Vegan Lebkuchen recipe

I have been experimenting with my recipe for Lebkuchen to make it suitable for vegans. And I have to say I am very happy with the outcome. The Lebkuchen have turned out wonderfully moist and by substituting eggs by marzipan and fig jam their taste stays basically the same.

I did not cover this batch in chocolate as I wanted the Christmassy flavours to be as pure as possible. If you store them in an airtight container, preferably with a slice of apple, they will still keep moist for a couple of weeks.

For about 15 Lebkuchen you will need:

• 200g (7 oz) marzipan
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp fig jam
• 200g (7 oz) caster sugar
• 300g (10 oz) ground almonds
• 300g (10 oz)ground hazelnuts
• 50g (1,7 oz) candied lemon peel
• 50g (1,7 oz) candied orange peel
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp Lebkuchen spice (can be substituted by pumpkin spice or your favourite blend of Christmassy spices)
• 1 tsp cocoa powder

you will also need:

• about 15 wafer papers

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C / 320F.

2. In a large bowl, beat the marzipan, water, fig jam and the sugar until smooth.

3. Finely chop the candied orange and lemon peel and together with the rest of the ingredients, add to the marzipan-mixture. Carefully fold in with a spatula or wooden spoon until well incorporated.

4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Evenly distribute the wafer papers on the sheet. 

5. Prepare a glass filled with warm water. Dip an ice-cream scoop into the warm water and use it to cut off a piece of the sticky batter. Place it onto one wafer base. Proceed with the rest of the batter. If you are going for a smooth and even look, use your wet hands to slightly flatten and smoothen the Lebkuchen. You should still see about 3mm of the wafer base as the batter will rise a bit.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Leave to cool completely.