Baking Elisenlebkuchen soft, moist & without flour

The lovely thing is that Elisenlebkuchen are far simpler than their reputation suggests. They need no flour, no dough that has to rise and no rolling out. At heart they are a nut mixture, held light and airy by whisked egg white, which you spoon onto edible wafers. And because they are made with egg whites, they sit nicely alongside Christmas biscuits (in German) that mostly call for yolks. The three whites left over from Vanillekipferl and jam-filled Spitzbuben are, admittedly, already spoken for there – they go into cinnamon stars or hazelnut macaroons (in German). For the gingerbread you'll need four egg whites – easiest from fresh eggs, or from whites you've been saving up in the freezer.

What makes an Elisenlebkuchen more nut than anything else

Not every gingerbread is allowed to call itself an Elisenlebkuchen. In Germany, the official guidelines for fine bakery products set out what has to go into one: at least a quarter of the mixture must be almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts, and flour may make up only a small share at most – in many recipes, this one included, it is left out altogether. That is exactly where their reputation as the finest of all the Lebkuchen comes from.

By way of comparison: a plain wafer gingerbread gets by with far fewer nuts, and brown Lebkuchen are baked from a firm dough of flour and honey that is rolled out and cut into shapes. Elisen are the very opposite: soft, gently domed and more a sweetmeat than a biscuit.

Nobody knows for certain where the name comes from. The story most often told is of a Nuremberg gingerbread baker who is said to have named his recipe after his daughter, Elisabeth. There's no proof of it, but it suits a bake that is still tied to Nuremberg today. "Nürnberger Lebkuchen", incidentally, is a protected designation of origin – which is why, baked at home, they are simply called Elisenlebkuchen.

The ingredients and why every one of them counts

Nuts. They are the heart of the recipe. A mix of ground hazelnuts and almonds tastes the most rounded: the hazelnut brings the flavour, the almond the fine, moist texture. If you like, toast some of the hazelnuts briefly in a dry pan first – it deepens the taste, but the nuts must cool completely before you go on.

Egg whites. They are what makes the mixture light and holds it together. They're whisked until stiff with a pinch of salt, then the sugar is sprinkled in until you have a glossy, firm meringue. Whites straight from the fridge work well, provided they've come up to room temperature first; all that really matters is that the bowl and whisk are completely free of grease.

Candied orange and citron peel, and fresh zest. They give the gingerbread its gentle bitter note and the freshness it needs amid all those nuts. Chopped very finely, they spread evenly through the mixture. If you're not fond of candied fruit, use the grated zest of an unwaxed orange and an unwaxed lemon instead – the result is fresher and a touch less traditional, but thoroughly good.

Spices. Ready-mixed gingerbread spice – in Germany it's sold as Lebkuchengewürz – is the simplest route, as it already contains cinnamon, clove, allspice, coriander, cardamom and nutmeg in a well-balanced blend. A little extra cinnamon rounds it all off.

Wafers. The thin baking wafers, 7 centimetres across, are the base the mixture is baked on. They stop the soft mixture sticking to the tray or spreading out, and later they form the wafer-thin, slightly crisp finish underneath.

Keeping them moist the three things that matter most

Don't overbake them. The most common reason for dry gingerbread is too long in the oven. Elisen should still be soft inside when they come out – they firm up on their own as they cool.

Keep them airtight. Best of all in a tin with a well-fitting lid, in layers with baking paper between them. That way they keep for several weeks.

Add a piece of apple. An old trick: tuck a slice of apple or a strip of orange peel into the tin and replace it every few days. The moisture keeps the gingerbread soft. The only thing that matters is swapping the fruit regularly so that it doesn't go mouldy.

Many recipes suggest leaving Elisenlebkuchen to rest for a few days, or up to a week, before you cut into them. By then the spices have mellowed together and the flavour is rounder. They taste lovely fresh all the same – it's more a question of patience than a rule.

When to bake them their place in your Advent plan

Elisenlebkuchen are among the bakes you can happily make early. If you start your Christmas baking in November, they're the best place to begin: they keep for weeks, improve with resting and are ready just as Advent arrives.

A practical order for a baking weekend looks like this: on Saturday, the biscuits with plenty of egg yolk and butter; on Sunday, the Elisenlebkuchen. Any yolks left over are easily used up in shortcrust pastry. The quark stollen is better baked shortly before the holidays, as it doesn't keep as long as a classic yeasted stollen.

Variations if you'd like them a little different

With walnuts. Some of the hazelnuts can be replaced with coarsely ground walnuts. The gingerbread then becomes a little more bitter-edged and fuller in flavour.

Without candied fruit. Leave out the candied orange and citron peel entirely and use the zest of a whole unwaxed orange and an unwaxed lemon instead. The mixture becomes a little softer, so it's best to add a few grams more ground almonds.

With marzipan. 50 g of marzipan, finely crumbled and mixed with the candied peel, makes the gingerbread even moister and milder.

Small ones for the biscuit tin. With wafers 5 cm across you'll get roughly twice as many little gingerbreads. The baking time then shortens to about 15 minutes.

To give away in glassine and linen

Elisenlebkuchen are made for giving: they're sturdy, they keep well and they look festive even without much wrapping. Three or four stacked on top of one another, wrapped in baking paper or a glassine bag and tied with a linen ribbon, make a little present almost anyone will be glad of. If you like, write the kind on a small tag – chocolate or icing.

One note belongs with them: Elisenlebkuchen are made largely of nuts. If any of your guests or the people you're giving them to have a nut allergy, be sure to say so on the tag.

Goes well with for the Advent plate

On the Advent plate, Elisenlebkuchen like to sit beside the classics from the biscuit tin: Christmas biscuits – four classics with a baking plan (in German). Hazelnut macaroons (in German) and spiced spekulatius (in German) go nicely with them too. For the holidays themselves there's quark stollen without yeast. And if you'd like to sew something for the tree while the gingerbread rests, you'll find eight quiet shapes in Sewing linen Christmas ornaments – or set the scene with a linen Christmas cushion with a fir tree. How to lay the table for the holidays in a calm, atmospheric way is in my post on setting a country-style Christmas table (in German).

Frequently asked questions answered short & clear

A fragrant Advent to you – Jona