St. Nikolaus and Gingerbread

St. Nicholas, the special children's saint, is honoured throughout Austria. It is said that God rewarded Nicholas' generosity by allowing him to return to earth each year to bring gifts to all the good children.

 

St. Nicholas comes on his feast day, a special holiday apart from Christmas. Some places he comes on St. Nicholas Eve, December 5, and other places on the day itself, December 6. St. Nicholas (or Nicolo or Niklaus) is dressed as a bishop with flowing robes and a miter. He carries a big book and a bishop's crozier. During the year angels, who sometimes come with him, write children's good and bad deeds in this book. When children promise to be good and study hard, St. Nicholas rewards them with a treat. He may come by himself or with angel helpers and/or a Krampus.

Prevalent in Austria is Krampus, a strange and frightening creature, really an anti-St. Nicholas, who comes to warn and punish naughty children (and adults). Frequently seen with St. Nicholas, this devil figure, often in chains, is dressed in fur with a scary devil mask with horns and a long red tongue. Krampus carries a wooden stick or switches to threaten children who misbehave or do not know their lessons. Many towns and cities have Krampus parades with many young men in elaborate fur costumes and devil masks. After the parade the Krampus figures scatter and beat anyone who gets in their way. It is very frightening and even dangerous.

Austrian Christmas markets open before St. Nicholas Day. There one finds delightful St. Nicholas delicacies—chocolates, marzipan, decorated cookies, even bread shaped like the good saint. The treats can be very small, just a single wrapped chocolate turned into a hand-made little Bishop Nicholas. Spiced speculatius cookies are shaped like the saint and Krampus. These are decorated with coloured icing, fruit, and nuts. There are even prune-people of St. Nicholas and Krampus.

Children leave shoes for St. Nicholas on the windowsill or outside their bedroom doors. In the morning they find the good saint has filled good children's shoes with oranges, apples, nuts, sweets, and small toys. Of course, all the children are good.

In some towns St. Nicholas processes from the church before giving little presents to all the children. Saint Nicholas, and Krampus, may also visit in homes to ask children if they have been naughty or nice and perhaps to recite their prayers. Or the Children may simply find treats in their shoes in the morning.

As a child it is magical when St. Nikolaus steps into the living room opens his book and reads out what the angels have written about you. (Of course parents would give “St Nikolaus” a list of what you did well and where you could improve) I remember I was always asked to help around the house a bit more and tidy my room….. Krampus would rattle his chain at that point to warn me to try harder, which certainly did the trick for a couple of months!!!

St. Nikolaus day is the day the first gingerbread gets eaten and Christmas is almost here!!

Ingredients

…for the gingerbread
500kg plain flour
1tbsp cocoa powder
150g cold butter
1tbsp mixed spice
1tsp mace
1tsp cinnamon
½tbsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
225g dark brown sugar
2 eggs
110g honey or golden syrup

…to decorate the gingerbread
Glazed Cherries
Almonds
1 Egg White
300g Icing Sugar

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine crumbs. Then stir in the spices, baking soda and sugar. Whisk the eggs with the honey and stir into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Knead together into a smooth dough.

Heat oven to 200C and line several baking trays with parchment paper. Roll dough out to the thickness of 1 ½ to 2 cm. Use a sharp knife cut out rectangles or squares. Lift the gingerbread, onto the baking trays. Brush with egg whites and decorate with cherries and almonds.

Bake the gingerbread one tray at a time on a high shelf in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until a lovely, rich brown and firm to the touch. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

With an electric whisk beat egg whites until stiff. Incorporate Icing sugar. Spoon some into a food bag, snip the tiniest bit off the corner and pipe any icing decorations you want onto the gingerbread. Leave to dry.

The gingerbread goes fairly hard, it’s not a cake recipe, and should be kept in an airtight container or tin if not consumed within a few days.

It is best eaten cut up in strips with a little butter. Leia dips it into hot chocolate (and so does every child past or present)….Me, I dip it into my coffee when no one is looking!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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