I love anything “gingery” … as is evident from the number of “ginger” baked goods that appear on this website.
So I was very drawn to this recipe by Kirsten Tibballs who owns and operates the amazing Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School in Melbourne (see here ) which runs fabulous chocolate and patisserie classes if you are interested … just check out their program!
In Kirsten’s recipe she uses a Liebkuken ginger spice, but as that can be a little difficult to source I have replaced it with a base of ginger, mixed spice and cinnamon. A fabulous tip Kirsten offers is to dissolve the bi-carb soda in hot water before adding it to the dough … this allows the dough to rise in the oven without spreading so that you get a nice neat edge to your gingerbread … that’s a truly wonderful tip!
I have made this gingerbread quite “gingery”. Initially I was concerned that it may be a bit too spicy for young children, but I have been greatly heartened with fabulous feedback from all and sundry that they love the flavour so I feel confident in sharing that with you. If however you want to reduce the amount of ginger please feel free to do so, but I encourage you to follow the recipe in the first instance and make any adjustment later
I have altered this recipe ever so slightly, and tested it using spelt flour vs plain flour vs baking flour, and honey vs golden syrup (a friend of mine is allergic to honey) and the difference is minimal, although I do prefer to use honey (the honey gives it a lovely flavour and a gorgeous colour). For the honey to properly incorporate into the mix it should be free flowing, so if your honey has crystalised warm it first before adding to the mix. I also increased the sugar slightly and used part golden caster sugar and part light muscovado sugar.
Kirsten recommends rolling the gingerbread to a thickness of 4mm so the cooking time noted in this recipe is for 4mm thickness. If you roll you dough thicker you will need to cook it for longer. If you like your gingerbread to be “crunchy” then bake for up to 12 minutes, or until done to your liking. And if over a few days your gingerbread softens more than you like due to humid weather, you can always refresh it in the oven for just a few minutes.
If planning to use these as heart decorations for your Christmas tree be aware that over a period of time the decorations will soften on the tree especially if we get humid weather. In Europe where it is cold at this time of year they can happily sit on the Christmas tree for weeks, but I found in Perth it all came down to the weather … last year when we had a really humid day I came home to find a couple on the ground (Daisy – our gorgeous pooch – was mighty happy as all I found was the jute that hung them to the tree!). So ensure you make extra to refresh your tree closer to the BIG day so that your tree looks beautiful, and the kids that will want to pick at the gingerbread hearts will not be disappointed.
To punch a hole into the heart shape you need to use a drinking straw … keep re-using the same straw cutting off the end as it starts to become too full of dough to keep punching a hole properly, and continue until you use the whole straw up. This goes for when the gingerbread comes out of the oven too as you will need to repunch the hole … this way you will not use too many straws in the process.
This mixture is also perfect for making gingerbread houses … so let your creativity begin! (NB: If using for a gingerbread house, bake the gingerbread longer than normal as you want noticeably dark brown edges … the drier the gingerbread, the more sturdy it will be … here is a fabulous post from Food52 on how to achieve success in making our very own gingerbread house)
- 1 scant tsp bi carb soda (no more than 5g)
- 45g hot water (recently boiled)
- 290g white spelt flour, plain flour, or bakers flour
- 50g raw caster sugar, or plain caster sugar
- 40g light muscovado sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 tbls ground ginger
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 135g honey, or golden syrup
- 20g butter, room temperature
- Boil the kettle and allow boiled water to sit for a few minutes whilst you continue with the recipe
- Place the bi-carb soda in a small heat proof jug and put aside
- Place dry ingredients into ™ bowl and mix 10 seconds / speed 5 to combine
- Add the runny honey (see note) and butter and mix 20 seconds / speed 5
- Remove the TM bowl from the Thermomix and place the jug with the bi-carb soda onto the carousel
- Press the scale button and carefully pour 45g of hot water into the jug, remove the jug and stir the mix for a few seconds until the bubbles subside
- Return the TM bowl to the Thermomix, add the bi-carb and water and knead for 45 seconds, or until it becomes dough like
- Upturn the TM bowl onto your bench top and knead the dough lightly to bring the mix together into a smooth oblong shape ... this should only take 20 seconds or so
- Wrap the mixture in a bread mat or Gladwrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes until it cools completely (from having the hot water added)
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees, fan forced, and line two trays with baking paper (you will need more than two trays but you can reuse them as you go)
- Working with half the dough at a time, place dough onto a very lightly floured bench top
- Place a little flour in a bowl to put your chosen cutter into, and have a little flour set aside on your bench to lightly rub over your rolling pin every now and then to stop the dough sticking (this is instead of sprinkling with top of dough with extra flour which can dry out your dough too much)
- Roll dough out to 4mm thickness, dip your cutter of choice into flour and cut dough into desired shapes
- Place onto baking trays leaving 5cm space between each shape
- If making shapes that you wish to hang on a tree, then use a drinking straw to punch a hole into the dough before placing into the oven (you will need to repunch the hole when you remove the shapes from the oven to get a clean hole big enough to put your ribbon or jute through)
- Add leftover dough from the first half, to the second half of dough and press together (it is better to press the dough together rather than knead it together as you may overwork the dough) and roll out to make more shapes, continuing until all the dough is used up
- Bake for 8 minutes, or until done to your liking (cooking time depends on the size and thickness of the gingerbread ... bake for 10+ minutes if you like your gingerbread crunchier)
- Once baked cool completely on cooling trays before storing in an airtight container
- Gingerbread will keep in a sealed container for up to a month
Roll the gingerbread to a thickness of 4mm so the cooking time noted in this recipe is for 4mm thickness. If you roll you dough thicker you will need to cook it for longer. If you like your gingerbread to be "crunchy" then bake for up to 12 minutes, or until done to your liking. And if over a few days your gingerbread softens more than you like due to humid weather, you can always refresh it in the oven for just a few minutes.
If planning to use these as heart decorations for your Christmas tree be aware that over a period of time the decorations will soften on the tree especially if we get humid weather. In Europe where it is cold at this time of year they can happily sit on the Christmas tree for weeks, but I found in Perth it all came down to the weather ... last year when we had a really humid day I came home to find a couple on the ground (Daisy - our gorgeous pooch - was mighty happy as all I found was the jute that hung them to the tree!). So ensure you make extra to refresh your tree closer to the BIG day so that your tree looks beautiful, and the kids that will want to pick at the gingerbread hearts will not be disappointed.
To punch a hole into the heart shape you need to use a drinking straw … keep re-using the same straw cutting off the end as it starts to become too full of dough to keep punching a hole properly, and continue until you use the whole straw up. This goes for when the gingerbread comes out of the oven too as you will need to repunch the hole … this way you will not use too many straws in the process.
This recipe can be doubled, but you will need to use the spatula to help move the mix around in the bowl for the first 30 seconds or so.
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