Queen Elizabeth 1 is credited as the pioneer of figurative gingerbread. It is believed that she requested figures to be made resembling her most favoured courtiers.
The recipe I am sharing was passed down to me by an American grandmother whose delightful grandson I had the pleasure of teaching in London. She fondly described how every Christmas they would bake gingerbread figures as gifts for all the people visiting over the festive season. Inspired by this heart-warming tradition, I decided to instigate the practice at Lodge Farm.
This recipe explodes with flavour. The evocative combination of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses, imbues the air with the most glorious aroma of Christmas. Nothing screams ‘Christmas’ more than this gingerbread.
Gingerbread Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups double cream
- 2.5 cups soft dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup treacle
- ½ golden syrup
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 8 cups plain flour
Icing Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 3.5 cups icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Method:
- In a large bowl combine the sugar, treacle, ginger, cinnamon, lemon rind, and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well.
- Lightly beat the cream until it begins to thicken.
- Add to the sugar mixture and mix well.
- Gradually add the flour, mixing well after each addition. The dough needs to be smooth and pliable but not sticky.
- Cover and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour or so.
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Divide the dough into three and work with one section at a time. Keep the other sections covered.
- Dust clean a surface with flour and roll out the dough to ¼ “ thickness. You could do this between parchment paper to avoid the dough sticking to the surface.
- Cut out gingerbread shapes.
- Put parchment on a baking sheet. Carefully place gingerbread shapes on parchment
- Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. They will be soft when they first come out of the oven but will harden once cooled.
- When cool, decorate.
Icing:
- In a clean dry bowl whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add the sieved icing sugar until it has all combined.
- Lastly add lemon juice
- Use a piping bag to decorate the gingerbread shapes.
- Allow to set before wrapping.
