Sugar & spice

Gingerbread birdhouse

SERVES 15 PREP 2 hrs plus cooling and 2 days setting COOK 18 mins MORE EFFORT V

450g unsalted butter
360g dark muscovado sugar
190g golden syrup
1.08kg plain flour
3 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp ground ginger

For the royal icing

500g icing sugar, sieved
2 egg whites
2 lemons, juiced

For the decorations

150g milk chocolate
225g chocolate-coated
biscuit sticks
1 candy cane
10 milk chocolate fingers
yellow food colouring
mini sugar-coated chocolate balls
in various colours
400g white fondant icing
50g each brown, red, yellow, black
and blue fondant icing
300g green fondant icing
black edible writing pen
edible glue (or use golden syrup)
120g sugar-coated chocolate
buttons in various colours

1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. For the gingerbread, melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan over a low heat. Combine the flour, bicarb and ginger in a large bowl, then stir in the wet ingredients to make a stiff dough. If it’s dry, add a drop of water.

2 Roll out the dough on a sheet of baking parchment to the thickness of two £1 coins. Cut out sections of the house so you have two side walls, a front and back wall, two roof panels, a base and chimney pieces. Find our template at bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/samuels-gingerbread-birdhouse.

3 Bake for 15-18 mins, or until firm. To ensure the pieces fit together, remove from the oven three-quarters of the way through baking, then use the templates again to trim the excess. Return to the oven to finish baking, then leave to cool completely.

4 For the decorations, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave in short bursts. Spread some over the front and back panels using a palette knife, starting from the bottom and working up. Attach the biscuit sticks to the chocolate, snapping them to fit, for a log cabin effect. Leave to set for at least 1 hr. For the perch, snap the candy cane into a 3cm piece at the hooked end, then stick to the front panel with more chocolate. For extra support, cut a chocolate finger to fit and stick upright beneath the candy cane to look like a wooden post. Leave to set overnight, propped against a can.

5 For the royal icing, beat the sugar, egg whites and lemon juice together in the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric whisk until stiff and smooth. Add a little water to loosen, but don’t make it runny. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out.

6 Next, decorate the two side walls. Colour 2 tbsp of the royal icing yellow using food colouring, then loosen with a drop of water. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozz