Pepper Cake

Ingredients

• 10 g baking soda
• 0.5 Organic lemon
• 30 g honey
• 50 ml black tea
• 100 g sugar
• 25 g milk sugar
• 60 g goose lard (unsalted and unspiced) or margarine
• 125 g chopped almonds
• 400 g whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (Ceylon)
• 0.25 tsp ground cloves
• 0.25 tsp ground anise
• 0.5 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 pinch nutmeg flower
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. 1.

   Dissolve the baking soda in 3 tbsp warm water. Rinse the lemon hot, dry it, grate the zest finely and put it into a bowl.

2. 2.

   Heat honey with tea in a pot. Add sugar, milk sugar and lard while stirring constantly. When everything is well warmed and mixed, remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl.

3. 3.

   Add chopped almonds and whole wheat flour to the lemon zest. Add vanilla sugar, cinnamon, cloves, anise, cardamom, nutmeg flower and cayenne pepper.

4. 4.

   Mix the ingredients well. Add the dissolved baking soda and honey mixture. Knead everything into a firm dough on low speed with the hand mixer’s kneading hooks.

5. 5.

   Place the dough in a bowl, dust it lightly with flour and cover with cling film. Let the bowl sit at room temperature for at least 1 week, preferably longer (up to 6 weeks). During this time lactic acid bacteria develop, helping to loosen the dough and give it flavor – this is called "fermenting".

6. 6.

   Knead the fully fermented pepper cake dough briefly again. Then lay it on cling film and dust with a little flour. Cover with a second layer of cling film.

7. 7.

   Roll out about 5 mm thick and remove the top film. Cut the dough into 35 rectangles or rhombuses. (During Advent, cut festive shapes or form walnut‑size balls as desired).

8. 8.

   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the pepper cakes on it with about 4 cm spacing and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (convection: 160 °C, gas: level 2–3) for 8–12 minutes depending on thickness.

9. 9.

   Remove the pepper cakes and let them cool briefly on the sheet. Then lift them off and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.