Recipe: Gingerbread Lebkuchen

Makes 24

Prep time: 45 minutes, plus cooling and setting

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Lebkuchen is a German gingerbread that has become synonymous with Christmas baking. A cross between a biscuit and cake with a delicious mixture of honey, almond, ginger and cocoa, it is a frontrunner for edible gifts

Ingredients:

160g clear runny honey

110g unsalted butter

50g ground almonds

260g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

2 tsp cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

To decorate:

150g icing sugar

1 medium egg white

2-3 tbsp cold water

100g dark chocolate, melted

You will need:

A 4cm heart cutter

Method:

Tip: These biscuits really do improve with age, that’s if you can bear to wait and you must!

Taken from Gingerbread Wonderland by Mima Sinclair. Published by Kyle Books, priced £8.99. Photography by Tara Fisher