Pepperkaker (Norwegian Gingerbread) Recipe

Pepperkaker Norwegian Gingerbread Recipe

It’s the time of the year! And as we are drawing near to Christmas, we wanted to let you in a recipe that is anchored in tradition, and has also become a tradition for Limoncellos as well!

One of the most aromatic and popular Christmas cookies in Norway are Pepperkaker. These delicious traditional treats or pepper cakes, are the Norwegian version of gingerbread. They tend to be thinner and crispier than gingerbreads, and also come with a more fiery taste because of the extra pepper and spices used in most recipes.

Pepperkaker Recipe

The essential and key element for a successful Pepperkaker Norwegian Gingerbread Recipe is the spices! So make sure your tick all the boxes on that list to create flavourful and memorable biscuits!

Ingredients:

500 grams butter
300ml of maple syrup
600ml of sugar
300ml of cream (whole cream liquid)
About 2l of flour
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
5 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons baking powder

Decoration:

What would Pepperkaker be without their decoration? Although some within our team prefer the “naked” gingerbreads to their decorated versions, we must admit it is the funniest part of the preparation. And cherry on the cake (pun intended!), the icing is super easy to make. Simply mix 1 egg white with icing sugar (and add food colorant if you want to spice it up a little)

Glue:

In case you want to build a magical pepperkaker house whether to admire, decorate your table or gulp on, you will need to glue pieces together. To do that, you can simply melt sugar and a bit of water in a pan to create a sticky caramel

Step 1 – Prepare the dough

This must be done the day before.

First, melt the sugar syrup and butter in a casserole.
Remove the heat and let it cool down.
You can then add the cream.
Incorporate the flour, the spices and the baking powder.
Now, you will only need to mix it all together, cover it and leave it in the fridge to the next day (at least 8 hours until it becomes hard).

Step 2 – Time for fun

Once your dough has sat in the fridge overnight, you can take bits of it and spread it thin with a rolling pin, as if you were making a ‘pizza’.
Use different shapes of cake tins to make the cakes.
Bake in the oven at 180°C for 7-8 minutes.
Leave the cakes to cool before decorating and devouring.

Pepperkaker are a real art and you can always try your hand at more sophisticated pieces. If you look for us, you’ll find us drooling over the most beautiful “pepperkakerhus” designs, wondering how the hell they got so skilled at it and most importantly how they managed to keep it standing! That is some cake house engineering, that is!

And last but not least, if you are looking at making your Xmas extra sustainable and enjoyable, you can check out our sustainable lifestyle Christmas tips!