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    Home » Desserts

    Gingerbread Slice (Perník)

    Published: Nov 2, 2021 · Modified: Jan 1, 2022 by Petra Kupská

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    This recipe for perník, Bohemian gingerbread flavored with old Czech spices, is made on a baking sheet. The spices enhance its taste, surprising you in a pleasant way.

    Gingerbread slice served.
    Table of Contents hide
    Ingredients
    Homemade Gingerbread Spice Mix
    Making Gingerbread Slices
    Serving
    Baking Sheet
    Useful Tips
    Perník Gingerbread Slice

    I decorated the surface of the cake with a grid of fruit jam. The marmalade adds a juicy flavor to the cake while looking nice.

    ➤ The Czech word perník (pernik) translates into English as gingerbread. Perníčky (small, tiny shapes made of spiced honey dough) can be translated as gingerbread cookies.

    MYT TIP: Try also this Czech makovec poppy seed cake (it tastes heavenly!)

    Ingredients

    Gingerbread slice Czech perník ingredients.

    To make Czech gingerbread perník slice, we need:

    • All-purpose flour
    • Eggs; remove them about half to an hour before baking and let them come to room temperature
    • Coarse sugar
    • Homemade gingerbread spice mix; anise seeds, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, lemon and orange zest - preparation described below
    • Baking powder
    • Oil; sunflower or rapeseed
    • Milk; ideally lukewarm
    • Cocoa; dark, Dutch type
    • Marmalade; for the decorative grid, preferably a tangier one (e.g., currant)

    Next, take some fat and a tablespoon of flour to line the baking tray. Also, a pastry or other sturdy plastic bag to pipe the marmalade grid over the gingerbread batter poured on the baking sheet.

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

    Homemade Gingerbread Spice Mix

    Here are the ingredients you need to prepare homemade gingerbread spices:

    Gingerbread spice mix.

    How to make it:

    1. Grind anise, allspice, and cloves in a spice grinder (electric or manual). Strain the ground mixture through a coarse sieve to remove any tough spice residue.
    2. Add ground cinnamon.
    3. Wash the orange and lemon carefully and grate about a teaspoon of fresh zest from each citrus. Add this too to the mixture and stir.

    ➤ The gingerbread spice mix is now ready to use.

    Making homemade gingerbread spice mix.

    Making Gingerbread Slices

    STEP 1: Grease a baking tray and dust it with flour.

    STEP 2: With an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs with the coarse sugar until foamy. Be patient; it will take five minutes.

    ➤ TIP: Eggs that you take out of the fridge half an hour to an hour in advance and let them come to room temperature will be much easier to whip!

    STEP 3: In a bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and cocoa.

    STEP 4: Gradually add the flour, milk, and oil to the whisked eggs. Beat slowly with an electric mixer. Finally, stir in the gingerbread spice blend.

    STEP 5: Pour the gingerbread batter onto the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to level the surface.

    Pouring gingerbread batter in a sheet pan.

    STEP 6: Heat the marmalade in a saucepan so that it is warm but not hot. If it is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water and stir into a semi-liquid mixture. Fill a pastry bag with a cut-off tip (about ¼ inch / 0.5 cm) with the marmalade mixture thus prepared. Use the bag to make a slanting grid across the surface of the pastry.

    Decorating gingerbread slice surface.

    STEP 7: Bake the gingerbread in a preheated oven at 340 °F (170 °C) for 30 minutes. 

    Gingerbread slice, baked.

    Serving

    Let the gingerbread cake cool down completely, and then cut it into slices of approximately 3x3 inches (7x7 cm). Serve with a good cup of coffee or tea.

    gingerbread slice recipe.

    Baking Sheet

    I baked the gingerbread slice on a 12x14 inch (30x35 cm) baking sheet. Feel free to use a bit larger baking sheet; the resulting gingerbread won't be as tall. You may need more jam for the grid.

    Baked gingerbread slice.

    Useful Tips

    • The gingerbread slice will puff up quite a bit on the baking sheet, but the jam grid will compress the dough, creating a nice plastic effect on the surface.
    • Use a more distinctive marmalade. The marmalade gives the gingerbread cake a significant flavor boost. I mixed plum jam with currant jam.
    • Warmed marmalade will be easier to pipe. If it's too stiff, thin it with a bit of water while heating. Whisk well to a smooth mixture with no clumps.

    More sweet recipes:

    • Coconut meringue cookies – Czech kokosky
    • Plum dumplings – with poppy seeds
    • Czech apple slice – hraběnčiny řezy

    Recipe Card

    gingerbread slice recipe.

    Perník Gingerbread Slice

    This recipe for perník, Bohemian gingerbread flavored with old Czech spices, is made on a baking sheet. The spices enhance its taste, surprising you in a pleasant way.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 12 slices
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Sweet Pastry
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Sheet cakes

    Ingredients

    Gingerbread Slice Batter:

    • 2 eggs at room temperature
    • 1 and ¼ cups (250 g) coarse sugar
    • 3 cups (390 g) all-purpose flour
    • 1 Tbsp baking powder
    • 2 Tbsp dark cocoa Dutch type
    • ½ cup (120 ml) oil sunflower or Canola
    • 1 and ½ cups (360 ml) milk lukewarm

    Gingerbread Spice Mix:

    • 3 pcs cloves
    • 1 tsp aniseed
    • 2 pcs allspice
    • 1 tsp cinnamon ground
    • 1 tsp lemon zest freshly ground
    • 1 tsp orange zest freshly ground

    Miscellaneous:

    • 1 cup (330 g) fruit marmalade or jam preferably a tangier one; for the decorative grid
    • 1 Tbsp fat to grease the baking sheet
    • 1 Tbsp flour to dust the baking sheet

    Instructions

    Preparing the gingerbread spice mix:

    • Grind anise, allspice, and cloves in a spice grinder (electric or manual). Strain the ground mixture through a coarse sieve to remove any tough spice residue.
    • Add ground cinnamon.
    • Wash the orange and lemon carefully and grate about a teaspoon of fresh zest from each citrus. Add it to the mixture and stir.

    Making gingerbread slice:

    • Grease a baking tray and dust it with flour.
    • With an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs with the coarse sugar until foamy. Be patient; it will take five minutes.
    • In a bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder and cocoa.
    • Gradually add the flour, milk, and oil to the whisked eggs. Beat slowly with an electric mixer. Finally, stir in the gingerbread spice mix.
    • Pour the gingerbread batter onto the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to level the surface.
    • Heat the marmalade in a saucepan so that it is warm but not hot. If it is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water and stir into a semi-liquid mixture. Fill a pastry bag with a cut-off tip (about ¼ inch / 0.5 cm) with the marmalade mixture thus prepared. Use the bag to make a slanting grid across the surface of the pastry.
    • Bake the gingerbread in a preheated oven at 340 °F (170 °C) for 30 minutes.

    Notes

    • SERVING: Let the gingerbread cake cool completely, and then cut it into slices of approximately 3x3 inches (7x7 cm). Serve with a good cup of coffee or tea.
    • BAKING SHEET: I baked the gingerbread slice on a 12x14 inch (30x35 cm) baking sheet. Feel free to use a bit larger baking sheet; the resulting gingerbread won't be as tall. You may need more jam for the grid.
    • The gingerbread slice will puff up quite a bit on the baking sheet, but the jam grid will compress the dough, creating a nice plastic effect on the surface.
    • Use a more distinctive marmalade. The marmalade gives the gingerbread cake a significant flavor boost. I mixed plum jam with currant jam.
    • Warmed marmalade will be easier to pipe. If it's too stiff, thin it with a bit of water while heating. Whisk well to a smooth mixture with no clumps.

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Soni

      November 03, 2021 at 10:21 am

      5 stars
      From the recipe itself it's felt that the result will be delicious

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        November 03, 2021 at 10:40 am

        Oh, thank you for your lovely comment! I believe this gingerbread really tastes very good, if you decide to try it, you won't be disappointed 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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