It might seem a little early to be making gingerbread houses as typically a Christmas activity but you can have hours of fun making these
Gingerbread House
Preparation time 1 hr - Baking time 10-12 mins - Makes one little house For the gingerbread:- 475g plain flour
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 190g butter
- 230g light brown sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 3 tbsp black treacle
- 1 x 500g pack of royal icing mix
- Assorted sweets – choose the kids’ favourites
- 1 x 25cm cake board
- Sieve the flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and rub in the butter until you have a texture like fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the egg yolk, golden syrup and black treacle. Mix together to form a soft dough and gather together with your hands. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Whilst the dough is chilling, cut out your templates ready for use and preheat your oven to 180˚C/160˚C fan/gas mark 4.
- Take half the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of approx 4mm, trace and place the templates on top of the dough and cut around them to make half of the house panels. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Place the cut panels onto greased baking trays lined with non stick paper and bake for 10-12 mins until the edges start to brown. The panels will still feel soft, but they firm up quickly as they cool. If the panels have spread, just trim them using the templates while they are still warm and allow to cool completely.
- Make the royal icing according to the instructions on the packet and assemble the walls of the house, sticking them onto the cake board. You may need some extra hands or tins to help you support the structure as you build. Once the walls have set a little, add the roof and allow to set completely before decorating the house with the sweets.
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