Letters read: Happy B'Day Cathy
June to August seems to be birthday season for my group of friends, and after a few birthday celebrations, it can feel like birthday cake is your staple food. In order to overcome this, I decided to bake a friend of mine some gingerbread letters! This was great because it's a small treat for everyone and there's no need to worry about cutting out portions or stressing over carrying a big box of cake with you on the way home. With this treat, you can just wrap it up and slip it in your bag. Easy! It's so yummy and a nice change to birthday cake.
Baking it was easy and quick too. Here's how:
INGREDIENTS:
- 350g plain flour (you will need extra when rolling out)
- 125g butter (room temperature)
- 175g soft brown sugar
- 1 free range egg
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp gound cinnamon
TOOLS NEEDED TO MAKE THE LETTERS:
- Letter cutters (if like me, you do not have these, you will need the following tools)
- Printer
- Scissors (I prefer to use a scalpal)
- Butter knife
METHOD:
TO BAKE THE GINGERBREAD:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas4/350F and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
2. Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Then add in the butter and blend until it begins to look like breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in the sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together and then add this to the bowl with the flour mix. Blend until it begins to clump together. If it does not, add in some milk until it looks more dough like.
5. Tip out the dough, and knead for a few moments until smooth.
6. Wrap in cling film and let it chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.*(Note: During this time, I prepare the letter stencils).
7. Using your letter cutters (or if using your printed out letters, place the letters on the rolled out dough and carefully cut around the letters with a butter knife). Place the letters on a baking tray, leaving a gap of 3-5cm between them.
8. Bake for 12-15minutes, or until lightly golden-brown.
9. Leave on the tray to cool.
10.When cool, decorate with icing and cake decorations.
*LETTER STENCIL PREPARATION
1. In Microsoft word, select Word Art and type in your message. For this one, I used Happy B'day Cathy. once you have picked a size you like, print it out.
2. Use scissors (or a blade if you prefer) and carefully cut out the letters. You want the keep the letters you have cut out.
3. Roll the dough from the fridge and roll out on a flat surface with flour. Place your cut out letters on the dough and carefully cut around the letters using a butter knife.
4. Follow Step 7 of the method in baking the gingerbread.
Once baked, it should look something like this! Now it's ready to decorate.
This went down a treat, and I will definitely do it again in the future. Although gingerbread is usually saved for Christmas time, it's refreshing to have it in the summer and is a great change to birthday cakes.
Yummy!
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