Gingerbread
380g plain flour
200g unsalted butter
160g soft light brown sugar
20g ground ginger, or to taste
1 medium egg (For vegans, replace it with vegetarian egg substitute - check portion)
½ tsp ground cinnamon, or to taste
½ tsp vanilla extract


Royal Icing
280g icing sugar
1 egg (white only) (For vegans, replace it with vegetarian egg substitute - check portion)
Lemon juice, to whiten the royal icing and add taste
Water and extra icing sugar, optional, to adjust the royal icing to writing consistency

*Extra plain flour for dusting



Method:

To make the gingerbread:
1) Have all the ingredients at room temperature and sieve all the dry ingredients together.
2) Cut the butter into smaller pieces and put in mixing bowl. Beat the butter together with sugar until light and fluffy texture. If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, if you are using a hand mixer, use the beaters. Start the creaming process with low speed and end with high speed.
3) In a bowl, mix the egg and vanilla extract together. With 2 to 3 inclusions, add the egg mixture into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.
4) Stop the mixer, add all the sieved dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Mix slowly until a cookie dough is formed. Taste the dough if the flavour is good enough for you, if not, you can adjust with ground ginger or ground cinnamon.
5) Divide the dough into 3 and wrap with cling film. Put the wrapped dough in fridge for at least 1 hour.
6) Dust the table with plain flour. Roll the cookie dough with rolling pin to 5mm thick. Use the gingerbread man cutter to cut the dough and transfer to baking pan. Rest the dough trimmings in fridge for at least 15 minutes before rolling them again, repeat this until the dough is finished.
7) Bake the dough as soon as possible at 180°C for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.
8) Let the gingerbread to cool before decoration.


To decorate the gingerbread with royal icing:
1) Have the egg white and icing sugar in a mixing bowl. By using a whisk, mix them together until fully incorporated. Squeeze some lemon juice in and whisk again, you will see the royal icing become whiter.
2) The royal icing should have writing consistency. If the royal icing is too dry, add in a few drops of water to adjust. If the royal icing is too wet, add in some icing sugar to adjust.
3) Put some royal icing in a paper piping bag, decorate the gingerbread as you wish. It’s time to apply your creativity here and have some fun with your loved ones.
4) Let the royal icing to dry completely at room temperature or in the oven at 60°C for 15 minutes. The royal icing will harden and only you store them in airtight container. It is advisable to consume the decorated gingerbread within 1 week. However, the un-decorated gingerbread can last longer.
5) Happy baking!



Author: Tey Chee Seng

Copyright © 2012 Sandhya Maarga Holistic Living Resources
Holistic Living Annex (DECEMBER 2012)