A GINGERY ODE TO A PENHALIGON'S LOCALE

Wellington Street is perhaps the most Penhaligon’s boutique of them all, and so very beautiful that you might wish to take a bite out of it. Well, with this guide to creating a glorious gingerbread version, now you can. Courtesy of the very talented Emily of @gingerbreadmaid

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: 

“I would say to use a recipe that doesn't use eggs or raising agent (which makes biscuits puff up as they bake) and to make sure the pieces are completely baked and hardened before you start construction. 

I always recommend using thick royal icing rather than caramel to glue it together - it's really strong once set,but is easy to apply and you can still move things around slightly before it's fully dried. 

And another top tip is to use brown food colouring to dye your construction icing to match the gingerbread - that way the joints aren't as visible. ”

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

56g brown sugar 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon rock salt; for table salt, use half as much

115g golden syrup 

45g unsalted butter, very soft 

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

175g plain flour, plus more for dusting

HOW DO DO IT:

Trim a sheet of parchment paper to fit a half sheet pan. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, golden syrup, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low until smooth, then sprinkle in flour and continue mixing to form a stiff dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Proceed immediately, or wrap in plastic and set aside at room temperature until needed, up to 24 hours. (Larger batches should be divided into 400g portions.) 

Sprinkle prepared parchment with flour, place dough on top, and flatten into a rectangle. Sprinkle with more flour and roll to fit just within edges of parchment, leaving dough about 3/16 inch thick. Using both hands, transfer parchment to a half sheet pan. Cut according to your gingerbread house template. Leave a narrow border of dough around cutouts to minimize spreading, but trim away larger areas of excess dough to gather and re-roll for decoration. 

Bake gingerbread for 25 minutes, or until dry to the touch and golden brown. Immediately cut along pre-scored lines with a sharp knife or pizza wheel. Cool completely in pan, then transfer cutouts to a safe place. Scraps can be nibbled, or ground in a food processor to use in recipes that call for biscuit crumbs. 

WHO DID THIS:

Established in 2010 by talented self-taught baker Emily Garland, Maid of Gingerbread is an inventive bakery, based in East London. Specialising in the production of unique, show-stopping gingerbread centrepieces, the bakery’s motto is nothing is impossible - the quirkier the request, the better. 
Running Maid of Gingerbread with the help of a few, skilled, seasonal gingerbread builders, Emily heads up the production, marketing and sales, also developing new designs and designing bespoke products for various events.

Maid of Gingerbread recently launched a new series of products - beautiful, personalisable, giant gingerbread hearts, inspired by traditional German market lebküchen and an exclusive membership club, The Biscuit Academy, in which Emily teaches all her skills, recipes and top tips to keen biscuit builders so they can create their own show-stopping biscuit masterpieces. 

PENHALIGON'S CHRISTMAS EMPORIUM

Filled with all manner of precious, personal and perfectly perfumed gifts, from stocking fillers to grand gestures, for merry maidens and jolly gents alike.

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