Over the next six days I’m making a gingerbread bike shop.   Pic to the right shows my first attempt in 2008.

20th Dec Construction Started. Made walls thinner this year and painted them inside chocolate. Used a premix of Royal Icing this year which in Gingerbread terms is the equivalent of liquid nails! This year I put the house together without any assistance. Again also, I stuck a piece of paper (with chocolate) over both roof pieces to use as a hinge. Having thinner and lighter peices made the roof heaps easier.

My gingerbread people this year are called Cadel, Chiara, David, Lindsay and Felicity! Mark and Geoff are missing – we think Mark probably had a flat tyre. It should be obvious who is who by looking at the kit!

You will notice the absence of bikes in this workshop. Unfortunately Santa got there first and bought all of them. He is not silly he avoids making bikes out of lollies because he knows it is impossible!

There are a few tricks to making it work.  The bigger the house, the more the building proportions really matter when you are trying to stick them together.  To eliminate guess work, I bought a good quality Gingerbread House Cutter set by Davis & Waddell.  The chimney did not work well so I just left it out. 

Never get excited when the pack says “recipe included”.  Cyclists are often great cooks. Ask your riding buddies for a good recipe or use the recipe below. Buy the freshest best quality spices you can. I road tested it last year, it was exceptional and I was very sorry I let kids eat it.

The following recipe is by Chef Annie Learmonth, it was featured by Chris Lawson, Around the Backyard, ABC Central Qld.

You Need:

4.5 cups plain flour, 6 teaspoons each of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, & mixed spice, 6 teaspoons bi-carb soda, 1.1/4 cups caster sugar, 250g unsalted butter, 75ml fresh thickened cream, 1/4 cup golden syrup, 1 egg.

Method: Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together by hand. Add the butter in small peices and rub the dry ingredients through until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the cream, golden syrup and egg and work by hand until the dough is formed. Remove and knead lightly. Allow the gingerbread to rest for 10 minutes and divide into 4 peices.  Roll out to about 5mm. Roll between two peices of baking paper to make it easier. Cut out shapes with cutters.  Leave windows and door in while cooking to help hold the shape.  Bake for approximately 18 minutes, use a timer to avoid burnt gingerbread. When cool completely – optional melt 300g dark chocolate and brush the bottom of the shapes with the melted chocolate. Allow to set hard.  This gives the house extra strength.

Gingerbread does rise or puff up a bit when cooked.

This mixture makes a house 20cm high, 18cm long, 13cm wide and has enough left over for 2 gingerbread people and 2 Christmas trees.

I bought a premix of royal icing this year from a specialised cake decorating shop to test.  If anyone needs a recipe for royal icing – leave a comment and I will add one.