Lebkuchen Milk Chocolate

Product name: Lebkuchen Milk Chocolate
Calories: 201 per cake 

A couple of weeks ago I had a lovely Christmassy evening at a friend’s house and, completely unexpectedly, I won a Christmas-themed quiz. My prize was this pack of five Lebkuchen which had been made for Aldi stores in the UK and Ireland.

I don’t know if I’ve just had a sheltered upbringing, but I’d never actually heard of this type of snack before and, at first glance, I didn’t find the description of ‘lebkuchen with icing sugar and milk chocolate’ much help! However, a more detailed summary of exactly what lebkuchen were was also provided: ‘spiced cakes made with apricot kernel paste and apricot puree’.

Prior to opening my packet, I decided to do a bit more research on Wikipedia and found that it was actually a German baked Christmas good. What surprised me, though, was that it was meant to be similar to gingerbread – there had been no mention of this on the wrapper and, as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy the taste of ginger, I was slightly concerned. On the plus side, the ingredients showed that 15% of the product was milk chocolate, 12% was ‘apricot fruit filling’, and 11% was ‘apricot kernel paste’. I did also notice that the cakes contained candied orange peel which, for me, was another negative since it has a texture that I don’t like. As a result, I usually avoid products that contain it, but I decided to give these Lebkuchen Milk Chocolate a go anyway.

The Lebkuchen came in a simple cellophane-wrapped purple and pale blue cardboard tray that contained an illustration of a European-looking city (presumably to resemble their German origin!). Each cake weighed around 50g and was quite domed in appearance – I thought they looked like curvier Wagon Wheels! They were dark brown in colour and the white icing sugar that looked a bit like a doughnut glaze seemed to have collected in the surface cracks on the top. The chocolate was on the base of the Lebkuchen and the insides were a paler colour with a very slight orange tinge. Overall, I thought they looked nice enough, although they had the potential to be dry.

There was a hint of ginger in the aroma but I thought they mainly smelt like fruit cake – it was quite a festive smell, actually. The flavour definitely did have elements of ginger but, thankfully, this wasn’t too strong. I could also taste the apricot but, considering the quantities used and the fact it was one of the main product descriptors, it wasn’t nearly as obvious as I’d expected. Unfortunately, the chocolate layer was so thin that I couldn’t taste this at all, but I did enjoy the general Christmassy baking flavours on offer. It was very flavoursome, with warm spices that seemed to reach the back of the throat, and I could also taste dried fruit which, looking at the ingredients, seemed to be a result of ‘date paste’.

I really liked the texture of these Lebkuchen Milk Chocolate. They had a crispy outer edge which seemed to be mainly down to the icing and this blended with the softer centre to provide a well-rounded experience. This filling was quite similar to a standard cake texture although it wasn’t as spongy. Whilst I wouldn’t describe it as ‘moist’, it certainly wasn’t dry – it was just the right balance and I was even more pleased not to come across any chunks of candied peel!

As someone who doesn’t like Christmas cake, these Lebkuchen were a great alternative for me since they provided the warm flavours associated with the season without the full-blown fruit cake experience. Not bad at all! 

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10