Leipziger Lerche

Leipziger Lerche
Type Pastry
Place of origin Germany
Region or state Leipzig
Main ingredients Shortcrust, almonds, nuts, one cherry
Cookbook:Leipziger Lerche  Leipziger Lerche

The Leipziger Lerche is a pastry of Leipzig. The name originates from the singing bird lark (German:Lerche) which was roasted with herbs and eggs or served as a filling in pastries. In the year 1720 alone, 400.000 of those bird were sold in Leipzig as a delicacy.[1]

The hunt of the singing birds was officially banned by the saxonian King Albert I in 1876 after recognition of their agricultural importance.[2] According to the Vienna Appetit-Lexikon, larks were still exported from Leipzig at the end of the 19th century.[3] It is passed on that today's pastry replaced the traditional meat filled pastry.[4]

Today's version consists of a shortcrust filled with a mixture of crushed almonds, nuts and a cherry. The cherry symbolises the heart of the bird. It is topped with a grid of two crossed dough strips. The term Leipziger Lerche has been protected by the saxonian bakery guild since 1998.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Irene Krauß, Chronik bildschöner Backwerke, Stuttgart 1999, S. 261 f.
  2. ↑ Information of the Historical Museum Leipzig
  3. ↑ Robert Habs/Leopold Rosner, Appetit-Lexikon, Badenweiler 1997 (reprint of the original version Vienna 1898)
  4. ↑ Irene Krauß, Chronik bildschöner Backwerke, Stuttgart 1999, S. 262
  5. ↑ Leipziger Lerche at Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (German)