Christmas Gingerbread House Cake

Directions

Royal icing for Gingerbread house

1. .Sift the royal icing into the mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and pour in the water. Mix for 4 mins, then test the consistency. If it’s too runny add more royal icing, if too stiff add more water.

2. Spoon into a piping bag then decorate the sides and roof of the gingerbread house.

3. Let them dry completely before assembling.

4. Once you have assembled the house, let it dry completely before piping on any more

   decorations or sweets.

5. Let the house dry completely before placing it on top of your cake.

Biscoff cake

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl for 5 mins.

2. Add the Biscoff spread and mix until combined.

3. Pour in the vanilla extract, add 4 eggs at a time, mix until incorporated.

4. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together, add gradually to the mixture.

5. Line three 8” cake tins, pour the batter in equals amounts and bake @170C 30-35 mins.

6. Set aside to cool completely before icing.

Vanilla buttercream

1. Cream room temperature butter in a mixing bowl for 5 mins.

2. Add the icing sugar in stages, then add the milk.

3. Mix in the pink gel food colouring with a spatula.

4. Cover with cling film until ready to decorate the cake.

Assemble cake

1. Cut the the tops off each cake, so they are flat.

2. Assemble the cake by spreading buttercream icing and crushed Biscoff biscuits in between each layer. Turn the final cake upside down and place on top of the second iced cake so that your cake has a flat top.

3. Place in the fridge for 15 mins to set before covering in royal icing.

Royal icing for cake

1. Sift the royal icing into a mixing bowl, make a well in the middle and add the water. Mix for 4 mins. Adjust the consistency by adding more royal icing or more water if needed.

2. Add 1tsp pink gel food colouring to 1/4 of the royal icing. Make sure to keep the royal icing covered in the bowl to stop it from hardening.

3. Use a spoon to add some of the royal icing on to the top of the cake. Spread all over the cake using a spatula. Spread the pink royal icing around the bottom half of the cake. Smooth using a cake scraper.

4. Put the cake in the fridge until the royal icing has completely hardened before placing the gingerbread house on top.

5. After placing the gingerbread house on top, use the left over royal icing from the gingerbread house to pipe icicles around the top of the cake, and around the gingerbread house to create a snow effect.