For the dough:
- 675 d white flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger powder
- pinch of salt
- 220 d liquid honey
- 275 d fine brown sugar demerara
- 50 g butter, cut into cubes
- grated bark from 1/2 lemon
- freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 big egg, at room temperature
- 1 yolk of a large egg, at room temperature
The oven is heated to 170 ° C with the fan on, as two boards will be baked at once. If baked one by one, the oven is heated to 180 ° C without a fan. Prepare the two trays in the oven and cut two sheets of baking paper on them.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
The honey, Mix the sugar and butter in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has melted and a very thick syrup is obtained.. Add the lemon zest and juice, stir until the mixture is homogeneous and the pan is removed from the heat. The mixture was allowed to cool.
Make a well in the flour mixture and pour the sugar syrup into it, the egg and the yolk. Stir initially with a wooden spoon, scooping up a little of the flour on the side, and then knead the dough. Transfer to a work surface and knead briefly until smooth. If necessary, add a little more flour, until the dough stops sticking, but should remain soft.
The dough is divided into two equal parts. Each part is formed into a ball. The ball is given a slightly rectangular shape and placed on the cut sheet of baking paper. It is rolled into a rectangle measuring 33 × 23 cm. Make sure that all the edges and the middle of the rolled dough are the same thickness. The rolled dough is transferred to one tray together with baking paper. The same is done with the other part of the dough.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes. When baking with two pans, they are placed in the oven so, to leave a free distance between them, to move the warm air, but also not too close above and below the rheotans. In my oven from 5 levels, the optimal location in this case is the first and fourth level. If baking in a pan, it is placed on the middle level of the oven.
After the boards are removed from the oven, they are left in the trays and while they are warm, the panels are cut out of them.. The two parts for the roof are cut from one board. The two side boards are cut from the second board , front and rear faces. Window openings are cut in the two side walls. It is best done with a square or rectangular cutter, but can also be shaped with a knife. A door is cut on one front wall (I used a large egg-shaped incisor) and an opening for the ceiling window, which in this case is the heart. The clipping from the door is saved. Carefully separate the panels and leave on a rack until completely cooled. I think, that it is best to leave on the grill uncovered overnight, to dry well and harden.
For assembly and decoration:
- 300 g royal icing powder, for gluing and decoration
- chocolate ganache prepared from 200 d natural chocolate and 150 ml of animal cream, for gluing roof tiles
- 48 cat tongue biscuits (packing of 200 d is sufficient), for roof tiles
- colored dragees (packing of 100 d is sufficient), for wall decoration
- 1 sugar stick, crushed, for door decoration
- 4-5 chocolate cigars, for wood
- 140 d colored in green fondant, for both Christmas trees
Choose a solid base for a cake or tray, on which the house will be assembled.
The icing is prepared according to the instructions on the package, as for gluing it must be tight, to dry quickly. The house is assembled starting from the foundations. They stick together with a large amount of icing. I also glued the bases themselves with icing on the pad. When the four bases are glued, the roof panels are glued on them one by one. Don't skimp on icing. The house is left for a few hours until the icing hardens and you are convinced, that the construction is strong.
The icing is diluted with water until a consistency suitable for spraying and painting is obtained. The cup, in which the icing is covered with a wet towel and set aside until it is time to decorate with it.
Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate ganache. Grate the chocolate finely with a knife and place in a bowl. Heat the cream to boiling and pour over the chocolate. It is left so for 20-30 seconds and stir until a smooth cream is obtained. Leave at room temperature for about 2 hours until the ganache begins to tighten, but still be soft, so that it is possible to inject with it. It is placed in a pastry bag with a round tip (I used Wilton's №10).
The cat's tongue biscuits are glued to the roof with the chocolate ganache. It starts with the arrangement on the bottom, allowing them to protrude slightly from the base of the roof panel. Six biscuits are glued. Continue with the second row, as the biscuits are glued tile-like (to overlap the first row). Again, don't skimp on chocolate. Arrange four rows of biscuits. The same is done on the other side of the roof.
Chocolate cigars are cut on 2 or 3 depending on their size and are arranged in a pyramid shape by sticking with a small amount of chocolate ganache.
The icing in the bowl is mixed and placed in a pastry bag with a nozzle with a small round hole (№3 на Wilton). It is used to decorate windows, the colored dragees are glued to the walls of the house, pieces of the crushed sugar stick are glued on the door opening and on the door itself, ice pendants are made on the roof. Apply a little icing on the glued chocolate cigars.
Christmas trees are made of green fondant by the method ofsugar pines.For the small Christmas tree I used 60 Mr. fondant, for the big one - 80 G. First, cones are formed from the fondant, on which the "branches" of the Christmas trees are then formed with the help of nail scissors, starting from the bottom up.
The trees and Christmas trees are arranged next to the house. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Ready!
