Sunday 5 January 2014

Gingerbread Sleigh


I’m going back to the office tomorrow after a joyous Christmas break full of glorious lie-ins, homemade sloe gin and more cheese than you could possibly imagine. This is a quick guest post from the mother-ship, since I was too busy this festive season to do anything this fun baking-wise, but here’s to 2014 and hoping that I have more time to bake!

My mum was left alone with my camera, and here’s what happened…  This is the same recipe as my mum’s gingerbread tree decorations too, if you fancy making any of them too next Christmas.


Ingredients
6oz butter
6oz light muscovado sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1-2tbsp ground ginger
2tsp ground mixed spice
White royal icing
White chocolate
Chocolate Santa (optional)


In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar using an electric hand-held whisk.




Gradually beat in the eggs.


Sift in the flour, baking powder, ginger and mixed spice.


Stir everything until well combined.



Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently.


Wrap the dough in some cling film and leave to chill in the fridge overnight.


Now is where you need to create your templates. Sketch out the shapes you want on some card and cut them out to be used as stencils.


When you are ready the next day, preheat the oven to 180⁰C.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking parchment, until about 3mm thick.


My mum had a few issues cutting out the shapes, and wanted me to include the ‘fail’ pictures to show that even experienced bakers make mistakes! She learnt from this that you need to flour the card templates so that they don’t stick. She also accidentally made the two sides of the sleigh identical, instead of one the mirror opposite, but when all is said and done and you decorate it, it doesn’t really matter!





To make the Reindeer she used a cutter from M n S.





Place the shapes on floured parchment onto baking trays and bake for 10-15 minutes, watching carefully to make sure that they don’t burn. Cool on a wire rack.

Make some white royal icing and decorate the sleigh before sticking it together.




My mum used white chocolate and a bit of royal icing to stick the sleigh to a silver cake board.




Stick things like tin cans to prop up the gingerbread whilst it’s drying.





Then go nuts with the decoration, and use plenty of icing sugar as snow, because you know…Christmas.



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