GINGERBREAD LORDS

Preparation time 11/2 hours plus

45 mins chilling Cooking time 20 mins Makes about 30

3 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

150g unsalted butter, chopped 1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup golden syrup

1 Tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 pinch nutmeg

Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange 1 tsp vanilla extract

1 free-range egg, lightly whisked 295g bag dark chocolate melts Gold cachous, to decorate

ROYAL ICING

2 cups pure icing sugar, sifted 2 free-range egg whites

1-2 tsp lemon juice

STEP 1 In a large bowl, sift together flour and bicarb soda. Set aside. STEP 2 Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugars and golden syrup and cook on low heat, stirring, until smooth and combined. Add sifted spices and orange zest and stir to combine. Simmer on medium heat for 1 minute, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.

STEP 3 Make a well in dry mixture and pour in sugar mixture. Stir until almost combined, then add egg. Stir until a smooth and glossy dough forms. Divide into 3 discs and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

STEP 4 Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced (180°C conventional). Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.

STEP 5 Using a third of chilled dough at a time, roll between 2 sheets of baking paper to 4mm thick. Cut shapes from dough using an 8cm gingerbread man cutter. Arrange on trays. Gently move one leg of gingerbread up slightly (this will help them look like they are leaping). If your gingerbread is still firm from being in fridge, set trays of cutouts aside at room temperature for a few minutes to soften dough slightly; this will allow you to do this without breaking dough. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until starting to darken slightly at edges. Cool on a wire rack.

STEP 6 Meanwhile, roll offcuts of dough into a 20cm square. Cut into 30 shapes measuring 1 x 1.5cm. Re-roll offcuts and cut into 30 rectangles measuring 2.5 x 0.5cm. Arrange paired-up shapes on a tray, just touching, to form a hat shape (they’ll come together during cooking). Bake for 5-6 minutes until just beginning to darken slightly. Cool completely.

STEP 7 For royal icing beat icing sugar and egg whites with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add juice and stir until smooth and glossy and mixture holds its shape when piped (you may need to add a little more icing sugar to get the icing to a thick enough consistency). Transfer to a piping bag and snip a small edge from side.

STEP 8 To decorate gingerbread lords, pipe pant outlines on biscuits. Allow to set, then fill in pants with icing. Tap biscuits gently on a bench to settle icing. Pipe suspenders on half of the biscuits and horizontal lines with dots at either end on the

other biscuits. Pipe bow ties and eyes onto all biscuits.

STEP 9 Melt 1/3 of the chocolate melts in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) in 30-second bursts (it’s easier to melt chocolate in stages, as it sets quite quickly). Dip front of hats into melted chocolate to coat, shaking off excess. Transfer to a wire rack to set. Melt 1/2 of the remaining chocolate and transfer to a snaplock bag. Snip a 2mm edge from corner and pipe shoes on gingerbread in chocolate. Pipe a belt line on the biscuits with horizontal stripes and press in 3 gold cachous to form belt, then pipe moustaches on faces. For biscuits with suspenders, use dots of royal icing to attach 3 cachous as buttons, the top one sitting in centre of iced bow tie. Melt more chocolate as required.

STEP 10 Attach chocolate hats to side of gingerbread heads using a little extra melted chocolate. Stand for 10 minutes until set. Serve.