Gingerbread
14 - 16 biscuits
- Gluten free & vegan
100g dairy-free margarine
75g dark brown sugar
50g golden syrup
100g gluten-free plain flour
100g gluten-free oat flour or maize flour
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 teaspoon ground ginger
Egg-Free Royal Icing
60ml aquafaba
2ml cream of tartar
350g icing sugar
In a saucepan melt together the dairy-free margarine, dark brown sugar and golden syrup. Leave to cool slightly.
Sieve together the gluten-free oat flour, gluten-free flour, baking powder, mixed spice and ground ginger.
Stir into the melted ingredients to form a dough. Leave to cool for a few hours before rolling out.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and brush with oil. Preheat the oven to 180°c / 160°c fan oven / 350°f / gas mark 4.
Dust the work top with gluten-free flour and roll out the gingerbread ¼ inch thick.
Cut out shapes using your biscuit cutters. Lift away the excess gingerbread dough and transfer the biscuits to the baking tray with a palette knife.
Roll out the leftover dough and cut out more biscuits. Do this until you have used up all of the dough.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool on the baking tray. Decorate as required.
If you want to make a gingerbread house, roll the paste thicker and bake for a little longer. Be gentle, the gingerbread is very fragile.
Egg-free Royal icing
In a large grease free mixing bowl mix the ingredients together ensuring the icing sugar is mixed in. Beat together until white and when you lift the beater, the icing will form a peak but will just dip at the end.
Do not whisk as this incorporates too much air. Use straight away for your recipe. Keep any leftover icing covered so it does not dry out. If left for a few hours it will need beating again before using.
When making large gingerbread biscuits, roll the dough a bit thicker as the gluten free dough is quite fragile this will add strength.
If decorating your biscuits with roll-out icing, store in a tin or wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon. The icing will sweat if stored in a plastic container.
You can make your own gluten-free oat flour by blending gluten-free oats in a food processor until fine. This may not turn out as fine as shop bought but is not as expensive.
You can make an egg-free royal icing using aquafaba which is the name given to the water in a can of chickpeas or the water left after cooking chickpeas.