It may not be a traditional Cyprus Recipe but it’s building its audience year after year! Gingerbread House, a tasty decoration that brightens your Christmas!

Ingredients

900 g all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon(s) baking soda

1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder

4 teaspoon(s) ginger, powder

4 teaspoon(s) cinnamon, powder

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) cloves, powder

1 teaspoon(s) pepper, ground

1 teaspoon(s) salt

225 g butter

200-300 g brown sugar

2 eggs, medium

300 g honey

candies, for embellishment

Method

Before you begin, print out the pattern for the houses.

Preheat the oven to 180* C (350*F) Fan.

Cream the butter and sugar, in a mixer, until light and fluffy!

Combine the flour with the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

 In the meantime, add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixer. When completely combined, add the honey.

Now add the flour mixture to the mixer. Mix just until everything is combined, not for too long. Divide into 4 parts and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour or mixture becomes firm.

Roll out the dough using more flour, in between two sheets of parchment paper. Make a sheet of dough about 3-4 cm thick. Cut out the shapes by using the pattern for the houses. Transfer the pieces to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Stick the pieces together with Royal Icing and use a cutting board or wooden base to help you. Quite a generous amount of icing will be needed for the pieces to stick together properly. Allow to dry before decorating.

Put some royal icing in a piping bag to decorate the little house. You can embellish it further by using colored candy, jelly beans, marshmallows and pieces of dark and light chocolate, etc.

Source: Akis Petretzikis

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Fantastic and easy recipe, step by step!

Ingredients

Mixture Α

• 150 g sweet bread flour or strong white flour
• 120 g water, at room temperature
• 25 g active dry yeast

Mixture Β

• 200 g milk
• 100 g butter
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 14 g mahlab
• 310 g granulated sugar
• 3 g mastic
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, medium
• pinch of salt

Mixture C

• 850 g sweet bread flour or hard flour
• 100 g melted butter

Preparation

Mixture Α

1. Place the flour, water and yeast in the mixer and mix them well with a whisk.
2. Leave the mixture to rest for 15 minutes for the yeast to be activated.

Mixture B

1. In a mortar add 1 tbsp. sugar and mastic and beat until finely ground.
2. Cut the butter in pieces, put it in a saucepan, then add the mastic mixture, milk, mahlab, vanilla extract and the rest of the sugar.
3. Place the saucepan on low heat until the butter melts and all the ingredients are completely incorporated. *
4. Remove the saucepan from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the eggs, salt and whisk thoroughly. **
6. Add to mixer’s bowl that contains the yeast (mixture A).  Beat for 5 minutes on low speed with the hook attachment.

  Mixture C

1. Add the flour to mixer’s bowl and continue beating for 10-14 minutes on low speed until all the flour is incorporated and then speed up.
2. Add the melted butter and beat at low speed for 5-7 minutes until the butter is absorbed.
3. When the dough pulls back from the sides of bowl is ready.
4. In a separate bowl, brush the sides with vegetable oil and transfer the dough to it.
5. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and put aside for 1- 1 ½ hours, until it doubles in size.

Formation

• Divide the dough in two pieces and then cut each part in four equal sized pieces. Then shape into 50cm round strips.
• Tsoureki has the form of braids and in order to create the braid, you must connect the four ends on one side.
• Name each strip a number, 1-2-3-4.
• Fold strip 4 over strip 2. Strip 1 over strip 3 and strip 2 over strip 3. Repeat this process until you make a beautiful braid.
• Carefully transfer the braid to a baking pan with cooking paper and follow the same process for the second sweet bread – tsoureki.
• Preheat the oven 150^ο C fan.
• Cover the sweet breads with a plastic wrap and let them to rise for 30 minutes.
• Brush with the egg***, sprinkle with almond and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Tips

* Attention! You do not want the mixture to boil. Only to warm a little.

** The eggs should be 50g each, 200g in total.

*** The yolk of the egg mixed with little water.

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