Description
This Gingerbread Christmas Tree recipe is a festive and fun holiday treat featuring spiced gingerbread stars layered to form a beautiful tree. The dough is flavored with ground ginger, mixed spice, and cloves, baked until crisp, then decorated with luscious royal icing and silver cachous, making it perfect for Christmas celebrations as an edible centerpiece or a sweet gift.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough Ingredients
- 100g (1/2 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
- 125ml (1/2 cup) golden syrup
- 50g butter
- 340g (2 1/4 cups) plain flour
- 75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg, lightly whisked
Decoration Ingredients
- 330g packet royal icing
- 60ml (1/4 cup) fresh lemon juice, strained
- Silver cachous, to decorate
Instructions
- Prepare the sugar syrup and butter mixture: Place the brown sugar, golden syrup, and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook while stirring continuously for 3-5 minutes until the butter melts completely and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly for about 5 minutes.
- Make the gingerbread dough: In a large bowl, combine the plain flour, self-raising flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, ground cloves, and bicarbonate of soda. Pour in the cooled sugar and butter mixture along with the lightly whisked egg. Stir all the ingredients until combined. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Divide the dough into two portions, shape each into discs, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour to chill.
- Roll and cut dough shapes: Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Line three large baking trays with baking paper. Roll one portion of the chilled dough on a lightly floured sheet of baking paper to about 3mm thickness. Using star cutters of various sizes (2cm, 4cm, 6cm, 8cm, 10cm, and 12cm), cut out the required number of stars: four 2cm, six 4cm, six 6cm, six 8cm, six 10cm, and six 12cm. Use a 1cm plain piping nozzle tip to cut a hole in the center of each star for threading. Place the stars on the prepared trays and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the stars are light golden and crisp. Allow them to cool completely on the trays.
- Prepare the royal icing: Place the royal icing in a large bowl and add the strained fresh lemon juice. Whisk vigorously with a balloon whisk for 3-5 minutes until the icing is thick and has increased in volume. If the icing is too stiff to pipe, add a little hot water and whisk again to loosen slightly. Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a 1-2mm plain nozzle. Decorate the points of the cooled stars with icing and set aside for 3-4 hours or until fully set.
- Assemble the gingerbread tree: Using a plastic dowel rod, thread the 12cm stars first, gluing each layer together with royal icing and slightly rotating the stars as you layer them. Continue layering the stars in decreasing size order, finishing with a 2cm star glued upright at the top of the tree. Pipe extra royal icing on the star layers to create a snowy effect and decorate with silver cachous. Allow the assembled tree to set fully before display.
Notes
- Ensure the dough is chilled thoroughly before rolling out to make cutting easier and to prevent spreading during baking.
- If the dough cracks when rolling, allow it to soften slightly at room temperature before continuing.
- Leftover dough can be rolled out and baked to make additional decorations or cookies.
- Use a sharp piping tip and steady hand for neat icing decoration on the stars.
- The holes in the stars are essential for threading the dowel and stabilizing the tree layers.
- Store the finished gingerbread tree in a cool, dry place to maintain crispness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/12th of the assembled tree)
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 28mg
