Gingerbread house recipe

Hugh's fairytale-inspired recipe is an impressive culinary creation, as seen on River Cottage Christmas

Makes 1 small house

Ingredients

500g unsalted butter
400g muscovado sugar
13 tbsp golden syrup
1 tbsp molasses
1.2kg plain flour
4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
8 tsp ground ginger

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Melt the butter, sugar, syrup and molasses together in a saucepan. Mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl then pour the hot sugary mixture over. Mix until you make a stiff dough then allow to cool in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out to ½cm thick and cut to desired shapes, with a cutter, by hand or using a template cut from some stiff cardboard.
Transfer to a baking tray lined with a sheet of non-stick baking parchment and bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool slightly then trim and edges that have spread and leave to cool completely on the tray.
To assemble the gingerbread house, use royal icing to stick everything together, and use something to support and prop the gingerbread whilst it dries. Leave the icing to fully set then remove the supports and decorate as you feel. Build it onto a thick cake board so you can decorate that too.

Tip: To make a house on the scale of this one on River Cottage Christmas, double all the ingredients and use just 6 tsp bicarbonate of soda.

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