Vegan Gingerbread

Makes 800g (1 ¾lb)

• 100g (3.7 oz) vegan margarine

• 150g (5.2 oz) dark brown sugar

• 115g (4 oz) black treacle/molasses

• 425g (15 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour,

plus extra for dusting

• 1 tbsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda • A pinch of salt

1 Put the margarine, sugar and treacle into a pan, heat gently and stir occasionally until the margarine has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

2 Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the treacle mixture and stir to combine. It should begin to come together as a stiff dough. If it is too wet, add more add more flour until it is the right consistency.

3 Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured board and knead it into a smooth ball. Divide into two portions, form into balls, wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

4 When ready to roll (you may need a little flour for dusting the rolling pin), roll out each ball on pieces of baking parchment that are the same size as a couple of baking sheets (that will fit in your fridge) to about 5mm/¼ in thick. Try to roll out all the dough to the same thickness.

5 Now, cut out your shapes. If you are using a template, place the pieces on to the gingerbread and cut around each one. Remove the template and carefully peel away the excess dough. Gather the trimmings into a ball, re-roll and repeat as required.

6 Slide the pieces of parchment on to the baking sheets. Put in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

7 Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4. Put the baking sheets into the oven and bake for about 10-20 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces) as per recipe instructions, until the gingerbread is golden brown and doesn’t bounce back when touched with your finger.

8 Remove from the oven, leave on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack(s) to cool. When completely cool, carefully remove the gingerbread pieces from the paper and assemble as required.