The various panels of gingerbread have been piped with icing with some bits and pieces to have a little flood filling but there’s really not much of that to do. The large panels and trees will go around the cake. Next year I’ll make a square cake and that will make life easier… until then, however…
There were several lessons learned in the making of this gingerbread, namely:
- Do not use molasses sugar in the gingerbread mix – it doesn’t dissolve in molten butter and leaves lumps like cowpats in the mix.
- Do not use molasses sugar in the mix because it spoils the colour and makes the gingerbread too dark.
- Do not bake the gingerbread on foil fused with parchment – it curls up and ruckles the edges of the gingerbread.
- Use a piping nozzle – No 2 – in a piping bag and don’t be persuaded to snick the end off a freezer bag to make do because you can’t be arsed to dig out the tub of icing equipment.
- Check the consistency of the icing by test piping on anything before you start on the gingerbread.
- I know I said to mark out the design by pricking through paper, etc, but really, actually make the effort to do it. I didn’t and made it all up as I went along. Would have been so much easier if I’d made myself some guidelines.
- There is absolutely NOTHING to stop you from taking a sharp knife and trimming the gingerbread to sharpen the definition of the shapes. I wish I had, especially to trim off some slightly burned edges.
All said, though, it wasn’t hard to do but will cut the templates out from quilting plastic for next year and have a sturdier template to cut around.
So, a very happy new year to you all from the ghost of Christmas Cake Past!
