The Gingerbread Book - Helena Garcia

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INTRODUCTION
A (very brief) History of Gingerbread
Cakes and Bakes
Cookies
Desserts
Drinks
Gifts from the Kitchen
Gingerbread Houses
Templates
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
COPYRIGHT PAGE
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W hen I agreed to write this book and discussed it with friends and
family, everyone’s response was identical, ‘I love gingerbread’. To
this day I have not heard one person say the opposite.
After my first two very spooky books it may seem odd to write a book all
about gingerbread, but I set out to do it differently. I purchased a few books
on the subject and they all offered pretty much the same – gingerbread
cookies and/or houses. I then decided to use gingerbread as a flavour for not
just biscuits but for desserts like trifle or ice-cream, pies, donuts,
cheesecakes etc. Ginger is such a beautiful and versatile ingredient that,
paired up with treacle, butter and sugar, becomes a crowd-pleasing recipe
that has endured the test of time.
I researched the history of gingerbread and unsurprising it used to be
baked and bought as a treat – a celebratory bake that eventually would
become synonymous with Christmas.
However, I could not write a recipe book without including some spooky
twists along the way. In fact, spooky festive bakes are possibly my favourite
to create so the subject of this book was the perfect excuse I needed to create
more.
Gingerbread has not only inspired bakes, but it also plays a significant
role in fairy tales and storytelling. From the gingerbread man to Hansel and
Gretel, gingerbread goes beyond an edible treat, it is rooted in tradition.
I hope this book inspires you to use gingerbread in a variety of ways, for
every day as well as for the festive season.
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D o you ever wonder why we eat the food we eat? Where does it come
from and how did it end up on our plates?
One of the earliest recorded English gingerbread recipes from the fifteenth
century doesn’t actually contain any ginger but rather saffron, pepper,
cinnamon and cloves. In those days, spices symbolized wealth, so making
gingerbread was a way for a host to show off. Ginger (originally from
China) was available at this time in Europe and by the late Middle Ages a
more recognizable version of the gingerbread cookies we know today had
been created.
The court of Queen Elizabeth I is the first documented location of a hard
biscuit version of gingerbread. Presented as figures of queens and kings, the
biscuits were shaped in hand-carved wooden moulds, then gilded with Dutch
gold or an alloy of copper and zinc that imitated real gold leaf. Eating a
decorated gingerbread soon became associated with food you would eat at
fairs as a treat. These highly decorated biscuits became known as ‘fairings’
and eating them at a medieval fair would have brought you good luck.
It isn’t surprising that in Victorian Britain gingerbread biscuits became a
staple Christmas treat. By this point, gingerbread was already a food
associated with celebration and special occasions. In Yorkshire, where I live,
a sort of gingerbread cake called Pepper Cake was traditionally eaten at
Christmas. The pepper in the cake was actually allspice, then referred to as
‘Jamaican pepper’. It was also known as Carol Cake, as it was given to
children in exchange for singing festive songs – this one in particular:
A little bit of pepper-cake

A little bit of cheese
A little drink of water,
And a penny, if you please.
The recipe for pepper cake is very similar to Yorkshire Parkin, which is
traditionally eaten on 5 November – Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night.
People here in Yorkshire still eat a slice of parkin with cheese. I cannot find
a connection between pepper cake and Yorkshire parkin, but the fact that
cheese is mentioned in the above rhyme makes me believe they are
somehow connected.
Another sweet ginger treat associated with Christmas is, of course, the
gingerbread house. Believed to have originated in Germany between the
sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the tradition of making them for
Christmas must have spread to Britain during Victorian times. After the
publication of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, the
popularity of the gingerbread house rose dramatically, although in the
original story the house is actually made of bread, the roof of cake and the
windows of clear sugar.
In the book The Truth About Hansel and Gretel (Die Wahrheit über
Hänsel und Gretel, 1963), German writer Hans Traxler claimed to have
discovered the origins of the Brothers Grimm story. According to Traxler,
the story dates back to the seventeenth century and Hansel and Gretel were
in fact two adult bakers who murder the witch in order to steal her
gingerbread recipe. The book provides an array of archaeological evidence,
including the recipe. The German press, once again enchanted by the
fairytale, picked up the story, which became national news and spread to
foreign shores. None of it was true. It was, in fact, a literary prank and the
ancient recipe turned out to be from a Dr. Oetker cookbook.
Gingerbread is not just something we eat, it has evoked fairytale stories,
folklore and fantasy and is cemented in popular culture.
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If you fancy a quick and easy recipe that looks the part, look no further.
Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg are the Holy Grail of this book, but these
cupcakes have also got chopped pecans in the batter and a salted
caramel drizzle.
150g (⅔ cup) baking spread

150g (5oz/1 cup) demerara (light brown) sugar
3 large eggs
150g (5oz/1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) self-raising (self-rising) flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ground clove (optional)
65g (2¼oz/generous ½ cup) chopped pecans, plus a few extra for sprinkling
FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL
125g (4½oz/scant ⅔ cup) granulated sugar
3 Tbsp water
115ml (3¾fl oz/scant ½ cup) double (heavy) cream
pinch of salt
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
300g (10½oz/2½ cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
1–2 Tbsp whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6) and line a 12-hole
cupcake tray with paper cases.
In a stand mixer, cream the baking spread and sugar on medium-high speed
until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape the
sides and bottom of the bowl. Gradually add the flour and spices, and
continue mixing until fully incorporated. Add the pecans and stir through
without overmixing.
Fill the cupcake cases three-quarters full with the batter and bake for 15–20
minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes
out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
For the salted caramel, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan
over a low-medium heat, swirling it until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the
heat up and once the sugar starts to caramelize, remove the pan from the heat
and add the cream in one go while stirring with a whisk. The caramel will
bubble up, so be careful. Put the pan back on the heat and continue stirring
while adding the salt. Let it cool.
To make the buttercream, in a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric
mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add the icing sugar,
milk, vanilla and cinnamon until fully combined. Add more milk if the
mixture is too dry, or more icing sugar if too runny.
Scoop the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe on
top of the cupcakes. Drizzle over a little salted caramel with a teaspoon and
sprinkle with chopped pecans.
When it comes to traybakes, millionaire shortbread is up there for me.
Buttery biscuit base, topped with salted caramel and chocolate, what’s
there NOT to love?! To give this classic bake a twist, the base is made of
ginger shortbread, and for a holiday finish I have added a winter
wonderland scene on top made of chocolate, which is entirely optional.
FOR THE BISCUIT BASE

200g (¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g (3½oz/½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
250g (9oz/1¾ cups plus 2 Tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL
250g (9oz/1¼ cups) granulated sugar
6 Tbsp water
230ml (7¾fl oz/1 cup) double (heavy) cream
pinch of salt
FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPINGS
200g (7oz) milk or dark chocolate, chopped
50g (1¾oz) green candy melts
50g (1¾oz) white chocolate
edible glitter or sprinkles
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4) and line a 23-cm
(9-in) square baking tin with baking paper.
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light
and fluffy. Turn the speed down and add the flour, ginger, cinnamon and
nutmeg, and continue mixing until everything is combined. The mixture will
resemble breadcrumbs. Press the dough into the bottom of your prepared
baking tin and bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool.
For the salted caramel, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan
over a low-medium heat, swirling it until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the
heat up and, once the sugar starts to caramelize, remove the pan from the
heat and add the cream in one go while stirring with a whisk. The caramel
will bubble up, so be careful. Put the pan back on the heat and continue
stirring while adding the salt. Pour the salted caramel on top of the biscuit
layer and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until set.
Melt the milk or dark chocolate in the microwave at 30-second intervals,

then pour over the caramel. Smooth it out with an offset spatula. Chill in the
refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened.
Meanwhile, make the chocolate decorations. You can choose whatever you
like here – I went for a winter wonderland scene. Melt the green candy melts
and pour into tree-shaped silicon moulds. Do the same with the white
chocolate for the snowflakes, moon, and clouds. Attach all the decorations to
the shortbread with a little melted chocolate and sprinkle with glitter or other
decorative sprinkles.
I love cinnamon rolls for breakfast and these ones are simply made for
the perfect Christmas-morning treat. Prepare them the night before and
leave to rise in the refrigerator overnight, then just bake in the morning
and enjoy right after opening your presents.
FOR THE DOUGH

265ml (9¼fl oz/generous 1 cup) whole milk, lukewarm
1 x 7-g (3/16-oz) sachet of fast-action dried (active dry) yeast
55g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted
50g (1¾oz/¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
480g (17oz/3½ cups) strong white bread flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
FOR THE FILLING
55g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted
110g (4oz/½ cup) dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
50g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
50g (1¾oz/½ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
100g (3½oz/scant ½ cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
milk, as needed
TO DECORATE
handful of cranberries
holly leaves and ribbon
Warm the milk in the microwave, then pour into a stand mixer fitted with the
dough hook attachment. Sprinkle the yeast on top, add the melted butter,
sugar, egg and egg yolk, followed by the flour.
Mix until everything is fully incorporated, then knead for 5 minutes. The
dough will be a little sticky. Cover the bowl and leave it to rise for 1½ hours,
or until doubled in size.
Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle, 35 x
23cm (14 x 9in).
For the filling, mix together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and spices
in a small bowl until fully incorporated. It spreads more easily if you warm it
up in the microwave for 30 seconds. Spread the mixture over the dough, then
tightly roll up the dough, starting from the short side. Place seam-side down
and cut into 2.5cm (1in) rolls but only slice three-quarters of the way
through, so they’re still connected. Use kitchen scissors to snip the dough if
it’s easier. Form into a circle, so the cut sections fan outwards, and seal the
ends. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the wreath on the tray and
place a ramekin in the middle to help retain the centre hole. Cover and let it
rise again for 45 minutes in a warm place, or leave in the refrigerator
overnight. If left overnight, allow the rolls to come to room temperature
before baking.
Preheat the oven to 195°C (175°C fan/375°F/Gas mark 5).
Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Beat the butter until light and
fluffy, then slowly add the icing sugar and keep mixing until you get a
smooth consistency. Add the cream cheese and continue mixing until fully
incorporated. If the mixture is too thick, loosen with a little milk.
Remove the wreath from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Drizzle
with the cream cheese frosting and decorate with cranberries, holly leaves
and a ribbon.
Pumpkin is not just an autumn fruit, it is very much a winter one too,
and a perfect ingredient for sweet and savoury bakes. These cupcakes
are a variation of the first bake I ever made in the Bake Off tent. It’s
sort of my version of a fruit cake because I think traditional fruitcakes
are somewhat – how do I put this? – gross!
215g (7½oz/1 cup) pumpkin purée

125g (4½oz/scant ⅔ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
100g (3½oz/½ cup) demerara (light brown) sugar
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) vegetable oil
2 large eggs
180g (6¼oz/1⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
95g (3½oz/½ cup) candied chopped orange/lemon peel (or mixed peel)
95g (3½oz/½ cup) dried apricots
95g (3½oz/½ cup) prunes, chopped
FOR THE MAPLE ICING
170g (6oz/¾ cup) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp maple syrup
400g (14oz/2 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
crystallized ginger, to decorate
muffin tin with 10 paper cupcake cases.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the pumpkin purée,
sugars and vegetable oil on medium speed. Add the eggs, one by one,
mixing between each addition. Turn the speed to low and add the flour,
baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. Continue mixing until
all ingredients are fully incorporated, then add the chopped fruits and mix in
by hand.
Fill the cupcake cases three-quarters full with the batter and bake for 20
minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave
to cool completely on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the icing by mixing the cream cheese and butter in a stand
mixer until light and creamy. Add the maple syrup and continue mixing.
With the speed on low, slowly add the icing sugar until fully incorporated.
Spread the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the
crystallized ginger.
Brownies always seem like an untouchable recipe for me – not only are
they a staple of American baking, they’re also a very difficult bake to
decorate. I’ve faced my fears and done both, altering the classic recipe
to include a touch of ginger and decorating them as presents with an
eggnog icing. It’s a simple way to elevate them – ideal for Christmas!
170g (6oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

130g (4½oz) dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
200g (7oz/1½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
200g (7oz/1 packed cup) demerara (light brown) sugar
80ml (2½fl oz/⅓ cup) treacle or molasses
1 tsp Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
FOR THE EGGNOG BUTTERCREAM
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
115g (4oz/½ cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
260g (9oz/2¼ cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp Eggnog
TO DECORATE
Christmassy sprinkles
50g (1¾oz) red fondant
50g (1¾oz) green fondant
?
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4) and line a 23cm x
23cm (9 x 9in) brownie tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over a low heat and set
aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon,
nutmeg, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, treacle and ginger
syrup. Add the melted chocolate mixture and fold in, followed by the dry
ingredients. Continue mixing until everything is just combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 25–30 minutes. If you
insert a toothpick to check consistency, brownies are best when slightly
gooey on the inside. Leave to cool completely before turning out of the tin
and decorating.
To make the buttercream, beat the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer
fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand-held electric mixer on
medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and continue
mixing. Turn the speed to low and add the icing sugar a little at a time, then
add the nutmeg and finally the eggnog. Adjust the consistency, adding more
icing sugar if it is too loose, or more eggnog if too dry.
Spread the eggnog buttercream over the brownies, sprinkle with your chosen
sprinkles and cut them into squares. Make some ribbons and holly leaves out
of fondant and use them to decorate the brownies as presents.
These cupcakes have an excellent flavour – rich and chocolatey with a
hint of spice. Absolutely perfect. And to top it off, the frosting is good
enough to eat on its own with a spoon. I reckon we could convince
Krampus not to take us if we just gave him one of these cupcakes.
100g (3½oz/¾ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

200g (7oz/1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
45g (1½oz/⅓ cup) cocoa powder
¾ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
½ tsp salt
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) buttermilk
60ml (2fl oz/¼ cup) vegetable oil
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) freshly brewed coffee
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
180g (6¼oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
250g (1 cup plus Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra large egg yolk
160g (5½oz/1¼ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
3 tsp instant coffee powder
3 tsp Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger) (optional)
black gel food colour
TO DECORATE
100g (3½oz) black fondant
100g (3½oz) red fondant
red lustre dust
clear piping gel
?
muffin tin with cupcake cases.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, ginger, bicarbonate of soda, baking
powder and salt into a large bowl. Mix with a whisk and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the buttermilk, oil,
egg and vanilla on medium speed. Turn the speed to low and add the dry
ingredients and continue to mix. Slowly pour in the freshly brewed coffee
and mix until everything is fully combined.
Fill the muffin cases to within 1cm (½in) of the top with the batter and bake
for 15–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out
clean. Leave to cool completely before decorating.
To make the buttercream, put the chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl
and melt in the microwave at 30-second intervals. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on
medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and
continue mixing. Turn the speed to low and add the icing sugar, 1 tablespoon
at a time, and continue to mix until it’s all incorporated and the mixture is
light and creamy. Dissolve the instant coffee powder in 1 teaspoon of hot
water and add it to the mixture followed by the melted chocolate and ginger
syrup, if using. Add enough gel colour to get a deep black shade. Transfer to
a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and set aside until you are ready
to decorate the cupcakes.
Make 24 goat’s horns out of black fondant and 12 tongues out of red
fondant. It helps to brush some red lustre dust on the edges of the tongues to
give depth. Add some clear piping gel to each tongue for a wet look. Pipe a
buttercream swirl on top of each cupcake and attach a pair of horns and a
tongue to each.
I find this recipe incredibly festive and fun. The green and red stripes on
the cake make it Christmassy and the Santa pin-up legs add a little
cheekiness. The sponge is vanilla and the ginger touch is in the cream
cheese filling. It’s a much lighter alternative to the sticky ginger cakes in
this book.
vegetable oil, for greasing

3 large eggs
125g (4½oz/⅔ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
125g (4½oz/scant 1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
red gel food colour
green gel food colour
FOR THE FILLING
170g (6oz) full-fat cream cheese
85g (¾ cup) unsalted butter
1–1½ Tbsp ginger juice – made by grating and squeezing 1 large fresh ginger root through muslin
(cheesecloth)
280g (10oz/2¼ cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
TO DECORATE
toothpicks
black edible paint or pen
red and green sprinkles (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Lightly brush a
23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) baking tray (the kind you would use for a Swiss (jelly)
roll) with vegetable oil and line neatly with baking paper.
Beat the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand-held electric whisk
for about 10 minutes to the ribbon stage (thick enough to make a ribbon
shape with the whisk). Mix in the vanilla, then add half the flour and fold in
carefully, ensuring you don’t knock out too much air, until fully
incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour. Add 1 tablespoon of
lukewarm water and fold in.
Divide the batter in half and colour one half red and the other green,
carefully folding the food colour in until you get uniform colours. Pour the
batters into separate piping bags, cut the ends and pipe alternating diagonal
lines of batter into your prepared tin.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 10–12 minutes until just firm to the touch.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a stand
mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the ginger juice and mix
well, then reduce the speed to low and add the icing sugar, one spoonful at a
time. When it has all been added, turn the mixer back to high speed and beat
for a further 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
Lay out a damp dish towel on your work surface and place a piece of baking
paper larger than the sponge on top. Remove the sponge from the oven and
turn it out onto the prepared paper. Use the paper and dish towel to help you
tightly roll the sponge up starting from a short edge, then leave it rolled up,
paper inside, until cool. Unroll it and spread the cream cheese filling over
the surface of the sponge, leaving a 2cm (¾in) gap at the edges on all sides.
(Reserve the leftover filling, place in a piping bag fitted with a small star
nozzle and set aside.) Roll the sponge back up and trim the edges, then wrap
in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and refrigerate, seam-side down.
Make three pairs of legs out of the red fondant, shaping the feet and knees
and bending one leg of each pair slightly. Insert a toothpick inside each leg
to help place into the sponge. Let dry before you paint in the black boots
with edible paint or pen. Pipe a little of the cream cheese filling at the top of
each boot for a furry-looking finish (optional).
Remove the cake from the refrigerator and unwrap. Place it on a serving
plate and pipe three swirls of the cream cheese filling on top. Add some
sprinkles, if using, and press the Santa legs into the cream swirls.
I find banana bread makes the perfect breakfast food. I’m Spanish and
we tend to eat something sweet for breakfast. Banana bread ticks many
boxes – it has fruit in it for a start. Adding a ginger-based spice mix
makes this recipe a warming and nutritious snack for a chilly winter
morning.
100ml (3½fl oz/scant ½ cup) vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
4 eggs
100g (3½oz/½ cup) dark brown sugar
150g (5oz/1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
4–5 medium bananas, mashed
TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)
whipped cream
Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6) and thoroughly

grease a 900g (2lb/6 cup) loaf tin. I used a pumpkin-patterned one.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the eggs, sugars and
oil until combined. Add the flour, spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda
and salt, and continue mixing. Add the mashed bananas and beat until just
mixed in.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 30–35 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes, then unmould. Serve sliced with
whipped cream sweetened with ginger syrup and sprinkled with freshly
grated nutmeg, if you like.
This is a delicious cross between the Gingerbread Candelabra Dome
Cake and the Sticky Toffee Gingerbread Pudding, with added pecans. It
is also a perfect substitute for a Christmas pudding and a lot less work
than the candelabra cake. Decorate with winter greens or herbs, such as
pine sprigs or rosemary, sugared cranberries, star anise and orange
slices, if you like. I kept mine simple.
250g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
375g (13oz/generous 2¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
250g (9oz/1¼ cups) demerara (light brown) sugar
120g (4¼oz/6 Tbsp) black treacle or molasses
300ml (10½fl oz/generous 1¼ cups) whole milk
3 large eggs
120g (4¼oz/1 cup) pecans, roughly chopped
FOR THE SAUCE
50g (3½ Tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
180g (6¼oz/scant 1 cup) light muscovado sugar
1 Tbsp black treacle or molasses
pinch of salt
225ml (7½fl oz/scant 1 cup) double (heavy) cream
TO DECORATE
rosemary, thyme or pine sprigs, or a combination of all three
cranberries
candles (optional)
?
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4). Butter and flour
the inside of your 25cm (10in) bundt tin, or spray with non-stick baking
spray.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices into a large
bowl and set aside.
Melt the butter, sugar and treacle in a large saucepan over a low-medium
heat, stirring constantly, until everything is combined. Slowly add the milk
and warm through. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until fully
combined. Add the eggs, one by one, beating after each addition. Finally,
mix in the pecans.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a
skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5–
10 minutes, then unmould.
To make the sauce, combine the butter, muscovado sugar, treacle and salt in
a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Mix until everything is fully
combined, then add the cream. Turn up the heat until it bubbles and thickens,
and you get a nice toffee colour. Remove from the heat.
Pour the sauce over the cooled cake and decorate with wintery herbs or
greens, sugared cranberries or star anise and sliced oranges – it’s up to you.
You can add candles before bringing to the table.
A candle cake to guide us through the darkness of winter – and feed us,
for that matter. The idea for this cake started with wanting to make a
Christmas version of my Vampire Tears Candle Cake from my previous
book, The Wicked Baker, but somehow developed into a wintery Green
Man-style spirit sculpted into a candle. The flavours are staples of
winter baking and go perfectly together – rich, sticky ginger sponge
paired with a light, eggnog-flavoured Swiss meringue buttercream.
115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

225g (8oz/1¾ cups) self-raising (self-rising) flour, plus extra for dusting
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
115g (4oz/generous ½ cup) demerara (light brown) sugar
115g (4oz/6 Tbsp) black treacle or molasses
115g (4oz/6 Tbsp) golden syrup
250ml whole milk
1 egg
FOR THE SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
75g (2½oz) egg white (about 2 egg whites)
115g (4oz/generous ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
250g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp rum
TO DECORATE
500g (1lb 2oz) white marzipan
200g (7oz) white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 birthday candle
?
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Butter and flour
three 10-cm (4-in) round cake tins. Alternatively, line a 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in)
baking tray with baking paper.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt into a large bowl and set
aside.
Combine the butter, sugar, treacle, syrup and milk in a medium saucepan
over a low-medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn the heat up
and bring the mixture to just before boiling point.
Pour the hot treacle mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.
Add the egg and continue mixing until everything is fully combined. Divide
the batter between the prepared tins and bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a
toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack
and leave to cool completely.
To make the Swiss meringue buttercream, place the egg whites and sugar
into a heat-resistant bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the
bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Whisk the mixture constantly
until the sugar is fully dissolved and you can no longer feel any granules
between your fingers, or until the mixture reaches 60°C (140°F) on a sugar
thermometer. Remove the bowl from the pan and transfer the mixture to a
stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until light
and fluffy – 10–15 minutes in total. Once you get glossy soft peaks, start
adding the butter a cube at a time, letting the butter incorporate before
adding the next piece. The mixture will deflate at first, but will fluff up
again. Add the nutmeg and rum, and mix until combined.
Time to assemble the cakes. If you baked in a baking tray, cut out four
circles of sponge with a 10cm (4in) cookie cutter. Layer some buttercream
between each sponge layer and stack them up, finishing with a crumb coat of
buttercream over the whole surface of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for half
an hour and do a second coat of buttercream. If you have leftover
buttercream, it freezes well so you can store it until you next need it.
Roll out the marzipan to 5mm (¼in) thick. Trim it to a rectangle with the
short side measurng the exact height of your cake and long enough to cover
the sides. Roll the marzipan around the cake and smooth, leaving the top
uncovered. Sculpt the nose, eyes, eyebrows and mouth of the winter spirit
out of the leftover marzipan and stick to the side of the cake. Cut out several
leaves with cookie or fondant cutters and layer them all around the face.
Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals and pour
into a piping bag.
Place the birthday candle in the middle of the cake, but don’t push it all the
way in (this ensures you don’t get a crack in the chocolate layer when you
come to serve). Cover the top of the cake with the white chocolate and start
creating the first layer of ‘wax’ drips by piping the chocolate around the
edges of the cake. Refrigerate until the drips set, then repeat the process until
you achieve the desired look.
When ready to serve, push the candle all the way into the cake and light
before serving.
Have you ever heard of the Christmas witch? La Befana is a witch in
Italian folklore who flies around on the eve of Epiphany delivering
sweets and gifts to children who have been good and coal to those who
have been naughty. On the day of Epiphany (6 January) in the
Piedmont region, focaccia della befana – a sweet, enriched dough bake –
is eaten. In Spain, children receive their presents from the Three Kings
on this day and we eat kings’ cake (roscón de reyes). This recipe is a
fusion between the roscón and the focaccia with no candied fruit. Italian
purists should look away now as I’ve given this traditional bread a
ginger-flavoured cream filling.
520g (1lb 2½oz/3½ cups) strong white bread flour

120g (4¼oz/scant ⅔ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
1 x 7-g (3/16-oz) sachet fast-action dried (active dry) yeast
100ml (3½fl oz/scant ½ cup) whole milk, lukewarm
100g (7 Tbsp) margarine, at room temperature
2 tsp salt
2 eggs, plus 1 yolk for brushing
1 Tbsp Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
demerara (light brown) sugar, to decorate
FOR THE FILLING
200ml (7fl oz/1 cup) double (heavy) cream
Put the flour, sugar and yeast in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and
start mixing on slow speed. Add the milk and continue mixing, then add the
margarine, salt and whole eggs, one at a time. Finally, add the ginger syrup,
increase the speed to medium-high and knead the dough for 10 minutes.
Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for 4–
6 hours, or until it has tripled in size.
Knock the air out of the dough and place it in the middle of a baking tray
lined with baking paper. Roll the dough out to a circle, 25cm (10in) in
diameter. For the star shape, divide the dough into four quarters using a
pizza cutter, without cutting all the way through the middle. Cut each quarter
into four equal pieces, then twist each piece a number of times. To maintain
the shape, encircle the dough with an unhinged springform cake tin (or you
could bake it inside a 25cm (10in) cake tin). Cover the shaped focaccia with
a damp dish towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). First glaze the
dough with the egg yolk and sprinkle with some demerara sugar, then bake
for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool completely.
Whip the cream and ginger syrup together, cut the focaccia in half and fill
with the ginger cream before serving.
When it comes to donuts, you can fry them, you can bake them, but the
most delicious type of all is the brioche donut. They require more effort
for sure, but if you are going to do something, why not make the best
version of it? The egg and butter make these donuts so much richer. To
decorate, I’ve gone for a simple red glaze to represent Santa’s coat and
the nails are carved almonds.
330g (11½oz/2½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
½ x 7-g (¼-oz) sachet of fast-action dried (active dry) yeast
1½ Tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
55g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) water
vegetable oil, for frying
FOR THE GLAZE
150g (5oz) white chocolate, roughly chopped
150ml (5fl oz/scant ⅔ cup) double (heavy) cream
red cocoa-based food colour
TO DECORATE
40 blanched whole almonds
Buttercream or royal icing for the cuffs
Add the flour, yeast, sugar, spices and salt to a stand mixer fitted with a
dough hook, making sure the yeast and salt don’t touch at first. Mix on a low
speed, then add the egg and egg yolk, butter and water, turn the speed up to
medium and knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough comes together.
Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and leave to rise in a warm place for
1–2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicon mat.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a
lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a log and cut into 8–10 equal
pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the prepared tray. Cover and
leave to rise for another 30 minutes or so.
Heat a 5cm (2in) depth of oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat
to around 180°C (350°F), or until a breadcrumb added to the hot oil sizzles
and browns in 30 seconds.
Before you start frying the donuts, cut three incisions, 2cm (¾in) long, into
each piece to make the fingers of the paw. Fry 3 or 4 donuts at a time,
depending on the size of your pan, on each side until golden brown. Remove
with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels and leave to cool.
To make the glaze, put the chopped chocolate into a heat-resistant bowl.
Pour the double cream into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over a low-
medium heat (do not let it boil), then pour the cream onto the chocolate and
stir until fully melted. Add the food colour and stir again until fully
incorporated.
Dip the tops of the donuts into the glaze, one by one, so the tops are red but
the fingers are uncoated. Place on a wire rack until completely set.
To finish, carve the almonds into nail shapes and place one on each finger –
you can make an incision first with a skewer so they go in easier, if you like.
Pipe some shell shapes with buttercream or royal icing to imitate Santa’s
sleeve cuffs.
OceanofPDF.com
This is my go-to gingerbread recipe for shaped cookies and houses. It
will give you enough dough to make around 20 average-size gingerbread
men. I always make gingerbread dough by hand in a ceramic bowl with
a wooden spoon. You can, of course, use an electric mixer, but there’s
something so wonderfully rustic about gingerbread that it makes me
want to work harder.
350g (12oz/2⅔ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for rolling out
2 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
125g (9 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
175g (6oz/generous ¾ cup) brown sugar
1 free-range egg
4 tbsp golden syrup or molasses
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt.
Set aside.
Add the butter and sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
and beat until well mixed (alternatively, mix by hand in a bowl, with a
wooden spoon). Add the egg and golden syrup or molasses, then add the
flour mixture and continue mixing just to bring it together.
Tip the dough out onto the work surface and knead slightly until smooth,
then wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for 30
minutes.
T B
To Bake
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4) and line two
baking trays with baking paper.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm (¼in) thick.
Cut out your desired shapes and place on the prepared baking trays, spacing
them at least 5cm (2in) apart.
Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire
rack. Store in an airtight container for 2–3 weeks.
There is no making gingerbread men without the need for royal icing.
This is a no-fail recipe for it.
3 large egg whites

550g (1lb 4oz/4 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
½ tsp salt
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until
frothy. Add the icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract and salt, then mix until smooth. You are looking for a
pipeable consistency. If the consistency is too runny, add a bit more icing
sugar – a little at a time. If it’s too thick, add a little water – again, just a little
at a time until you have reached the desired pipeable consistency. Fresh
royal icing will need to be used within 3 days and stored in the refrigerator,
or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
There are endless possibilities when it comes to the gingerbread man.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the traditional one, but I think
it’s fun to represent each year with a gingerbread person/creature
inspired by its events. The key to making it work is to keep the
traditional gingerbread man shape and some of its characteristics in
place, like the buttons.
For example, in Christmas 2020, I made a Covid Gingerbread Man
with a piped face mask and Covid virus buttons; Christmas 2022 was a
gingerbread Queen and corgi to commemorate Elizabeth II’s Platinum
Jubilee; and the year Stranger Things came out I made a gingerbread
demogorgon (which you can find).
These traditional gingerbread men are inspired by the ones in the
2015 film, Krampus. Their pointy candy canes are made with fondant
for ease, but if you’re brave with sugar work you can go for it. I made
one of them leaping out covered in flames of isomalt just for fun.
1 x batch Basic Gingerbread Dough

TO DECORATE
1 x batch Royal Icing
black lustre dust
red gel food colour
pink food colour
100g (3½oz) white fondant
50g (1¾oz) red fondant
red, orange and yellow isomalt or hard candy sweets (optional)
Make the gingerbread dough according to the instructions.

After rolling the dough, cut out 10 gingerbread men shapes and use the
offcuts of dough to shape some frowny eyebrows for each character.
Bake according to the instructions. As soon as you take them out of the
oven, while still warm, shape the inside of the mouths with a ball modelling
tool. Let the gingerbread men cool completely on a wire rack before
decorating.
Paint the inside of the mouth with the black lustre dust.
Divide the royal icing and colour some in green for the pupils of the eyes
and red for the mouths. Pop into individual pipings bags and have fun
drawing in the demonic details! But don’t forget the pink cheeks. Use the
white royal icing to pipe the buttons, zig-zags for the hands and feet and the
foaming mouth.
To make the pointy candy canes, form the white fondant into a 20cm (8in)
log. Divide the red fondant in half and form into two log shapes the same
length as the white one. Form into a single log with a stripe of red on each
side of the white. On the worktop, use your hands to roll out the log (without
twisting at this stage) to the desired thickness you want the candy canes to
be. Next, roll each end of the log in opposite directions with your fingertips,
working along its length, to create the red and white twist effect. Cut into
15cm (6in) pieces, then curve one end and roll the other end to a sharp point
for each cane. Allow them to dry out on a tray.
If you choose to make the isomalt flames, melt the red, orange and yellow
isomalt in three separate bowls following the packet instructions. Pour blobs
of red isomalt onto a silicon mat, add smaller blobs of orange on top and
yellow above, then shape into flame-like shapes with a toothpick.
Alternatively, melt yellow and red hard candies in the oven on a silicon mat
and carefully shape in the same way while hot. Attach the flames to the
gingerbread men with blobs of royal icing.
To make your own demogorgon template, draw the shape of a
gingerbread man on a piece of baking paper, shaping the head like five
spreading flower petals and give the hands bent fingers, then cut it out. I
have included my own template I drew at the end of this book if you’d
rather go with that one.

250g (9oz) red fondant or modelling chocolate
red and black lustre dust
1 x batch Royal Icing, uncoloured
50g (1¾oz) black fondant
After rolling the dough out, use your template to cut out your demogorgon
shapes, cutting around the baking paper with a sharp knife, and place on a
baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover the finger areas with pieces of
foil as they are likely to burn due to their delicate shape.
Bake according to the instructions, then let them cool completely on a wire
rack before decorating.
Roll out the red fondant or modelling chocolate to 3mm (⅛in) thick. Use the
head of the demogorgon template to cut out the petal shapes. Brush a little
water on the back of the fondant shape to help it stick to the cookie. Make a
hole in the middle of the fondant-covered head using a ball modelling tool,
then lift the edges of the hole and paint the inside with black lustre dust.
Paint the edges and the middle of each petal shape with red lustre dust to
create depth and definition. Pipe the teeth with uncoloured royal icing.
To make the Stranger Things-inspired buttons, roll the black fondant with an
offcut of the red fondant that is about a third of its size into a log shape.
Marble the two colours together by bending the log in half and rolling it
again a couple of times. Break off little pieces of the marbled fondant and
roll them into small balls. Attach them to the demogorgon using a little royal
icing.
Eat before it eats you!

Did you ever hear the tale of the Christmas Witch? In Italy, La Befana
is an old witch who delivers gifts to children on the night of 5 January
(the eve of Epiphany). She is often represented flying on her broomstick
covered in soot, since she enters children’s homes through the chimney
like Santa Claus. These cookies are inspired by La Befana and they’re a
holiday delight, just like her.

black lustre dust (optional)
FOR THE EGGNOG FILLING
100g (7 Tbsp) unsalted butter
5 Tbsp Eggnog
dash of rum or brandy (optional)
freshly grated nutmeg
375g (3 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
After rolling the dough, use a small flying witch cookie cutter to stamp a
shallow impression, then use a round cutter to cut around each one, to make
20–24 witch-stamped circles. I use a round cookie cutter, 7cm (2¾in) in
diameter, because my flying witch shape fits just right inside it. Place your
stamped cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Paint in the witch silhouette with the black lustre dust. It helps to use the
witch cutter here, placing it on the cookie and painting inside the shape, so
you don’t go over the lines.
To make the eggnog filling, combine the butter, eggnog and dash of rum or
brandy (if using) in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil over a low-
medium heat. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly, then whisk in the
nutmeg and icing sugar until you get a spreadable consistency (you may not
need all of the sugar). It will thicken further when fully cooled. If it hardens
too much before you use it, just reheat it a little.
Spread or pipe the eggnog filling on half the cookies and sandwich them
with the other half.
I made these a couple of years ago and they went down a treat with
friends and family. The basics are the same as with any other
gingerbread cookie – gingerbread and icing – but with just a couple of
additions you can produce an original and fun variation. If you don’t
have a tree-shaped cookie cutter, simply draw the shape on card or
baking paper, cut out and use as a template.

1cm (½in) edible pearls or white chocolate balls
black edible ink pen
black lustre dust
1 x batch Royal Icing (or you could use vanilla buttercream)
brown gel food colour
sprinkles
Cut out 14–16 tree shapes using a template or cookie cutter and place on a
baking tray lined with baking paper.
For Tim-Burton-style eyes, take the edible pearls or white chocolate balls
and use the edible ink pen to draw little black dots on them for pupils, then
brush some black lustre dust around the outsides. Set aside.
Colour some of your royal icing (or buttercream) with brown food colour for
the tree trunks and some with green for the foliage. Pop into separate piping
bags fitted with small star nozzles.
First, attach the eyes to the trees with a little icing so they stick. Next, pipe
the brown trunks. Using the green icing, pipe some eyelids above and below
the eyeballs, then pipe a succession of green shell shapes to create the
foliage, starting from the base of the tree and working your way upwards.
Finish with sprinkles to make them look like decorated Christmas trees.
If you happen to have my two previous books, you will know that it has
become a tradition of sorts to have one of the recipes come from the
mind of Michael Chakraverty, who stressed alongside me during our
year in the Bake Off tent. This time he has given me a recipe for
chocolate orange gingerbread (he just loves chocolate orange) and I’ve
decided to turn this fragrant dough into Christmas cauldrons filled with
goodies.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE ORANGE GINGERBREAD

400g (14oz/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
60g (2¼oz/6 Tbsp) cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cardamom
150g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter
125ml (4fl oz/½ cup) black treacle or molasses
zest of 2 oranges
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 egg
FOR THE ORANGE BUTTERCREAM
400g (14oz/3 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, or as needed, sifted
1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
5 Tbsp orange juice, or as needed
yellow gel food colour
red gel food colour
TO FINISH
mixed Christmas/Halloween sprinkles
?
For the chocolate orange gingerbread, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking
powder and spices. Set aside.
In a saucepan set over a medium-low heat, melt together the butter, dark
brown sugar and treacle, then stir through the bicarbonate of soda. Add the
orange zest and vanilla bean paste to the mixture and allow to cool a little
before stirring through the dry ingredients, followed by the egg.
Bring the mixture together into a dough, then divide it in half, flatten into
discs and wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap). Chill overnight.
The next day, roll out one half of the dough on a lightly floured surface to
5mm (¼in) thick. Cut into 12 cauldrons using a 6-cm (2½-in) diameter
cauldron cookie cutter and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper,
spaced 2.5cm (1in) apart to allow room to spread during baking. Chill before
baking to help them keep their shape.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4).
Bake for 7–8 minutes until lightly brown, then allow them to cool on a wire
rack.
To make the semi-circles filled with sprinkles, roll out the other half of the
dough and cut into 12 circles with a 6-cm (2½-in) round cookie cutter. To
mould to the right shape, use a silicon semi-circle or half-sphere baking tray
for baking 4cm (1½ in) domes and turn it upside-down on a baking tray.
Arrange the semi-circles over the dome shapes and bake as before.
For the buttercream, beat the butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the icing sugar and continue beating on a low speed until fully
incorporated, then add the orange zest and juice and mix. If the consistency
is too runny, add more icing sugar; if it is too dry, add more orange juice.
Separate the buttercream into three bowls and colour one with green food
colour, one with yellow and one with red. Fill three piping bags with each
colour and cut off the ends.
Fill the semi-circles with sprinkles and use a little buttercream to glue the
cauldrons to them.
Pipe green buttercream on the tops as bubbling goo coming out of the
cauldron and top it with some more of the sprinkles. To make the flames,
pipe them on with the yellow buttercream and add some red details on top. It
helps to shape them with a toothpick.
These traditional Russian cookies make the perfect holiday treat –
either to eat or to gift to friends and family. I am giving these mushroom
cookies, or gribochky, a delicate touch of ginger because it just works
beautifully. Since I love old kitchenalia, I happen to have an old
Lithuanian mushroom cookie pan (it bakes about 10 at a time and goes
on the hob (stove) – it can be sourced online), but you don’t need one to
make these tiny cookies – they can be shaped by hand.
575g (1lb 4½oz/4¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
175g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
160g (5¾oz/⅔ cup) mayonnaise
2 large eggs
TO DECORATE
150g (5oz/1 cup) poppy seeds
225g (8oz) dark chocolate, chopped, plus a little extra, melted, to use as glue if shaping the cookies by
hand
Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a
medium bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar
on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the mayonnaise and continue
mixing, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl from
time to time. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until fully
incorporated. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients on a low speed. The batter
will be soft but pliable.
Tip the dough onto the work surface and bring it together into a ball. Cover
with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
If you can get hold of a mushroom cookie pan, roughly form pieces of the
dough into mushroom shapes and place in the pan. Cook over a medium heat
for 3 minutes, then flip it over and cook for another minute or so. Release
and repeat process with the rest of the dough.
If you haven’t got a mushroom pan, preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C
fan/400°F/Gas mark 6) and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Divide the dough in half. Shape one half of the dough into mushroom caps –
about 2.5cm (1in) in diameter – by making a flattened ball and using your
thumb to hollow out the middle. Shape the other half of the dough into stem
shapes, about 2.5cm (1in) long. Place on the baking trays (you will need to
work in batches) and bake for 10–12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway
through. Cool on a wire rack and repeat the process until all the dough is
used up.
Meanwhile, put the royal icing into a medium bowl and thin it out slightly
with a little water to get a dipping consistency. Cover and set aside.
When cool, you can decorate your mushrooms. If they were baked in a
cookie pan, they will be ready to decorate. Dip the stem ends in the royal
icing and shake the excess off. Let dry for 15 minutes or so (egg cartons are
very useful for this). The bottoms will still be a little wet, so dip them into
the poppy seeds at this point, rolling the base around a little, then leave to
dry completely.
If you are shaping the cookies by hand, first stick the caps to the stems using
a little melted chocolate. Once cooled, follow the previous step.
While the cookies are drying, make the chocolate ganache by placing the
chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan
over a medium heat until just about to simmer, then pour it over the
chocolate, let it stand for 2–3 minutes, then stir with a silicon spatula until
the chocolate is fully melted.
Dip the mushroom caps into the chocolate ganache and leave to dry in the
egg carton between the triangles so that the cap hardly touches the surface.
VARIATION
These mushrooms bear a resemblance to Boletus edulis (ceps or porcini), which often
grows alongside Amanita muscaria, the fairy-tale mushroom with a red cap and white
warts that we see in so many Christmas scenes. To decorate your mushrooms like
these, colour some white chocolate with powder-based red food colour for the caps and
use some white royal icing to pipe the warts. Instead of the poppy seeds, you can rub
some moss green gel food colour with your fingertips into shredded coconut and dip
the base of the stems in it.
Lemon shortbread is one of my favourite biscuits and ginger marries
well with lemon. Candy canes are a classic for Christmas. Snakes are
spooky. Mash all three things together and we get candy cane snake
cookies with a lovely lemony touch.
230g (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
385g (13½oz/scant 3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
red gel food colour
red round sprinkles or candies for the eyes
50g (1¾oz) Royal Icing
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar
on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice, ginger,
cinnamon, baking powder, salt and egg and continue mixing. Add the flour
and mix on a low speed until fully combined, scraping down the sides and
bottom of the bowl from time to time.
Remove half the dough from the bowl and colour the remaining dough with
the red food colour. Cover both doughs with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and
refrigerate for 3–4 hours, or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 195°C (175°C fan/375°F/Gas mark 5). Line two baking
trays with baking paper or silicon mats.
Shape the white dough into a 20cm (8in) log. Divide the red dough in half
and form two log shapes the same length as the white one. Form into a single
log with a stripe of red on each side of the white. On the countertop, use
your hands to roll out the log (without twisting at this stage) to the desired
thickness you want them to be. Next, roll each end of the log in opposite
directions with your fingertips, working along its length, to create the red
and white twist effect. Cut into pieces, 18cm (7in) long. Shape one end of
each into a point for the tail and shape the head at the other end. Roll them
inwards. If you find it difficult to shape the dough without breaking it into
one long log shape, mould the snakes individually into 18cm–20cm (7–8in)
logs. Place the cookies on your prepared trays and bake for 8–10 minutes, or
until the edges begin to brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Once the cookies are fully cooled, use a little royal icing to attach red
sprinkles at each side of the head for the eyes.
Polvorones are to Spanish Christmas what mince pies are to the British.
There’s no Christmas without polvorones or turrón (nougat) in Spain.
Polvo means ‘dust’, and it refers to the way this cookie turns to dust
when you bite into it because it contains lard rather than butter. This
ancient recipe only requires four ingredients, although I have added
some ginger (of course) and cinnamon to them. As the polvorones are
traditionally dusted with icing (confectioners’) sugar on top, they make
the perfect candidates for representing the phases of the moon.
125g (4½oz/1¼ cups) ground almonds
200g (7oz/14 Tbsp) lard
150g (5oz/1 cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp ground ginger
Mix the flour and ground almonds on a large baking tray. Toast in the oven
for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to help it toast evenly.
Once it’s golden, remove from the oven and let cool completely.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the lard and sugar
until light and fluffy. Add the toasted flour mixture, ginger and cinnamon,
and mix to combine. Bring together into a dough, then cover with clingfilm
(plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Line two baking trays with baking paper or a silicon mat.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1cm (½in) thick and cut
out 12 discs with a 5cm (2in) cookie cutter. Re-roll the trimmings and cut the
rest. Place them on your prepared trays and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to
cool on the tray as they are extremely delicate.
Once cooled, use a piece of paper to cover part of the cookies as shown
before dusting with icing sugar to create the different phases of the moon:
new moon, waxing crescent, waxing half, waxing gibbous, full moon,
waning gibbous, waning half and waning crescent.
NOTE
If you would like to make a sun polvorón for the moon ones to be displayed with, bake
in a sun silicon mould. Once cooled, brush with a little sugar syrup and stick gold leaf
on top.
I love a gooey chocolate chip cookie, and during the winter months
adding a gentle touch of gingerbread spices makes these cookies the
perfect thing to bake. The perfect snack, in fact, to sit with in front of a
fire with a good book and a gingerbread latte.
150g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

200g (7oz/1 cup) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
300g (10½oz/2¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves (optional)
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
300g (10½oz) good-quality white chocolate, chopped into chunks
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar
on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla
and continue mixing. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the flour,
ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves (if using), baking powder, bicarbonate of
soda and salt. Continue mixing until all the ingredients are well combined.
Add the chocolate chunks. Wrap the dough in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and
refrigerate for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6) and line a large
baking tray with baking paper or a silicon mat.
Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop 10–12 dollops of dough onto the baking
tray, spaced 5cm (2in) apart, as the cookies will spread as they cook. Bake
for 12–14 minutes.
Allow them to cool on the baking tray, if you can resist eating them straight
away.
This classic buttery biscuit gets a hint of spice and everything nice for
the holidays. I’ve chosen to fill them with white chocolate ganache, but
any other buttercream recipe listed in this book would work, as they are
all complementary to ginger.
FOR THE BISCUITS

2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
200g (¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ Tbsp icing (confectioners’) sugar
green food colour
FOR THE GANACHE
100g (3½oz) white chocolate, finely chopped
300ml (10½oz/1¼ cups) double (heavy) or whipping cream
TO DECORATE
red sprinkles
icing (confectioners’) sugar
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6) and line two
baking trays with baking paper.
Sift together the flour, ginger, cornflour and baking powder, and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and icing
sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and keep
mixing. Slowly add the dry ingredients, then add the food colour, a tiny bit at
a time, until you get the desired tone.
Put the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe 20
round circles on the baking trays, about 7cm (2¾in) in diameter, leaving a
space of 4cm (1½in) between them.
Bake for 10–12 minutes, turning and swapping the trays halfway through.
Cool on a wire rack.
To make the ganache, put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the
cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat until just about to simmer,
remove from the heat and pour over the white chocolate. Let it stand for a
couple of minutes, then gently mix with a silicon spatula. Leave to firm up to
a spreadable consistency, then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star
nozzle.
Pipe the ganache on half of the biscuits and top with the other halves. Stick
some red sprinkles on top with a little of the white chocolate ganache and
sprinkle with icing sugar.
Give these festive cookies a touch of evil by simply adding a suggestive
eye from two of the most notorious Christmas villains. These crackled
cookies have more of a cake texture and a hint of ginger flavour. Be sure
to use gel food colour to get a vibrant shade and to mix by hand rather
than using an electric mixer.

1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
55ml (1¾fl oz/3 Tbsp plus 2 tsp) vegetable oil
150g (5oz/¾ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
red gel food colour
100g (3½oz/¾ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
TO DECORATE
100g (3½oz) yellow fondant
black edible paint or pen
50g (1¾oz) Royal Icing
Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt into a medium bowl
and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla, vegetable oil and
sugar until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix to a dough.
Divide the dough in half and add red food colour to one half and green to the
other. Cover both with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 30
minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Line a baking
tray with baking paper or a silicon mat.
Take a tablespoon of dough, shape into a ball and roll in the icing sugar.
Repeat until you have used up all the dough. Place on the baking tray, spaced
5cm (2in) apart, and bake for 12–14 minutes.
As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, make an indentation in
the middle of each one where the eye will be placed. A ball modelling tool is
helpful for this. Leave the cookies to cool on a wire rack.
While the cookies are cooling make your Grinch and Krampus eyes. Roll 10
balls of yellow fondant and 10 of red. Let them harden a bit, then paint or
draw a black line on the red balls for the Krampus eyes and a black dot or
horseshoe shape on the yellow balls for the Grinch ones.
Attach the eyes to the middle of the cookies (yellow eyes on the green
cookies and red eyes on the red cookies) with a little royal icing.
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This isn’t your standard cheesecake; this is a cheesecake worthy of the
place of honour at your holiday table. This recipe was given to me when
I was just a teenager at high school in Las Vegas. I did however reduce
the amount of sugar in it, because it was just a touch too sweet, but of
course you can adapt to your liking.
FOR THE CREAM TOPPING

240ml (8fl oz/1 cup) sour cream
3 Tbsp dark rum
60g (2oz/¼ cup) crystallized ginger, finely chopped
FOR THE BASE
75g (2½oz/¾ cup) digestive biscuit or graham cracker crumbs
50g (1¾oz/½ cup) pecans, finely chopped
50g (1¾oz/¼ packed cup) brown sugar
4 Tbsp salted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING
1 x 425g (15oz) can of pumpkin purée
3 large eggs
100g (3½oz/½ packed cup) brown sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
680g (1lb 8oz) full-fat cream cheese
1 Tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
TO DECORATE (OPTIONAL)
candied oranges
?
Make the cream topping first, as it ideally needs to be refrigerated overnight.
Whip the cream and sour cream in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment until stiff peaks form. Fold in the rum, vanilla and ginger. Cover
and refrigerate for 6–8 hours, or overnight.
For the base, place the biscuit crumbs, pecans and sugar in a medium bowl
and whisk together. Stir in the melted butter and press the mixture into the
base and halfway up the sides of a 23cm (9in) springform cake tin.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the filling, mix the pumpkin purée, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, spices,
and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and
caster sugar until well combined, then add the flour and pumpkin mixture,
and continue mixing until smooth.
Pour the filling into the base and bake for 50–55 minutes until set. Leave to
cool completely.
Spread the cream topping over the cheesecake and refrigerate for a further
6–8 hours until set.
If you choose to decorate it, place some rosemary sprigs all around the edge
and top with candied orange slices.
The only dessert I regularly made while at university in the UK was
crumble. It was my first experience of a warm dessert, as that is just
unheard of in Spain – even the rice pudding is served cold on my home
turf. This particular crumble tastes like the essence of autumn/winter –
warming and satisfying.

60g (2oz/5 Tbsp) light muscovado sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
100g (7 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cold and cubed, plus 1 Tbsp for the filling
40g (1½oz/½ cup) pecans, roughly chopped
900g (2lb) pears (about 5–6), peeled, cored and chopped into 2–3cm (¾–1¼in) chunks
2 tsp demerara (light brown) sugar
100g (3½oz) stem ginger in syrup, chopped, plus 1 Tbsp syrup from the jar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
TO SERVE
custard, cream or vanilla ice cream
Combine the flour, light muscovado sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon and
100g of butter in a large bowl and rub together with your fingers until it
resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the pecans and set aside.
In a large saucepan (or a cast-iron pan) set over a medium heat, melt the
extra tablespoon of butter, add the chopped pears, demerara sugar, stem
ginger and syrup, cinnamon stick and cloves, and cook for 4–5 minutes.
Remove the cloves and cinnamon stick and transfer the mixture to a baking
dish (or, if you used a cast-iron pan to cook the pears in, leave them in the
pan). Top the cooked pears with the crumble mixture and bake for 30
minutes or until the liquid is bubbling up and the edges are golden.
Serve warm with custard, cream or vanilla ice cream.

There’s no way I would write a cookbook without including some
spooky twists along the way. Pumpkin pie remains one of my favourite
sweet bakes, so this autumn–winter classic deserved a look-in. This time,
I’ve given this all-American dessert a gingerbread pastry base.
FOR THE GINGERBREAD PASTRY

80g (3oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
¼ tsp salt
250g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 egg yolks, plus 1, beaten, for egg wash
50ml (1¾fl oz/3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp) ice-cold water
FOR THE FILLING
1 x 425g (15oz) can pumpkin purée
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
235ml (8fl oz/1 cup) evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
TO SERVE
200ml (7fl oz/scant 1 cup) double (heavy) or cream
For the gingerbread pastry, combine the flour, icing sugar, spices and salt in
a bowl (it can be done in the food processor, too). Add the cubed butter and
rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the 3 egg
yolks and water and continue to bring the dough together. Tip onto a clean
work surface and knead a couple of times, then wrap the dough in clingfilm
(plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 30–45 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll to 5mm (¼in) thick on a
lightly floured surface. Line a 23cm (9in) pie dish with the pastry and trim
the edges. Use the leftover pastry to make a long roll and shape into a snake
by pinching the neck and shaping the head, and making the tail thinner than
the body. Imitate snake markings in the surface of the back with a sharp
knife, or alternatively press on the back of a silicon mat or mould. Cut out
some leaf shapes with cookie cutters. Place on a baking tray lined with
baking paper, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate all the pastry elements
until ready to bake.
Combine all the filling ingredients in a medium bowl – the mixture will be
quite liquid, but it will set in the oven. Pour the pie filling into the pastry
case. Brush the pastry edges and decorations on the baking tray with egg
wash. Bake the pie for 30–40 minutes, or until the pie filling sets. Bake the
decorations for 12 minutes.
Leave the pie to cool, then place the decorations on top. Before serving,
whip the cream with the ginger syrup until soft peaks form. Serve each slice
of pie with a dollop of ginger cream on top.
Gingerbread makes for a fantastic ice cream flavour. Here, I have
served it quite simply in vintage Babycham glasses, decorated with little
gingerbread fawns, but I have also successfully used this gelato to make
a bombe Alaska, covered in torched meringue, for another
showstopping Christmas dessert.
450ml (16fl oz/scant 2 cups) double (heavy) cream

480ml (16½fl oz/2 cups) whole milk
165g (6oz/generous ¾ cup) dark brown sugar
80g (2¾oz/¼ cup) black treacle or molasses
115g (4oz/1 cup) fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into 2cm (¾in) pieces
7 egg yolks
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1–2 gingerbread biscuits, crushed
115g (4oz/1 cup) stem ginger, chopped (optional)
gingerbread biscuits of your choice, to decorate
In a large saucepan over a medium heat, whisk together the cream, milk,
sugar, treacle and chopped fresh ginger until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to
a simmer, then remove from the heat before it comes to the boil. Leave to
cool for 30–40 minutes.
Pour the infused cream mixture through a sieve to remove the ginger and set
aside.
In a large saucepan over a low heat, combine the egg yolks, vanilla, spices
and salt, then slowly add the cream mixture while whisking constantly. Keep
whisking until it forms a custard that covers the back of a wooden spoon.
Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface of the custard with clingfilm
(plastic wrap) to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, pour the custard into an ice-cream maker and churn according
to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the crushed gingerbread and stem
ginger, if using, 2–3 minutes before the machine stops churning.
Decorate with gingerbread biscuits of your choice.

I’m not a fan of Christmas pudding, however I love the drama of setting
it on fire on the way to the table, so I’ve created an even more dramatic
dessert that is truly a Christmas showstopper. This dessert is inspired by
pastry chef Sedar Yener’s Bombe Alaska. The cake itself is super easy,
it’s the decoration that requires a bit more patience, but the result is so
worth it. After all, if you can’t make a bit more of an effort at this time
of the year, when can you?
You will need the printed templates and four large acetate sheets to
make the chocolate scroll decorations.
FOR THE CAKE

non-stick baking spray or vegetable oil
375g (13oz/scant 3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
250g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter
250g (9oz/1¼ cups) demerara (light brown) sugar
120g (4¼oz/generous ⅓ cup) black treacle or molasses
300ml (10½fl oz/1¼ cups) whole milk
3 large eggs
FOR THE CHOCOLATE SCROLL DECORATIONS
300g (10½oz) dark chocolate, chopped
gold edible spray paint
12 gold birthday candles
gold edible paint
FOR THE GINGER MERINGUE
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
200g (7oz/1 cup) granulated sugar
2½ Tbsp Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
?
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Line a 24-cm
(9½in) metal mixing bowl with non-stick foil. It will crunch a bit, but this is
okay. Spray the foil with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt into a bowl
and set aside.
Melt the butter, sugar and treacle in a large saucepan over a low-medium
heat, stirring constantly until well combined. Slowly add the milk and warm
through. Remove from the heat and mix in the dry ingredients until fully
combined, then add the eggs, one by one, beating after each addition.
Pour the batter into your prepared bowl and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until
a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
For the chocolate scroll decorations, place your printed template on a

countertop with an acetate sheet on top. Melt your chocolate at 30-second
intervals in the microwave, then pour into a piping bag. Cut the tip from the
end and pipe the scroll shape. Repeat on each sheet of acetate so you have
four scrolls. Let them set fully.
Transfer the remaining melted chocolate to another piping bag and cut the
tip slightly smaller this time. Pipe again on top of the chocolate scrolls to
decorate and give them depth. Leave to set again.
When dry, turn the chocolate scrolls over on their acetate sheets and pipe the
backs in exactly the same way as just described. Leave to set.
Paint all the scrolls with edible gold spray paint on both sides.
To make the ginger meringue, whisk the egg whites and sugar by hand in a
medium heat-resistant bowl until combined. Place the bowl over a pan of
simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the
water. Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar is fully dissolved and
you can no longer feel any granules between your fingers, or until the
mixture reaches 50–60°C (120–140°F) on a sugar thermometer. Remove the
bowl from the heat and beat with a hand-held electric mixer until you
achieve stiff peaks and the sides of the bowl are no longer warm to the
touch. Mix in the ginger syrup.
To assemble, use a palette knife to cover the dome cake with most of the
ginger meringue and smooth it out as much as you can. Mark a cross with a
knife or skewer in the dome, dividing it into four sections. Put the rest of the
meringue into a piping bag, cut the end off and pipe some decorative shells
or scrolls around the base of the dome and in each of the four sections.
Lightly toast the surface of the meringue with a kitchen blowtorch.
Place the chocolate scrolls onto the dome in the four sections marked. Dip
the bases of the candles into some melted chocolate and attach them to the
scrolls in equally spaced intervals – three on each scroll – holding them in
place until the melted chocolate sets. Paint the hardened chocolate with a
little gold edible paint.
Pat yourself on the back and wait for the compliments when you serve this
masterpiece at the table.
Trifle is such a classic British dessert, however I must say this
Christmas version is a wonderful adaptation to try. Cranberry curd
substitutes the jam, mascarpone cream will always elevate the flavour of
any whipped cream and the sponge is a chocolate gingerbread delight.
FOR THE CRANBERRY CURD

225g (8oz) fresh cranberries
120ml (½ cup) orange juice
2 tbsp orange zest
3 eggs yolks and 1 whole egg
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
FOR THE SPONGE
140g (5oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
2 eggs
½ tbsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp buttermilk
140g (5oz/scant ½ cup) golden syrup
FOR THE MASCARPONE CREAM
360g (12¾oz/generous 1½ cups) mascarpone cheese
480ml (16½fl oz/scant 2 cups) whipping cream
100g (3½oz/generous ¾ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp orange liqueur (optional)
sparklers, to decorate
?
For the cranberry curd, combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small
saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until the cranberries start to pop and the
orange juice starts boiling. Push the mixture through a sieve, pressing it well
with a wooden spoon and making sure to scrape the purée from underneath.
Put the purée back into the pan and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4) and grease a 46 x

33cm (18 x 13in) baking tray that is about 5cm (2in) deep.
For the sponge, mix the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and
spices in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held

mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, and finally the buttermilk and
golden syrup. Turn the speed down and add the dry ingredients, and mix
until fully incorporated. Pour into your prepared tray and bake for 30
minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow
to cool, then cut the sponge into 4cm (1½in) squares.
For the mascarpone cream, whip the mascarpone cheese for 1 minute in a
small bowl. Add the cream and beat with a whisk until fully whipped, then
add the icing sugar and continue mixing until fully incorporated. Finally,
mix in the vanilla, orange zest and liqueur.
To assemble, layer half the sponge squares tightly in the base of a 23cm
(9in) trifle bowl. Layer half the cranberry curd on top and spread it evenly,
then spread over half the mascarpone cream. Repeat the layers, ending with
cream, and decorate with some sparklers.
Since I planted a pear tree in my garden, I can’t help but develop pear-
based desserts. This one is a favourite of mine. I’ve always loved the
combination of pear and almond, and adding a warming touch of stem
ginger elevates this tart to another level. You can use store-bought
pastry for this recipe, but I like to add an extra touch of ginger and
make it from scratch. To decorate the tart, I thought a nod to the
partridge in the pear tree that marks the first day of Christmas seemed
rather appropriate.
FOR THE GINGERBREAD PASTRY

80g (2¾oz/9 Tbsp) icing (confectioners’) sugar
¼ tsp salt
250g (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 egg yolks, plus 1, beaten, for egg wash
50ml (1¾fl oz/3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp) ice-cold water
FOR THE FILLING
125g (9 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g (4½oz/scant ⅔ cup) demerara (light brown) or golden caster (superfine) sugar
2 large eggs
125g (4½oz/1 cup plus 1 Tbsp) ground almonds
2 balls of stem ginger, finely chopped
3 Tbsp stem ginger syrup (from the jar)
3 ripe pears, peeled, halved and cored
handful of flaked (slivered) almonds
?
For the gingerbread pastry, combine the flour, icing sugar, spices and salt in
a bowl (it can be done in a food processor, too). Add the cubed butter and
rub it in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and
water, and continue to bring the dough together. Tip it out onto a clean work
surface and knead a couple of times, then wrap the dough clingfilm (plastic
wrap) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll to 5mm (¼in) thick on a
lightly floured surface. Line a 23cm (9in) pie dish or fluted tart tin with the
pastry and trim the edges (keep the offcuts). Prick the base of the tart with a
fork and line with baking paper weighted down with baking beans or rice.
Blind-bake the pastry case for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper
and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until golden. Leave to cool.
For the filling, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the
butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at
a time, then mix in the ground almonds, flour, chopped stem ginger, syrup
and vanilla.
Spread the filling mixture evenly over the pastry base and place the pear
halves on top, forming a circle. To create the pastry pear tree, use the pastry
offcuts: roll into long logs that you can arrange around the pear halves,
twisting and turning to create a tree shape. Cut out some little leaves with a
pastry or cookie cutter and make a little partridge to sit in one of the
branches. Attach these with a little water. Refrigerate the tart for 20 minutes.
Brush the pastry with egg wash and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until golden
brown, adding the flaked almonds halfway through in between the tree
branches. If you feel the top of the tart is browning too quickly, cover it with
foil.
Sticky toffee pudding is by far my favourite British bake. It’s incredibly
moist and gooey, with a real depth of flavour. Adding a touch of ginger
just gives this classic dessert a wonderful twist, perfect for the colder
months since it’s served warm. Instead of a baking tin, you could also
use a bundt tin or even an old ceramic jelly mould to bake this pudding
in.

225g (8oz) whole Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
180ml (6fl oz/¾ cup) boiling water
175g (6oz/1⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
85g (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
140g (5oz/scant ¾ cup) demerara (light brown) sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp black treacle
100ml (3½fl oz/scant ½ cup) milk
FOR THE SAUCE
50g (3½ Tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed
180g (6¼oz/scant 1 cup) light muscovado sugar
1 Tbsp black treacle
pinch of salt
225ml (7¾ fl oz/1 cup) double (heavy) cream
TO SERVE
vanilla ice cream, cream or custard
?
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Spray a 20-cm
(8-in) square baking tin (or mould of choice) with non-stick baking spray.
Put the chopped dates in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave for
30 minutes, then mash with a fork and mix in the vanilla.
Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger and
cloves in a bowl and set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add
the eggs, one at a time. Add the treacle, then mix in the flour mixture
alternating with the milk until everything is combined. Do not overmix. Stir
in the date mixture. The mixture will look a bit curdled at this point, but
that’s fine.
Pour into your prepared tin or mould and bake for 35–40 minutes. Leave to
cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Combine the butter, sugar, treacle and salt in a
medium heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Mix until fully combined,
then add the cream. Turn up the heat until it bubbles and thickens, and you
get a nice toffee colour. Remove from the heat.
Unmould the pudding onto a serving plate or cake stand. Cut into squares
and drizzle the sauce over it. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, cream or
custard.
This pud is an adaptation of one from goddess of the kitchen Nigella
Lawson. In fact, it’s an adaptation of her grandmother’s recipe, so it is
absolutely delicious and warming. If you’ve never made bread and
butter pudding, don’t be put off by the idea of covering sandwiches in
custard and baking them – it is a delight to eat. I also had my
reservations when I first arrived in this country, but I am now truly
converted.
5–6 Tbsp unsalted butter

10 slices of white bread
Ginger Marmalade
1 large egg, plus 4 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
500ml (17fl oz/2 cups) double (heavy) cream
200ml (7fl oz/scant 1 cup) whole milk
2 Tbsp demerara (light brown) sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbsp flaked (slivered) almonds
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6). Butter a 23cm
(9in) baking dish (I normally use a lasagne dish).
Butter all the bread slices, then spoon a couple of tablespoons of the ginger
marmalade on five slices of bread and sandwich with the other five. Cut the
marmalade sandwiches diagonally into triangles and place them in your
prepared dish, overlapping each other with their points facing upwards.
Whisk the egg and egg yolks with the caster sugar in a stand mixer fitted
with the whisk attachment. Add the cream and milk, and continue mixing
until fully combined.
Pour the eggy mixture over the bread and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Butter
the bits of bread poking out of the custard.
Mix the demerara sugar with the ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, and sprinkle
over the pudding.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the custard has set and puffed up. About 5
minutes before the end of baking, remove the dish from the oven and
sprinkle over the flaked almonds.
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I have been making my gingerbread latte as long as I have been making
my pumpkin spice one, and that’s quite a long time. I find ready-made
coffee syrups slightly artificial in flavour, so I much prefer to make my
own – it takes little effort and it tastes so much better.
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) freshly brewed coffee

1½ Tbsp maple or golden syrup
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) hot milk
whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg to decorate (optional)
In a large mug, combine the hot coffee with the syrup, vanilla and spices,
and mix well until dissolved. Pour in the hot milk and mix again.
Serve topped with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg.

Eggnog is synonymous with Christmas in America. Apparently, George
Washington used to make his own and was adamant that you should let
it rest for a few days to intensify its flavour. I personally love eggnog, on
its own, as a latte or in this case as a gingerbread cocktail. Since eggnog
is not readily available in the UK, I’ve included a recipe on how to make
it.
FOR THE EGGNOG

6 medium egg yolks
150g (5 oz/¾ cup) granulated sugar, plus 1 tsp
500ml (17fl oz/2 cups) milk
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
225ml (7½fl oz/scant 1 cup) double (heavy) cream
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3–4 Tbsp whisky or bourbon (omit if making it for children)
FOR THE GINGERBREAD EGGNOG COCKTAIL
30ml (1fl oz/2 Tbsp) Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
30ml (1fl oz/2 Tbsp) rum or whisky
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) Eggnog
ice cubes
TO DECORATE THE GLASS
a little extra ginger syrup
crushed ginger biscuits (gingernuts)
Make the eggnog in advance: in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy.
Combine the milk, cloves and cinnamon stick in a saucepan and heat gently
to just before boiling point.
Slowly add about half of the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking
constantly so it doesn’t scramble. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan
and continue cooking over a low-medium heat until it thickens slightly and
coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and
leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Stir and strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Add the
cream, nutmeg and whisky or bourbon, then cover and refrigerate. Leave to
‘mature’ for 8 hours or overnight.
The eggnog is now ready to serve. You can either ladle it into individual
glasses and serve with freshly grated nutmeg and a cinnamon stick, or make
the gingerbread cocktail as follows.
To decorate the rim of the glass, pour a little ginger syrup into a saucer and
place the crushed ginger biscuits in a separate saucer. Dip the rim of a
cocktail glass in the syrup, then dip it into the crushed ginger biscuits to
create an attractive rim.
Combine the ginger syrup, the rum or whisky and eggnog in a cocktail
shaker filled with ice. Shake well for a few seconds until cold, then strain
into your cocktail glass.
This is such a decadent version of a hot chocolate, with hints of ginger,
cinnamon and orange. Not one for the kids I’m afraid, although you
could substitute the orange liqueur for orange zest.
100ml (3½fl oz/7 Tbsp) whole milk

100ml (3½fl oz/7 Tbsp) single (light) cream
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp orange liqueur (or ½ tsp orange zest)
pinch of salt
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 whole clove
¼ tsp vanilla extract
50g (1¾oz) dark chocolate, roughly chopped
dollop of whipped cream, sweetened with Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger), to serve
(optional)
Put the milk, cream, sugar, orange liqueur or zest, salt and spices into a
medium saucepan set over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer while
stirring with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for
10 minutes.
If you used orange zest strain the mixture through a sieve, but if you used a
liqueur, simply remove the clove. Put the milk back into the pan over a low
heat and add the vanilla and chocolate. Stir gently until the chocolate has
fully dissolved.
Serve in a mug and top with whipped cream that has been sweetened with
ginger syrup, if you like.
There are two ways of making this milkshake. You can make the
Gingerbread Gelato and simply blend it with a cup of milk, or you can
use vanilla ice cream and add the spices as described.
2 stale gingerbread biscuits (or gingernuts/gingersnaps)

1½ scoops vanilla ice cream
120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) whole milk
¼ tsp ground ginger
whipped cream and crushed gingerbread biscuit, to serve (optional)
Put the gingerbread biscuits into a blender and blitz into crumbs. (Remove 1
teaspoonful if you want some to sprinkle on top of whipped cream to serve.)
Add the ice cream, milk and spices and blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass and top with whipped cream and reserved gingerbread
crumbs, if using.
I’m not much of an alcohol drinker but I do love a cocktail. This
Martini is, for me, the best holiday drink. I even bought a cocktail
shaker just to make it.
30ml (1fl oz/2 Tbsp) vodka

60ml (2fl oz/4 Tbsp) Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
30ml (1fl oz/2 Tbsp) Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
115ml (3¾fl oz/scant ½ cup) single (light) cream or nut milk of your choice
1 cup crushed ice
TO DECORATE THE GLASS
a little extra ginger syrup
crushed ginger biscuits (gingernuts)
To decorate the rim of the glass, pour a little ginger syrup into a saucer and
place the crushed ginger biscuits in a separate saucer. Dip the rim of a
Martini glass in the syrup, then dip it into the crushed ginger biscuits.
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake for a few seconds,
then strain into your glass.
A wintry and warming twist on the traditional Black Russian cocktail.
40ml (1¼fl oz/8 tsp) vodka

20ml (½fl oz/4 tsp) Kahlúa coffee liqueur
1½ tsp Ginger Syrup (or from a jar of stem ginger)
¼ tsp vanilla extract
ice cubes, plus extra to serve
Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker or a jug filled with ice and
shake or muddle until cold.
Strain into a glass filled with extra ice cubes. Skull-shaped ice cube moulds
are great for this.
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Ginger marmalade is basically an alternative to using stem ginger, and
definitely more suitable for spreading on toast or croissants. Use it as
you would any other jam.
250g (9oz) fresh root ginger

240ml (9fl oz/1 cup) water
150g (5oz/¾ cup) jam sugar
1 Tbsp pectin
Peel the ginger and cut into matchstick strips, then place in a saucepan.
Cover with enough water to submerge the ginger, bring to the boil, then
simmer for 45 minutes–1 hour. Drain.
Mix the measured water with the jam sugar and pectin in a separate
saucepan over a low heat and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Add the
ginger strips and simmer for 25–30 minutes.
Pour the marmalade into a sterilized jar, leaving a 1–2cm (½–¾in) space at
the top of the jar. Seal with the lid and leave to cool.
Place the jar in a large pan of boiling water, with at least 5cm (2in) of water
to cover, and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and leave to cool.
While cooling you will hear the lid ‘pop’ as the vacuum seals. Store in a
cool, dark place for up to 12 months. Once opened, keep refrigerated and use
within 1 month.
Buying stem ginger in shops is rather expensive, so you may want to
make it at home. It’s simple to make and it tastes better. I have used
stem ginger in a few recipes in this book, but it can pretty much be
added to any cake, pudding or biscuits. My mother-in-law slices it thinly
and has it on toast!
650g (1lb 7oz) fresh root ginger

1.5 litres (52fl oz/6½ cups) water
600g (1lb 5oz/3 cups) granulated sugar
Freeze the ginger overnight.
The next day, remove it from the freezer, peel and slice into 2cm (¾in)
slices. Place in a large saucepan and add the measured water (ensure it
submerges the ginger by at least 2cm/¾in). Bring to the boil, then simmer
for 1½–2 hours until the roots feel tender to the point of a knife.
Drain the ginger, reserving 600ml (21fl oz/generous 2½ cups) of the liquid.
Set the ginger aside.
Place the reserved liquid in a separate pan over a medium heat. Add the
sugar and stir until it has dissolved, then simmer for about 15 minutes, or
until you have a syrup consistency. Add the boiled ginger and continue
simmering for a further 15–20 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a sterilized jar. Seal or store in a cool, dark place for
up to 12 months. Once opened, store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Dear Santa, this year I have been rather naughty… You won’t mind
being on the naughty list this Christmas if this is the kind of coal you’ll
receive from Santa – homemade honeycomb covered in dark chocolate
and sprinkled with black sanding sugar. The honeycomb itself is red, so
when you bite into it, it looks like a piece of burning coal.
2½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp red powder food colour
300g (10½oz/1½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
150g (5oz/scant ½ cup) golden syrup
200g (7oz) dark chocolate, chopped
200g (7oz/1 cup) black sanding sugar
Line a medium baking tray or a ceramic heatproof dish, about 30 x 20cm (12
x 8in), with baking paper. It helps to grease it first so the paper sticks.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and the red food colour in a
small bowl. If you don’t have powder colour, rub gel food colour in with
your fingertips until fully combined. Set aside.
Combine the sugar and golden syrup in a heavy-based pan and attach a sugar
thermometer to the side. Gently stir over a low heat and try not to let the
mixture bubble until completely dissolved. Once the sugar has completely
melted, do not stir, to avoid crystallization. Turn the heat up slightly. When
the temperature reaches 150°C (300°F), work as quickly as you can to
remove the thermometer and tip in the bicarbonate of soda mixture. Gently
whisk until the bicarbonate of soda has disappeared and the mixture is
foaming. Be careful not to overmix it or you’ll lose the bubbles.
Pour the mixture into your prepared tray as close to it as possible, so as not
to lose the bubbles. Use a spatula to get it all out of the pan. Leave to cool
completely, then crack it into pieces.
Put the chopped chocolate in a heat-resistant bowl and melt in the

microwave at 30-second intervals (or melt in a bain marie).
Dip the pieces of honeycomb in the melted chocolate, shaking off the excess
(using a fork helps), then cover in the black sanding sugar. Pack in vintage
tins and gift to your naughty friends. In my case, all of them!
Pear and ginger are one of my favourite flavour combinations. Besides
using this recipe as a standard jam, you could fill pies or pastries with it.
It is also very good combined with almonds. Get some store-bought puff
pastry, fill little parcels with the pear and ginger jam, egg wash and
bake, then top with flaked (slivered) almonds and icing (confectioners’)
sugar, for example.
1.5kg (3lb 5oz) pears, peeled and cored

1½ Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp grated fresh root ginger
1kg (2lb 4oz/5 cups) granulated sugar
1 x 8–10g (¼oz) sachet of pectin
Chop the pears into small cubes and add half to a medium saucepan with
enough water to cover the fruit. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 30
minutes, or until the fruit is soft.
Remove from the heat and add the rest of the pears, lemon zest, ginger, sugar
and pectin. Bring back to the boil and continue to boil until it reaches 105°C
(220°F) on a sugar thermometer.
Pour the jam into sterilized jars, leaving a 1–2cm (½–¾in) space at the top of
the jars. Seal with the lids and leave to cool.
Place the jar in a large pan of boiling water, with at least 5cm (2in) of water
to cover, and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and leave to cool.
While cooling you will hear the jars ‘pop’ as the vacuum seals. Store in a
cool, dark place for up to 12 months. Once opened, keep refrigerated and use
within 1 month.
If you’re going to make full use of this recipe book I highly recommend
you make your own ginger syrup. It’s so simple to prepare and so
versatile. I use it in coffee, buttercreams, whipped creams, cocktails, etc.
It also makes a lovely gift as part of a gingerbread-themed hamper, or
on its own bottled in a festive vessel.

240ml (8fl oz/1 cup) water
115g (4oz) fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan set over a medium heat
and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger and simmer for 30
minutes.
Strain the liquid through a sieve into a jug or bowl and leave it to cool before
bottling.
Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Popcorn is my husband’s favourite snack and, although he’s all about
butter and salt, I have introduced him to this sweet and salty
alternative. I love to make this, not just to eat but to give away to loved
ones during the holidays. Pack it in glass containers to give it a
luxurious touch and finish it off with a ribbon.

60g (¼ cup) salted butter
60g (2oz/3 Tbsp) golden or maple syrup
½ tsp salt
100g (3½oz/15 cups) freshly popped corn (from about 120g (4oz/⅔ cup) unpopped kernels)
Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper or a silicon mat. Set aside.
Combine the sugar, butter, syrup, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a large
saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir until the butter has fully melted and
the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil while stirring constantly, then add
the bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
Remove from the heat and add the popcorn, mixing well so all the popped
kernels are covered.
Spread the coated popcorn in a single layer over the trays and leave it to cool
completely.
Break the popcorn up and store in an airtight container.

If you have read the very brief history of gingerbread at the beginning
of this book, you already know what Yorkshire parkin is and that it is
traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night. Parkin is perfect to give as a gift,
as it stays fresh for way longer than most cakes. In fact, it is best eaten
two or three days after baking. I have used some decorative autumnal
mini loaf tins to make it extra pretty, but you can just bake it in a 20-cm
(8-in) square baking tin and cut it into squares.

120g (4¼oz/scant 1 cup) self-raising (self-rising) flour
120g (4¼oz/1¼ cups) porridge (rolled) oats
½ tsp salt
90g (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter
120g (4¼oz/6 Tbsp) golden syrup
40g (1½oz/2 Tbsp) black treacle
90g (3¼oz/scant ½ cup) soft brown sugar
1 medium egg, plus 1 egg yolk
130ml (4½fl oz/generous ½ cup) whole milk
Preheat the oven to 195°C (175°C fan/375°F/Gas mark 5). Spray the tin/s
you are using to bake the parkin with non-stick baking spray or brush with
vegetable oil.
Mix the flour, oats, ginger and salt in a large bowl with a whisk and set
aside.
Combine the butter, syrup, treacle and sugar in a medium saucepan set over
a medium-low heat and stir until the butter has melted and everything is
combined. Pour the hot mixture over the dry ingredients.
Beat the egg and egg yolk in a jug, add the milk while still beating and then
add the bicarbonate of soda. Pour this over the flour/syrup mixture and
combine well.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin/s and bake: 30–35 minutes if baking in
one large tin; 25–30 minutes if using individual tins.
Let the parkin cool before removing from the tins. It will stay fresh for
around 10 days.
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This chapter might be more accurately named ‘Gingerbread
Structures’. I’ve made a Romany wagon, a Tudor pub, a Ouija
board and Baba Yaga’s hut out of gingerbread. The templates are
all provided at the end of this book – you can scan them and adjust
the sizes, if you wish.
I’d like to give you a few tips to help you succeed when making a
gingerbread structure:
First, they take effort, so spread the work over several days,
making the dough and baking on one day, decorating on another
day, and assembling on a third day, for example.
Refrigerate the cut-out shapes while on their trays before baking.
It is always better to slightly overbake the biscuit than underbake it

for these projects.
A fine grater will help you get edges straight before assembling.
If you are planning to eat the gingerbread house, use caramel as

glue, as it dries much faster than royal icing. However, if you are
not planning to eat it and just making it to display over the
holidays, get the glue gun out! It works wonders with gingerbread.
I recommend using remote-control fairy lights, so you can turn

them on and off without having to lift anything and risk destroying
what took you days to make.
Don’t be put off by the work involved or think they require skills
you do not possess. The Romany wagon was the first gingerbread
structure I ever made and making the templates was probably the
hardest bit, thankfully they’re available for you at the end of this
book. If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that last year I
bought an adorable Romany wagon for my garden. It is my pride and
joy. Just as I do in my home, I dress it up for the seasons. Beautiful fresh
flowers surround it in the spring and summer, pumpkins and lanterns in
the autumn and Christmas lights, wreaths and garlands in the winter.
This is how to make the gingerbread version.
I made the template for this wagon using a postage tube, 11cm (4¼in)
in diameter. Although there are templates for you to print and cut out,
you will still need the tube shape for the baking stage.
2 x batches Basic Gingerbread Dough
200g (7oz) white fondant
turquoise food colour
green food colour
red food colour
black edible paint
gold edible paint
red ball sprinkles
After rolling the dough out, cut around the templates provided. For the roof
section, cut out a rectangular piece of dough to match the length of the base
panel. For the width, measure the curve of the front and back panels and
match that measurement. Place the shapes on baking trays lined with baking
paper. For the roof section, cover a section of your postage tube with foil and
drape the gingerbread over it before placing on the baking tray.
Bake for 15–18 minutes. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Decorate the front and back panels with coloured fondant and royal icing.
You can copy the designs I’ve made, but feel free to colour and paint in
whichever way you please.
Paint around the wheel edges with black edible paint to imitate tyres. Pipe in
the spokes with royal icing and paint them with gold edible paint when dry.
When all the bits that need decorating have dried, it’s time to assemble. Use
royal icing to glue the front and back panels of the caravan to the base. Use
something to prop them up while they dry (a tin can works well). Next, glue
on the side panels. Let everything dry before attaching the roof.
Once the roof is secured, cover with a rectangle of turquoise-coloured

fondant. Brush it with a little water so it sticks.
Prop up the base of the caravan on a tin (can) of sardines, or similar, and
attach the wheels to the sides and the steps to the front. Leave to dry, then
pipe a little royal icing foliage dotted with red ball sprinkles to cover up the
fondant edges.
Who doesn’t love a traditional old British pub decked out for the
holidays with a roaring fire? For this project, I wanted to go for a
Tudor-style two-storey building. I imagine it to be full of drunken
revellers, singing, hitting their heads on the low ceiling beams and
dropping their pints of ale.
2–3 x batches Basic Gingerbread Dough

2 x batches Royal Icing
4 gelatine leaves
caramel or isomalt, for glueing
small battery-powered wire fairy lights (optional)
500g (1lb 2oz) black fondant
50g (1¾oz) brown fondant
lollipop stick and coloured string for the pub sign
edible pearls
After rolling the dough out, cut around the templates provided. For the
bottom storey of the pub, use the long sides of the top storey and the short
sides of the top storey, minus the triangular top. Place on a baking tray lined
with baking paper.
Bake for 12–15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before decorating.
Use a little royal icing to attach the gelatine leaves behind all the window
openings. Leave to dry.
Assemble both storeys of the pub separately using caramel or isomalt as

glue. Melt the caramel or isomalt in a large, wide frying pan (skillet), so you
have room to dip the walls of the pub into it. Reheat when necessary. If you
are using fairy lights to illuminate your pub, make sure you put them in
before the roof goes on and have access to the on/off switch.
To make the roof tiles, cut out long strips of back fondant and make small
incisions along the length of each strip to look like tiles. Mount each strip
overlapping each other, glueing them to the roof with royal icing, starting at
the bottom and working your way up.
Ice the walls of of both structures with royal icing. Before it dries, decorate
with beams made out of strips of black fondant. The design is up to you.
I made the pub door using a silicon mould, but you can cut strips of brown
fondant, score them with a modelling tool to make them look like wood and
place them next to each other to form a door shape. Make the hinges and
doorknob out of black fondant.
Insert the lollipop stick for the pub sign and secure it with a little melted
caramel. Decorate your pub sign as you wish and hang it from the lollipop
stick with some coloured string.
Before you attach the top storey of the pub to the bottom, place a tin can in
the middle of the bottom structure for extra support before you place the top
storey.
Colour some royal icing in green and pipe some leaves around the front and
sides to create Christmas garlands. Decorate with edible pearls. Add
finishing touches by piping a little royal icing snow along the tops of the
windows and roof ridge. I didn’t do this, but some little fairy lights around
the outside of the roof would also look adorable.
If you haven’t heard of Baba Yaga before, she – along with her two
sisters – is a fascinating character in Slavic folklore. Described as a
ferocious-looking witch or ogress, she travels by mortar holding a pestle.
As with many fairytale witches, Baba Yaga is capable of good and evil.
She lives deep in the forest in a hut described that can walk because it
has chicken legs. I could not resist making her hut out of gingerbread
for this book.
You’ll need to make a simple wooden platform from plywood, with
two wooden rods that will be covered with modelling chocolate to make
the chicken feet.
1½ batches Basic Gingerbread Dough

250g (9oz) modelling chocolate (you could also use fondant but modelling chocolate hardens better)
250g (9oz) dark chocolate, grated
Royal Icing
brown food colour
caramel or isomalt, for glueing
For the platform, you need a piece of 6-mm (¼-in) thick ply, cut to form a
10cm (6in) by (7in) base. Screw into this two 15-cm (6-in) long wooden rods
or dowelling to form the chicken legs. Cover the rods in modelling chocolate
and sculpt the chicken feet then stand the rods on a board, supported under
the platform by tin cans, and allow the chocolate to set. It helps to use a
picture of real chicken legs as reference.
Make the gingerbread dough according to the instructions. After rolling the
dough out, cut around the templates for the sides and roof of the gingerbread
pub. The door and window can be either moulded by hand or you can use
silicon moulds. Before you bake all elements, use a sharp knife to slightly
curve the roof and wall sides by cutting at an angle. Bake for 12–15 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before decorating. Attach the door and windows
and any decorations to the front wall panel with a little royal icing.
Brush some brown coloured royal icing at the top of the front wall and all
over the roof pieces and cover with the grated chocolate. Or alternatively
cover all walls and roof in grated chocolate like I did. Assemble all pieces on
top of the wooden platform using caramel to stick them together (or a glue
gun if you’re not planning on eating the hut). Finally brush some more royal
icing at the bottom of the hut to hide the wooden platform.
This Ouija board is probably the simplest of the gingerbread structures
in this book but it looks just great. Once you summon the spirits you can
simply eat the whole thing. I bought an A4 template for the letters and
numbers, however you can print the one I made for The Witch-crafting
Handbook and cut the letters/numbers out. I added a little keyhole detail
to the planchette and a key to the board simply because I already had
those moulds and to me they represented opening the door to another
dimension. This isn’t necessary at all; you can paint your design or add
other gingerbread bits.
1 batch Basic Gingerbread Dough

black food paint
isomalt, for glueing
Royal Icing (optional)
After rolling the dough out, cut around the templates provided and bake.
Place the letters and numbers template on top of the Ouija board and dab a
little edible paint onto a piece of sponge. Apply carefully to cover all. Let the
paint dry and then remove the template.
Using a thin brush, draw a black line all around the board and planchette to
give a little more definition.
Attach any other gingerbread decorations (in my case key/keyhole) with a

little edible glue or royal icing.
To make the little isomalt ‘glass’ piece for the planchette there are different
methods you can use. The easiest would be just to melt the isomalt in the
microwave and pour a bit into the hole, making sure it’s placed on
parchment paper or a silicon mat. To make it oval, however, you could pour
a thin layer over a small semi-circle silicon mould that’s turned upside down.
I used the third method which is to pour the melted isomalt onto clingfilm
(plastic wrap) and apply pressure around it with a metal ring. This is a
technique developed by pastry wizard Amaury Guichon.
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A
almonds
ginger bread & butter pudding 1
a partridge in a pear tart 1
phases of the moon polvorones 1
Santa Claus gingerbread donuts 1
apricots (dried)
pumpkin, maple & ginger cupcakes 1
B
Baba Yaga hut 1
Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur 1
banana bread, ginger spiced 1
basic gingerbread dough 1
gingerbread & eggnog sandwich cookies 1
gingerbread Demogorgon 1, 2
gingerbread pub 1
Ouija board 1
spooky gingerbread trees 1
traditional (sort of) gingerbread men 1
biscuits, gingerbread 1
gingerbread milkshake 1, 2
black edible paint 1
black lustre dust 1, 2
Black Russian, gingerbread 1
black sanding sugar 1
brandy 1
bread & butter pudding, ginger 1
brownies, gingerbread present 1
bundt, gingerbread, pecan & caramel 1
buttercream 1, 2, 3
C
cakes
gingerbread & salted caramel cupcakes 1
gingerbread candelabra dome cake 1, 2, 3
gingerbread, pecan & caramel bundt 1
pepper cake 1
winter spirit candle cake 1
candelabra dome cake, gingerbread 1, 2, 3
candies 1, 2, 3
candle cake, winter spirit 1
candy cane snakes, ginger and lemon 1
carol cake 1
Chakraverty, Michael 1
cheesecake, pumpkin & ginger cream 1
chocolate
Baba Yaga hut 1
chocolate orange gingerbread cauldrons 1
ginger & chocolate honeycomb coal 1
ginger & chocolate Krampus cupcakes 1
gingerbread candelabra dome cake 1
gingerbread hot chocolate 1, 2
gingerbread millionaire shortbread 1
gingerbread present brownies 1
modelling 1, 2
Russian mushroom cookies 1
Viennese gingerbread wreaths 1
white chocolate gingerbread cookies 1
see also white chocolate
Christmas 1, 2, 3
cinnamon roll wreath, gingerbread 1
cocktail, gingerbread eggnog 1
coffee
gingerbread latte 1, 2
cookies
Krampus & the Grinch ginger cookies 1
Covid gingerbread man 1
cranberries
gingerbread, chocolate & cranberry trifle 1
cream cheese
gingerbread cinnamon roll 1
pumpkin & ginger cream cheesecake 1
Santa baby ginger Swiss roll 1
crumble, pear & gingerbread 1
crystallized ginger 1
cupcakes
D
dates
sticky toffee gingerbread pudding 1, 2
Demogorgon 1, 2
template 1
donuts, Santa Claus gingerbread 1
E
edible paint 1
edible pearls 1
eggnog
gingerbread eggnog cocktail 1
Elizabeth I, Queen 1
Elizabeth II, Queen 1
F
fairings 1
focaccia della Befana 1
fondant 1
gingerbread pub 1
Romany Vardo wagon 1, 2
food colour
Baba Yaga hut 1
ginger & chocolate honeycomb coal 1
gingerbread pub 1
G
ganache, white chocolate 1
gelato, gingerbread 1, 2
ginger juice 1
ginger syrup 1
focaccia della Befana 1
ginger spiced banana bread 1
gingerbread Black Russian 1
gingerbread candelabra dome cake 1
gingerbread Martini 1
gingerbread pumpkin pie-thon 1
gingerbread men 1, 2
Grimm, The Brothers 1
Guichon, Amaury 1
H
Hansel and Gretel 1
honeycomb coal, ginger & chocolate 1
hot chocolate, gingerbread 1, 2
I
ice cream
gingerbread gelato 1, 2
isomalt 1, 2, 3
J
jam, pear & ginger 1
K
Kahlúa coffee liqueur 1
Krampus (film) 1
L
latte, gingerbread 1, 2
M
marmalade, ginger 1, 2
Martini, gingerbread 1
marzipan
mascarpone
meringue
ginger 1
Swiss meringue buttercream 1
Middle Ages 1
milk
gingerbread latte 1, 2
millionaire shortbread, gingerbread 1
modelling chocolate 1, 2
O
orange liqueur 1
oranges
Ouija board 1, 2
P
pears
pear & ginger jam 1
pear & gingerbread crumble 1
pecans
gingerbread, pecan & caramel bundt 1
pepper cake 1
Platinum Jubilee 1
polvorones, phases of the moon 1
popcorn, gingerbread 1
pub, gingerbread 1, 2
pumpkin
gingerbread pumpkin pie-thon 1
Q
Queen, gingerbread 1
R
template 1
root ginger
ginger marmalade 1
ginger syrup 1
gingerbread gelato 1
homemade stem ginger 1
pear & ginger jam 1
royal icing 1
ginger & lemon candy cane snakes 1
gingerbread pub 1
Ouija board 1
rum
S
salted caramel
sprinkles
ginger & lemon candy cane snakes 1
stem ginger
gingerbread gelato 1
homemade 1
sticky toffee gingerbread pudding 1, 2
Stronger Things 1
structures 1
T
Traxler, Hans
The Truth About Hansel and Gretel 1
trifle, gingerbread, chocolate & cranberry 1
V
vodka
gingerbread Black Russian 1
gingerbread Martini 1
W
whisky 1
white chocolate
witches 1, 2, 3
wreaths, Viennese gingerbread 1
Y
Yorkshire parkin 1
mini loaves 1
OceanofPDF.com
Thank you to all who made this book possible. First, to Sarah from
Quadrille who put the idea forward – it ended up being a wonderful book to
write. To Sophie, Claire and Georgie for their patience and input. To Patsy
for once again photographing the bakes beautifully and Sam for his
invaluable assistance. To Agathe for her stunning propping and the lovely
Katie for her huge help in the kitchen. And last, but certainly not least, to
my agent Vivienne and my friends and family for always cheering me on.
Helena Garcia was inspired by her first experience of Halloween

whilst living in Las Vegas, and quickly became hooked on all things gothic
and quirky, a passion that infused her bakes when she competed in the
Great British Bake Off 2019, with her eccentric style and fun-loving
personality making her an exceptionally popular contestant. Having run a
beautiful Victorian apothecary in Leeds, Helena infuses her stylish, spooky
approach into everything she creates, including the sell-out merchandise
available on her website. She is the author of The Wicked Baker (2020) and
The Witch-Crafting Handbook (2021).
witchesbyhelenagarcia.com
@helenagarciafp
OceanofPDF.com
‘To my family, and that includes my dog of course!’
OceanofPDF.com
Managing Director Sarah Lavelle
Designer Georgie Hewitt
Photographer Patricia Niven
Food Stylist Katie Marshall
Props Stylist Agathe Gits
Production Director Stephen Lang
Production Controller Sabeena Atchia
Published in 2023 by Quadrille, an imprint of Hardie Grant Publishing
Quadrille
52–54 Southwark Street
London SE1 1UN
quadrille.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders. The moral rights of the
author have been asserted.
Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library.
Text © Helena Garcia 2023

Photography © Patricia Niven 2023
Design © Quadrille 2023
eISBN 978 1 83783 046 6
OceanofPDF.com

The Gingerbread Book - Helena Garcia

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A (very brief) History of Gingerbread

Cakes and Bakes

Gifts from the Kitchen

A little bit of pepper-cake

A little drink of water,

And a penny, if you please.

150g (⅔ cup) baking spread

FOR THE BISCUIT BASE

Melt the milk or dark chocolate in the microwave at 30-second intervals,

FOR THE DOUGH

Preheat the oven to 195°C (175°C fan/375°F/Gas mark 5).

Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown.

215g (7½oz/1 cup) pumpkin purée

crystallized ginger, to decorate

170g (6oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

100g (3½oz/¾ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

vegetable oil, for greasing

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6) and thoroughly

115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

520g (1lb 2½oz/3½ cups) strong white bread flour

Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicon mat.

3 large egg whites

1 x batch Basic Gingerbread Dough

Make the gingerbread dough according to the instructions.

1 x batch Basic Gingerbread Dough

Make the gingerbread dough according to the instructions.

Eat before it eats you!

1 x batch Basic Gingerbread Dough

Make the gingerbread dough according to the instructions.

1 x batch Basic Gingerbread Dough

Make the gingerbread dough according to the instructions.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE ORANGE GINGERBREAD

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4).

575g (1lb 4½oz/4¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6).

Line two baking trays with baking paper or a silicon mat.

150g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

FOR THE BISCUITS

200g (7oz/1½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

FOR THE CREAM TOPPING

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6).

200g (7oz/1½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6).

Serve warm with custard, cream or vanilla ice cream.

FOR THE GINGERBREAD PASTRY

Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan/375°F/Gas mark 5).

450ml (16fl oz/scant 2 cups) double (heavy) cream

Decorate with gingerbread biscuits of your choice.

FOR THE CAKE

For the chocolate scroll decorations, place your printed template on a

FOR THE CRANBERRY CURD

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4) and grease a 46 x

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held

FOR THE GINGERBREAD PASTRY

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6).

non-stick baking spray or vegetable oil

5–6 Tbsp unsalted butter

120ml (4fl oz/½ cup) freshly brewed coffee

Serve topped with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg.

FOR THE EGGNOG

100ml (3½fl oz/7 Tbsp) whole milk

2 stale gingerbread biscuits (or gingernuts/gingersnaps)