Chocolate Gingerbread Eiffel Tower...

So, here’s my first recipe… I picked this one because it’s quite possibly my favourite recipe to date! This recipe takes a bit of multi-tasking and structural thinking if you’re feeling adventurous in what you want to make (it doesn’t have to be an Eiffel tower), but it’s definitely worth the effort as it not only looks good but tastes great too!

This recipe makes a large amount of dough, (one batch made the Eiffel tower, the gingerbread house and the people included in the picture), so feel free to half the levels of ingredients if smaller amounts are required.

 

Ingredients:

250g softened butter,

225g brown sugar,

675g plain flour,

250ml golden syrup,

50g cocoa powder,

2 eggs, separated,

1 tbsp ground ginger,

1tsp ground cinnamon,

Royal icing:

300g icing sugar,

2 egg whites, lightly whisked,

2 tsp’s lemon juice.

Method:

1. Cut out a template for the structure you want to make. I used the Eiffel tower but you could just as easily use any other solid landmark or just a simple gingerbread house. You might need to print out several copies; it’s absolutely up to you. For this template I simply Googled ‘Eiffel tower template’, found the simplest version of the iconic image, re-sized it to just over a4 and printed on simple printing paper, (the template will only be used to cut around so no special paper/card is required).
   I then split mine into 4 separate sections, the base, the middle platform, and the long ‘spine’ of the tower, and the top ‘point’ (as seen on the picture included). Added extras include a platform for each section to stand on (simple squares), and little triangles placed underneath the bottom section for added strength to the base. These extras don’t need to be included; I was just thinking particularly ‘structural’ that day!
2. Pre-heat oven to 180c/gas mark 4. Line 4 baking trays with grease proof paper.
3. Use an electric mixer to cream (beat) the butter, sugar and golden syrup together until pale and creamy in texture.
4. Add the egg yolks and beat until just combined,
5. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, ginger and cinnamon until combined,
6. Use your hands to bring the dough together and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
7. After resting, roll out half of the dough (as it’s a fairly large amount) to roughly 5mm thick. Place sections of the template onto the dough and cut around using a small sharp knife. Place each section onto the lined baking trays (leaving gaps in-between) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, (although it will be hot, if you lightly touch the gingerbread and your fingerprint does not bounce back slightly then leave in the oven for a couple more minutes). My main tip is to watch each baking tray rigorously as they can burn very quickly!
8. Repeat this process, (this is where the multi-tasking comes in), until each section of your template has been completed. It may require you to re-line the baking trays if used a lot.
9. Once cooked, leave to cool, firstly on the baking tray for a couple of minutes to harden, then on cooling racks ready for assembling later.

To make the royal icing:

1. Place the icing sugar in a bowl, add the lemon juice and half of the egg whites until it makes a stiff paste, (this bit may require a bit of muscle), adding more very small drops of egg white if necessary. This can be covered directly with cling-film/plastic wrap if made in advance.
2. Put the icing into a piping bag and add to the base sections of your structure, adding sections as you go. This may require you to hold certain sections together to set or use household items to prop up against (such as tins of food). Start from the bottom and work your way up, making sure each stage of icing has hardened slightly before moving on to avoid collapse!
   
   The royal icing may dry/harden fairly quickly, if this happens, give it a good stir and add a little more egg white if needed.
3. Leave the structure to dry, preferably overnight.
4. Decorate however desired, and enjoy!

I hope this recipe and method are easy to follow and you get brilliant results! I definitely recommend giving it a go!

x K x