Description
The ‘Leipziger Lerche’ went down in the history of the city as the typical Leipzig pastry. The following is recorded in the City History Museum: In the 18th century, skylarks were one of the city’s culinary specialities. These little birds were caught in the meadows and baked with herbs and eggs.
It is unimaginable how many animals had to die in the process! It is known from the year 1720 that 404340 larks were caught in the month of October alone. The wealthy Leipzigers who bought this festive dish from the ‘lark women’ in the Salzgäßchen could hardly get enough of it. Hundreds of them were plucked as soon as they were caught, individually wrapped in paper and often travelled a long way in special crates. But soon more and more bird lovers were outraged by this treat. Finally, the King of Saxony banned lark hunting in 1876.
Some clever bakers compensated the saddened gourmets with a treat of a different kind. They created a sweet treat and called it the lark. Using oven-fresh shortcrust pastry, almonds, nuts and strawberry jam, they prepared a pastry whose aroma alone surpassed everything else. They also imitated the shape of the birds, and even the cross ribbons used to tie the stuffed birds were made from dough. The Leipzig lark was born.
Only good bakeries still offer Leipziger Lerche today, and prepared according to old recipes, they are a delicacy for gourmets. Today, it would be hard to imagine our Corso patisserie without them. We hope that we have brought you a little closer to the history of this Leipzig speciality and wish you bon appétit!
