

With its delicious smell, the honey gingerbread simply belongs at Christmas time. With this simple gingerbread recipe, you can even bake the classic at home with ease.

Popular pastries for Advent and Christmas

Photo series with 8 pictures

What you need for honey gingerbread

Baking honey gingerbread yourself is not that difficult. With a few delicious ingredients and the right gingerbread recipe, the classic can be easily prepared in the run-up to Christmas. However, plan for the preparation to take several days.

You need the following ingredients to bake the honey gingerbread:

250 g honey, 250 g sugar, 200 ml water, 1 pinch of salt, 15 g gingerbread spices, 8 g deer horn salt, 700 g flour

Gingerbread recipe step by step

First, boil the honey together with the water and sugar in a saucepan. In the meantime, stir well and remove the pan from the heat as soon as it has formed an even mixture. As soon as the whole thing has cooled down a little, stir in the gingerbread spice and salt.

In the meantime, mix the flour and deer horn salt in a bowl. When the mass of sugar, honey and water has cooled down, stir it into the flour. Now knead the dough well until it is evenly pliable. Then wrap it in cling film and store it in the refrigerator for at least three days.

By the way: According to the magazine "Delicious" there is no uniform gingerbread spice. Typical ingredients, however, are anise, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger. You can refine your gingerbread dough with pepper and peel of oranges or lemons.

Bake honey gingerbread

When the dough for the gingerbread recipe is well pulled through, roll it out from the center outwards on a surface dusted with flour. It should be about five to seven millimeters thick. Keep the dough moving by twisting it over and over so it doesn’t stick to the base.

You can now cut out individual honey gingerbread cookies using various cookie cutters or cut the dough into rectangular pieces of the same size. To decorate the individual cakes, you can decorate them with almonds or hazelnuts, for example.

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In the last step, brush the gingerbread cookies with a little water, let stand for about ten minutes and then put them in the oven for about a quarter of an hour at 180 degrees. The enjoyment for the Advent season is already ready. The Christmas cookies can now be kept in a tightly closed tin for four to six weeks.

Tin and marble cakes, no problem. But preparing a cream cake skillfully belongs to the top class of hobby bakers. Biscuit base, which should be cut several times, and sensitive gelatine sheets are just a few of the pitfalls that arise in domestic experiments. Many cake recipes sound more than tempting. We spoke to a master confectioner and revealed how you can create attractive cakes without any breakdowns.

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Don’t panic about biscuit

Those who prepare a cream cake usually start with baking the sponge cake. It is important that you whip the egg and sugar mixture long enough. Gradually add sifted flour and baking powder. Even then, you have to keep stirring with the mixer, because only whipped baking powder will make the foamy dough rise nicely in the oven. After baking, you should let the base cool down so that it can be cut easily. Then comes the great moment of dividing: "The trained pastry chef cuts the biscuit with a knife" says master confectioner Wolfgang Kuckelmann from the Cologne Bakers’ Guild. But the method with a string that is placed around the floor and then pulled together with both ends has proven itself among housewives and baking fans. You shouldn’t be too afraid, because in most cases there are no breaks. "You can no longer see that when the cream is spread over it" so Kuckelmann.

Fill cakes with gelatine?

There are also sources of error lurking with the filling in the form of cream. Leaf gelatine can be found in many ingredient lists for cakes. A product that many amateur cooks and bakers shy away from. What if the gelatine clumps or the mass does not stiffen? In order to avoid such problematic cases, the master confectioner recommends mixing as follows after soaking in a water bath: "First I add a little whipped cream and stir it into the gelatin. Only then does this gelatine cream mass add to the rest of the cream and is mixed with it. This will avoid lumps". If you still prefer to keep your hands off the gelatine, you can simply use cream stabilizer or with ready-made products such as "Gelatine fix" to grab.

Beware of the chocolate choice

A Sacher or chocolate cake is hardly conceivable without a cocoa mass pouring. But with the coating, a lot can be done wrong with the choice of chocolate: "I would advise against using couverture. It only melts at 37 degrees, has to cool down in between and the right moment must be timed for application. I would recommend a simple cake icing to laypeople. It contains other fats and is easier to process" advises Kuckelmann. Conventional chocolate bars cannot be used as a cake topper because they get greasy. "Working with chocolate bars, for example, works with mousse au chocolat if you put it under a mass. It is not suitable as a cover" says the cake expert.

Cut pies correctly

The following moment is particularly annoying: When trying to cut the cake, nuts, chocolate or fruit squeeze the mass down and what remains is a mess of base, filling and topping. To avoid this, the specialist advises using a very sharp knife. In addition, you should work carefully: "It is best to hold the knife in warm water after each cut piece – this will keep it nice and clean and the pieces look tidy".

It is quick to prepare, can handle colorful ingredients and has what it takes to become a favorite meal: the pasta casserole. When it comes to preparation, there are a few tricks that you should know to ensure that the meal turns out perfectly. How much sauce does the pasta need, whether it has to be pre-cooked and what else you should consider.

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When it comes to the question of whether the pasta and ingredients such as vegetables or meat should be pre-cooked before filling the casserole dish, the culinary minds are divided. Both variants can be found in recipes – and both work. Supporters of pasta precooking should cook the pasta as al dente as possible, otherwise the pasta will later become too cardboard in the casserole. If you prefer the time-saving method of not cooking, you have to make sure to pour enough liquid and sauce over the mass. The raw pasta soaks up more, and this also applies to spices. So don’t skimp on salt and pepper when seasoning. 

Pre-cook ingredients or not?

With the other ingredients, you should always briefly sear fresh meat such as mince or turkey in advance, sausage such as salami or ham can be added directly. If you use fresh, firm vegetables such as cauliflower, fennel or peppers, it is advisable to sauté these as well. Already soft, quickly cooked varieties such as tomatoes and tender canned vegetables are not cooked in advance, otherwise they will taste too mushy later.

The sauce is the be-all and end-all

As a basis for a light sauce, use creme fraiche, cream or sour cream, which are seasoned with salt, pepper – and, depending on the degree of spiciness, with gentle nutmeg to fiery chilli. Eggs also ensure more bonding. If you want to save a little fat and calories on the already hearty dish, you can prepare the sauce with sour cream or milk, you can also use vegetable broth to make the liquid more figure-friendly.

Tomato sauce tastes particularly delicious, fruity in casseroles that are prepared with Mediterranean vegetables such as zucchini and aubergines. The best way to make this sauce is to season tomato strained with onions, garlic and herbs such as sage, oregano, thyme and a dash of sugar. Attention, the sauce can be spicy when you try it, because the ingredients later absorb not only the liquid, but also a lot of the seasoning.

Hard at the top, soft at the bottom – it doesn’t have to be

A culinary problem that is usually only noticeable when serving the casserole: The top pasta is rock-hard, while the bottom is cooked. Therefore, when cooking the sauce, it is important to stir enough of it so that all the noodles are covered with liquid. Otherwise protruding ingredients will be very hard and burn. If there is not enough sauce on it, the casserole will dry out quickly. A tip for the dosage: Use vegetables such as fresh broccoli or carrots, add a little more sauce, since firm vegetables have more liquid "to swallow".

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Conjure up tasty cheese crust

The highlight on every casserole or gratin is a crispy, tangy cheese crust. This works if you sprinkle hard cheeses such as Emmentaler, Parmesan, Gruyere or Comté over the casserole. Soft cheeses such as sheep’s cheese, mozzarella, Gouda and Brie combine better with the pasta and make for a hearty casserole. For that extra twist, sprinkle a handful of breadcrumbs and butter flakes over the cheese – for a guaranteed wonderful crust.

Gingerbread belongs on every cookie plate. The preparation is time-consuming, however, and the baked goods quickly become hard and inedible. That is why many people with a sweet tooth prefer to buy ready-made products from the supermarket at Christmas. But are they good too? Stiftung Warentest took a close look at 21 gingerbread cookies. Read here how the gingerbread did in the test.

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Gingerbread in the test: branded product versus discounter goods

The test focused on taste, pollutant content, packaging and declaration. A total of 13 chocolate gingerbread and eight wafer gingerbread were examined, including branded and discounted goods. The wafer gingerbread includes Nuremberg and Elisen gingerbread. Nurnbergers should contain at least 12.5 percent almonds or other nuts, the nobler Elisen gingerbread must contain at least 25 percent almonds. However, the nut content cannot be reliably checked – this is why manufacturers can cheat on the name.