Gingerbread Log Cabin
12 peopleThere is nothing more festive than a little gingerbread house with sugar glass windows and a warm glow radiating from within. I’ve given this house a log cabin look and used flaked almonds as tiles, but you could decorate with your favourite sweets or ice on a Scandi-inspired pattern.
Recipe courtesy of Tassy Goodall. Tassy is a chef, blogger, bespoke cake maker and is a Leith’s Diploma graduate.
Ingredients and Method
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Honey
- 4 tbsp Black treacle
- 175g Dark brown soft sugar
- 2 tsp Ground ginger
- 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 200g Butter, cubed
- Zest of 1 orange
- 475g Plain flour
- 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- A handful of Clear boiled sweets, smashed into a coarse powder
- 500g Icing sugar
- A few drops Water
- Rosemary sprigs (for decoration)
- 200g Flaked almonds (for decoration)
- Stick-shaped biscuits (for a log cabin effect)
Method
- In a saucepan set over a medium heat melt together the honey, black treacle, dark brown soft sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Bring to the boil then add in the butter and orange zest and remove from the heat. Stir until the butter has completely melted then set aside to cool a little.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder then pour in the wet ingredients and mix until it forms dough. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour, then scrape out of the bowl and wrap in kitchen film. Chill for 20 minutes to firm up a little and preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Dust a board generously with flour and roll out the gingerbread to about 3mm thick. Cut out the shapes of your walls and roof according to the attached template and transfer carefully to a lined baking sheet. Use any scraps for gingerbread men.
- Bake for 8 minutes then remove from the oven and fill the window gaps with your smashed boiled sweet powder (about 3mm thick). Return to the oven for 4-6 minutes or until the gingerbread is golden and the boiled sweets have melted to mimic a window.
- Let your gingerbread pieces firm up and cool down, then make the icing by adding a little bit of water to the icing sugar at a time to form a thick pipe-able consistency. Scrape the icing into a piping bag and tie the top in a knot.
- Now it’s time to assemble the house. Start off by sticking down one long side to your board with a line of icing, then angle a front face piece at a right angle and attach it to the long side. Hold it for a minute to ensure a bond is made then add the other side pieces in the same way to form a rectangle floor plan (you should now have used 2 long side pieces and the back and front facing walls).
- Once the four pieces have set, pipe some icing along the roof lines and attach the roof panels (NOTE: if you want to use battery powered lights to give a warm glow to the house, pop this in before you put the roof on and make sure the switch is placed near the back door so you can turn it on and off!). You will need to hold them in place for a few minutes to stop them slipping. Once the whole house is set, cover the side panels in your stick biscuits and the roof in flaked almonds using the icing as a glue.
- Finish the house with a little gingerbread front door complete with greenery, some iced window panes, log piles and a snow drift of icing. Get creative!
