Elisen Gingerbread mixed – 3 pieces

Assorted Elisen Lebkuchen as a small tasting sample from Selb

The small assorted bag from Hatzel brings together three hand-spread Elisen gingerbreads: one with sugar icing and almonds, one with dark chocolate, and one with milk chocolate. Intended for those who want to try them before deciding on a favorite.

Assorted Elisen Lebkuchen are also available from Hatzel in a small 175-gram bag containing three pieces. They are baked at the gingerbread confectionery in Selb, the "porcelain city" on the edge of the Fichtelgebirge mountains. To say "Elisenlebkuchen" is to refer to the nuttiest variety of wafer-based gingerbread, in which almonds and hazelnuts almost entirely replace flour.

The first bite is soft and yields immediately, followed by the resistance of the whole almonds on top. The center remains moist and dense, permeated with candied lemon and orange peel, whose citrus tang balances the sweetness. Warmly spiced, nutty, and juicy.

A bag for those who don't want to decide

Three coatings at once, plus the dark red ribbon on the bag. This is the perfect size to bring along for coffee without making it a full-blown gift.

The sugar icing allows the spices to shine through most clearly, the dark chocolate coating provides a bittersweet barrier, and the milk chocolate makes everything soft and sweetly comforting. Eaten in this order, the bag tells a little story about the same dough under three different covers.

It belongs on the Christmas table during Advent next to tangerines and nuts, and it works just as well for afternoon coffee in January, even when the fairy lights are long packed away in their boxes. Kept sealed and in a cool place, it will last well into the new year.

Where the Elise gets its name

There is no verified information about the namesake, but there is a persistent Nuremberg legend of a baker's daughter named Elise for whom her father baked the best gingerbread.

What is documented, however, is what must go into an Elisenlebkuchen today. At least a quarter of the ingredients must be almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts, with barely any flour allowed, otherwise it cannot bear the name. At Hatzel, the nut content is significantly higher, which you notice more in the texture than the taste, as the dough remains dense and moist instead of crumbling dry.

The candied citrus peel is also more than the name suggests. In addition to orange peel, it contains lemon peel and citron—that thick-rinded citrus fruit that consists almost entirely of white pith. When candied, it gives the gingerbread bright, translucent pieces and a slightly resinous note that grounds the cinnamon spice.

Selb, where porcelain is otherwise at home

This town in the far northeast of Bavaria is not known for gingerbread, but for tableware.

Rosenthal and Hutschenreuther made Selb great, and the town's history of craftsmanship is still visible today. That a gingerbread confectionery is located among the porcelain factories seems coincidental at first glance, but it fits into the picture of a region where people have been working by hand for generations.

If you prefer the varieties individually, you can find the entire Hatzel range with us. And if you would like to bring the Rhineland to your plate alongside Upper Franconia, try the Aachener Printen from Printenbäckerei Klein.