Pryanniki are traditional Russian sweet foods, a cross between a biscuit and a cake, usually containing honey and spices. They come into their own in winter, and are good candidates for nibbling on at New Year celebrations, which in Russia is more festive than the quieter, religious orthodox Christmas on 7th January.

From a vast array of recipes, I have chosen to adapt an original recipe from Elena Molokhovets’ 1861 book ‘A Present to Young Housekeepers’. This one is pleasantly spicy and certainly traditional, and not too much trouble to make. It is also lighter and softer than the famous ‘Tulskoi pryannik’, or pryannik from Tula, which is available in the shops. I have used white flour, but feel free to use wholemeal, or even to substitute half with rye flour for a more rustic flavour. You will need;

130g plain flour
3 eggs, separated
350g runny honey
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp ground cloves
1/4tsp either ground juniper berries, ginger or nutmeg
1 tbsp chopped orange peel (candied or fresh)

Before you start, grease and line a smallish baking tray which turns up at the edges (you don’t want the mixture to drip off). If you prefer, make individual ones by using a bun tin or individual paper cases. Turn the oven on at a moderate temperature, i.e. gas mark 4-5.

First, decant the honey into a medium-sized pan and heat until it becomes fully runny, just coming to the boil. Turn off the heat, and sieve in the flour a little at a time, stirring all the while with a wooden spoon. When this is done, beat in the egg yolks thoroughly, followed by the spices and peel. In a large bowl, whisk up the egg whites until they form stiff peaks when you remove the whisk. Tip; the eggs will not foam unless the bowl is completely free from grease, so rub a cut lemon over the inside of the bowl first, to be sure.

Fold the egg whites into the rest of the mixture, using a large metal spoon or a palette knife. Don’t overdo this stage; you don’t want to push all the air out now. As soon as it is mixed evenly, pour onto the prepared tray. You are aiming for a 1-2cm thickness. Put this in the oven for half an hour, or until light golden and springy to the touch. Now, Elena Molokheva recommends returning this to the oven two or three times, until it dries out. I personally prefer a softer pryannik, but if you want to do this, turn the pryannik over, cut into squares, and put them back in the oven for a further hour or so with the oven turned down low.

You may ice the pryanniks, have them plain, spread them with jam, it’s up to you!