Legnica gingerbread bombs

Legnica gingerbread bombs, known in German as Liegnitzer Bomben, are traditional spiced cakes from Legnica, Poland. They date back to the late 19th century, when they were first made by the German Müller brothers, and were traditionally enjoyed at Christmas. The exact origin of their name is unclear, but these festive treats are still popular today in Legnica and across the border in Germany.

I’d love to see this lovely tradition live on! These rich, chocolatey gingerbread cakes are full of warming spices and have a delicious marzipan and orange filling, although some versions are made without a filling. Once coated in chocolate, they keep well and stay delicious for a long time.

I don’t have the traditional round moulds, so I baked mine in a muffin tin instead.

Makes 14.

Ingredients for the Legnica gingerbread bombs:

• 300 g honey
• 130 g sugar
• 125 g butter
• 3 large eggs
• 400 g plain flour
• 50 g ground almonds
• 50 g very finely chopped almonds
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 5 tsp mixed spice
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp orange juice

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently, until everything has melted and combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly; the mixture can still be a little warm.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sifted plain flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda, along with the ground almonds, eggs, gingerbread spice mix, orange zest and orange juice. Mix until combined. You’ll have a sticky gingerbread dough.

Ingredients for the marzipan and orange filling:

• 200 g marzipan
• 3 tbsp ground almonds
• 2 tbsp orange jam or marmalade
• 2 tbsp orange liqueur (or orange juice)
• 130 g candied orange peel
• 30 g crystallised ginger (optional)

Coarsely grate the marzipan. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.

Prepare a muffin tin and line it with paper cases. Place 1-2 tablespoons of gingerbread dough (or one heaped tablespoon) in the bottom of each case. Using a damp teaspoon, make a hollow in the centre and add 2 teaspoons of the marzipan and orange filling. Cover with the remaining dough, making sure the filling is completely enclosed so that it doesn’t leak out during baking. Fill each paper case to about 5 mm below the top.

Bake at 170°C for approximately 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for the chocolate coating:

• 200 g dark chocolate

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or in the microwave.

Coat the gingerbread bombs with the melted chocolate and decorate with extra dried or candied fruit and nuts.

Note: Before coating the gingerbread bombs, I also spread a thin layer of smooth orange marmalade over each one. You can skip this step, though, as the marmalade makes it harder to spread the chocolate evenly.

Enjoy!

 

 

Recipe source:  Chefkoch.de.