A Biberli for Easter

I’ve always found packaged cakes, flan bases and other baked goods a little disgusting. The only exception is the Biberli – a special kind of decorated gingerbread. It used to sweeten my school trips, but I ate it less and less as I grew older.

After many years – by which time I was a vegan – I craved a Biber again, but I was in for a big disappointment. The big manufacturers tend to use skimmed milk powder, and the smaller ones always use honey. But I recently popped into Alnatura and saw a couple of little Biberli proudly sporting the V label. Underneath was the word ‘vegan’.

The sweets were made by the Leibacher Biber-Manufaktur, a bakery set up by two young brothers. The older brother had even been inspired by his love of Biber to do an apprenticeship as a baker and pastry chef.

The Zurich brothers now sell their traditional specialities throughout the city, including the vegan version. Leibacher promises that ‘nothing is missing – quite the opposite’. They describe the vegan Biberli as less sweet and with a lighter flavour.

That may be true, but I can’t tell. It’s too long since I had my last honey Biber – and who wants to think about it when you can just take a blissful bite into a fresh Biber with its mouth-watering almond filling?