Description
This delightful Gingerbread Christmas Tree recipe creates a festive and edible decoration perfect for the holiday season. Made with spiced gingerbread stars in varying sizes, baked until crisp and decorated with luscious royal icing and silver cachous, it offers a fun assembly experience resulting in a charming centerpiece for your Christmas table.
Ingredients
Scale
Gingerbread Dough
- 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
- 125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
- 50g butter
- 340g (2 1/4 cups) plain flour
- 75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg, lightly whisked
Royal Icing and Decoration
- 330g packet royal icing
- 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice, strained
- Silver cachous, to decorate
Instructions
- Prepare Sugar Mixture: Place the brown sugar, golden syrup, and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook while stirring for 3-5 minutes until the butter is melted and sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly for 5 minutes.
- Make Dough: In a large bowl, combine plain flour, self-raising flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, ground cloves, and bicarbonate of soda. Add the cooled sugar mixture and the lightly whisked egg. Stir the ingredients together until combined into a dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide the dough into two portions, shape each into discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour to chill.
- Cut and Bake Stars: Preheat your oven to 170°C (150°C fan forced). Line three large baking trays with baking paper. Roll out one portion of the dough on a lightly floured sheet of baking paper to approximately 3mm thickness. Using star-shaped cutters of various sizes (2cm, 4cm, 6cm, 8cm, 10cm, 12cm), cut out the required number of stars: four 2cm stars, six 4cm, six 6cm, six 8cm, six 10cm, and six 12cm stars. Re-roll dough portions as needed or use the second portion. Use the tip of a 1cm plain piping nozzle to cut out a hole in the center of each star. Place the stars on the prepared baking trays and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are light golden and crisp. Leave the stars to cool completely on the trays.
- Prepare Royal Icing: In a large bowl, combine the royal icing mix with the fresh lemon juice. Whisk vigorously with a balloon whisk for 3-5 minutes until the icing is thick and has increased in volume. If the mixture is too thick to pipe, add a small amount of hot water and whisk again to loosen the consistency slightly. Transfer the icing into a piping bag fitted with a 1-2mm plain nozzle.
- Decorate Stars: Pipe icing onto the points of each star to decorate. Allow the icing decorations to set for 3-4 hours until firm.
- Assemble Tree: Using a plastic dowel rod as the centerpiece, thread the largest 12cm stars onto the rod, gluing each layer together with royal icing and rotating the stars slightly as you build the tree upwards. Continue layering smaller stars in size order, finishing with the smallest 2cm star at the top, fixed upright with icing. Add extra piped icing on the stars to mimic snow and decorate with silver cachous. Allow the assembled tree to set before displaying.
Notes
- Chilling the dough before rolling helps maintain shape while baking.
- Use baking paper to facilitate easy rolling and transferring of dough.
- The piping nozzle for cutting the center holes should be about 1cm in diameter.
- If royal icing becomes too stiff, gradually add hot water and re-whisk to get perfect piping consistency.
- Use a plastic dowel rod sturdy enough to hold the weight of the assembled gingerbread layers.
- Store the assembled tree in a dry place to keep crisp and decorations intact.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approximate, based on recipe yield of 12 slices)
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
