German Nussecken

Nussecken are a tradiotional German recipe that is commonly baked during Christmas. There are numerous recipes out there but I would also like to share my families version.

Dough

200 g all purpose flour

100 g Butter

60 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolk

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Topping:

100 g Butter

100 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbs water

200 g of finely chopped almonds (you may also use hazelnuts)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (360 Fahrenheit)

Dough:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until they form a soft dough. It will be crumply at the beginning but you need to keep mixing it. I recommend to start with the butter and mix it until it becomes soft. Then add the remaining ingredients.

Topping:

Add the butter, the sugar, the water and the vanilla extract in a small sauce bowl. Bring everything to boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Finally add the almonds (nuts) to the mixture.

Baking:

Spread to dough as a 1/2 inch thick layer on a large baking sheet. Spread the warm topping mixture on top.

Place to prepared baking sheet in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Finally cut the finished cake into hand-sized triangles. You may cut it in whatever shape you like but the traditional Nussecke comes in a triangular shape (Ecke = Corner).

If this isn't delicious enough you can cover the entire cake with chocolate drizzles to make it extra yummy.

Enjoy!!