Week 17 - Gingerbread Walkers

Hello cake mates! It's finally here, it's Moonwalk week! I'm so excited, I've finished training, my bra is definitely decorated in the 'Showtime' theme & I just want to get on & do it now! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far, not just with sponsorship, but with encouragement & footcare advice. Thanks also to Mum, Michael & Gemma who have given up a nights sleep to come & volunteer at the event, they'll be on one of the water stations & seeing them on route will definitely spur me on! This weeks recipe has been created as a last minute fundraising effort, on Tuesday I held a cookie sale at work & raised a fantastic £56. Thanks to everyone who bought one!

So my boss has now headed off on maternity leave & last week I mentioned I'd made an alternative cake for her. Well here it is, a nappy cake! I never knew such a thing even existed until I googled baby showers, but I've since found out they were featured in Sex & the City! It was a lot of fun to make, the gifts you can't see that were attached to the back included a rather large bar of chocolate, pro plus & ear plugs! It was quite an eye opener, who would have thought you could find a video tutorial on youtube on how to make a nappy cake. (And people think I have too much time on my hands!) Anyway, it went down a storm, so much so I think it's being kept as a decoration in baby's room.

Right, back to my little gingerbread walking buddies. I love gingerbread but don't make it that often, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to rolling & cutting out dough! It's easy to make the dough, it just needs a bit of muscle when you have to combine the flour. Make sure you keep an eye on them in the oven as they can turn from golden to burnt very quickly!

100g butter
100g demerara sugar
200g golden syrup
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
500g plain flour

1. Put the sugar & syrup into a pan & bring it up to boiling point over a gentle heat. Add the bicarb & give it a good stir, it will turn cloudy & froth up a bit so make sure you have room in the pan!

2. Chop the butter into small chunks & put into a large mixing bowl. Add the syrup mixture to the butter & stir until the butter is melted. Beat in the egg, then mix in the flour a little at a time until you end up with quite a stiff dough.

3. Dust a work surface with flour, then roll out the dough to about 2mm thick & cut out whatever shapes you like! I roll it out a little at a time as it makes it easier to handle. Pop them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper leaving a little space in between as they will expand.

4. Bake in the oven at 170c/GM3 for 10-15 minutes. I baked mine in batches, using a fresh bit of baking paper each time. That way it's easier to leave them to cool before decorating. I used a tube of writing icing to decorate mine. But in the past I've also used jelly tots & smarties, attaching them with a little bit of icing.

I never quite know how to eat a gingerbread man, legs first? I feel a bit bad biting his arms off! Never mind, they taste so good I quickly get over it! So that's me done for another week, wish me luck for Saturday, there's still time to sponsor me, just click here. Thanks again to everyone for their support & also for the messages letting me know you're still reading. I had a horrible feeling last week I was talking to myself, lovely to know I'm not! Take care, Rebecca x