Fay's Gingerbread
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Fay's Gingerbread
This is the exact recipe used by Fay Millar's Gingerbread World to make hundreds of houses, kits and gingerbread creations each year. It makes a versatile, pliable dough that produces gingerbread pieces that not only taste delicious but stand up to rigorous building. This recipe should make enough for one standard house (approx. 18cm x 18cm x 20cm) with some left over for gingerbread cookies
Prep time: 20 minsTotal time: 
Fay Millar
Through her Brighton-based business Gingerbread World, Fay makes luxury, high-quality and often elaborate gingerbread constructions, which are Michael Bublé levels of popular come Christmas. Her designs range from intricate festive houses, like the cosy cottage designed especially for this issue’s front cover, to epic, large-scale custom showpieces. Her team’s previous mini-architectural marvels include an edible Big Ben, Brighton Pavilion and the Taj Mahal.
Fay Millar
Through her Brighton-based business Gingerbread World, Fay makes luxury, high-quality and often elaborate gingerbread constructions, which are Michael Bublé levels of popular come Christmas. Her designs range from intricate festive houses, like the cosy cottage designed especially for this issue’s front cover, to epic, large-scale custom showpieces. Her team’s previous mini-architectural marvels include an edible Big Ben, Brighton Pavilion and the Taj Mahal.
Ingredients
- 170g unsalted butter, softened
- 300g light brown soft sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 125g golden syrup
- 125g treacle
- 750g plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice
- ½ tsp fine salt
Step by step
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In a stand mixer with a dough hook, beat together the butter and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs, 2 tablespoons of water, the golden syrup and treacle. Mix until well combined and smooth, around 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the mixture is evenly combined.
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Sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until a dough is formed, around 5 minutes. My mixer doesn’t like doing gingerbread dough on a slow speed, it starts to clunk! So, if necessary, turn up the speed a little to accommodate. Stop the mixer periodically to scrape down the sides and loosen any flour stuck to the sides so it becomes incorporated. The mixture will be quite stiff at this stage.
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Wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and leave to firm up in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Ideally, let it rest overnight – if you try and use it straight away you will find it virtually impossible because it’s too soft and anything you cut will quickly become misshapen.
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Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 5mm. Cut out desired shapes and place on a lined baking tray. The cooking time will depend on the size of each piece or cookie. As a rough guide, 6-8 minutes for small pieces (5cm or less), 8-10 minutes for medium pieces (6-12cm) and 14 minutes for large pieces (13cm+). Pieces are cooked when they lose their shine and feel slightly firm to the touch. You may also notice slight browning around the edges. Leave to cool completely on the trays.
