Ingredients for approx. 50 sweets:
For the dough:
- 200 g honey
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 packet vanilla sugar
- 1 egg (M)
- 2 level tsp gingerbread spice
- 50 g ground almonds
- 50 g ground hazelnuts
- 250 g flour (type 405)
- 2 level tsp baking powder
For the filling:
- 200 g marzipan paste
- 100 g powdered sugar (sieved)
- 4 tbsp apricot liqueur
- 4 sheets of gelatine or approx. 6 g powdered gelatine (please follow manufacturer’s instructions or read tips for its use here)
- 200 g apricot jam
For the glaze:
- 400 g semisweet chocolate
- 50 g coconut fat
- 100 g powdered sugar (sieved)
- ½ egg white (M)
Preparation:
- Slowly heat honey, sugar and vanilla sugar, transfer into a bowl and let cool. When mixture is almost cool, gradually stir in egg, gingerbread spice, almonds and hazelnuts a little at a time. Mix flour with baking powder and sieve. Stir 2/3 of the flour into the honey mixture, kneading the remainder of the flour into the mixture on a work surface. Roll dough out to cover 3/4 of a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 170-200 degrees (gas: levels 3-4, convection: 150-180 degrees), then let cool.
- In the meantime, knead powdered sugar into the marzipan. Once blended, work in 2 tablespoons of apricot liqueur. Roll marzipan out between two layers of cling wrap to make 2 sheets of equal size to the pastry.
- Soak gelatine in cold water. Heat apricot jam and pass through a sieve. Squeeze gelatine out well and dissolve in the warm jam. Stir in 2 tablespoons of apricot liqueur.
- Cut cooled pastry in half and remove from baking sheet. Cut each sheet horizontally to make two layers. While the jam is still warm, spread half of it on the lower pastry halves. Layer marzipan on top of the coated pastry sheets. Spread the remaining apricot jam on the marzipan and then top with the upper pastry sheets, pressing the pastry in lightly. Refrigerate, covered, for several hours, letting the pastry soak.
- Cut chocolate and coconut fat into small pieces and place into a bowl. Melt over a hot water bath while stirring occasionally. Cut pastry into squares (4x2 cm) and coat with glaze. Let harden.
- Mix powdered sugar and egg white together to make a pipeable icing. Transfer into a piping cone made of parchment paper and use to decorate Domino squares.
Click here for more information on cooking and baking with gelatine.
Approx. nutrition facts per serving:
- Calories: 145
- Joules: 608
- Protein: 1.9
- Fat: 5.6
- Carbohydrates: 22
Christmastime is baking time!
For most people, no other time of the year is as strongly associated with sweets as the Advent and Christmas season. We already start baking, shaping, rolling and cutting out on the four Sundays of Advent to shorten the wait for Christmas. Next to classics such as Christmas stollen, spiced Spekulatius biscuits and the crescent-shaped vanilla biscuits called Vanillekipferl, there is one other very special German delicacy, a layered gingerbread biscuit that goes by the name of Dominostein (domino). These may be a little more complicated to make than other biscuits, but are definitely worth the extra effort. These square sweets are made of layers of gingerbread, marzipan, and apricot or sour cherry jelly. A glaze of either dark, milk or white chocolate provides the finishing touch.
Dominosteine were invented in 1936 by Dresden chocolatier Herbert Wendler (1912–1998). The layered chocolate was designed to appeal to a broader class of customer, as they were cheaper than his chocolate manufacturing company’s other products. Dominosteine became popular as an “emergency chocolate” when food was scarce during World War II. After inheriting the original recipe from Herbert Wendler when his company became insolvent, the company “Dr. Quent” succeeded in the tradition, taking over production of the sweet in 1996.
Not only delicious, but also decorative: the cube-shaped Christmas treat is often used to creatively decorate Christmas cakes or desserts. Just give the recipe a try! We wish you a wonderful Christmas season and Happy Holidays!