A GINGERBREAD HOUSE

I’M being really seasonal this week, so here’s a recipe that will go down a treat with the younger members of the household.

There are literally hundreds of templates for gingerbread houses on the internet, but of course you can always design your own. This recipe of Johann’s will give you the deliciously edible material with which to build it!

INGREDIENTS

÷ 100g butter ÷ 300g plain flour ÷ 1 tsp bread soda ÷ 2 tsp

ground ginger ÷ 150g brown sugar ÷ 3 level dsp golden

syrup ÷ 1 egg ÷ 1 bag instant royal icing or 200g white chocolate ÷ 1 x 9 inch straw board Set the oven to 180C, gas mark 4. Grease 2 large baking trays with butter. Cut the butter into small cubes and place in a bowl. Sift the flour, bread soda and ginger into the bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar and add the syrup and the egg to the mixture. Mix to form a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and roll out one half on a lightly floured surface to 7mm thick.

Cut out half the gingerbread house shapes and transfer them to the baking trays, leaving lots of space between the pieces. Try not to distort them. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for about 12 minutes until a shade darker. Let them cool for 3-4 minutes and then lift them on to a cooling rack.

When cold, assemble the house on the straw board using the icing or melted chocolate as ‘glue’; leave to set and then decorate when firm.

Any extra dough can be used to make extra stars or biscuits; make a hole in them and when cool you can add a ribbon and hang them on the Christmas tree.