Gingerbread Wreath

To make a gingerbread wreath, you will need egg yolk, honey, flour, salt, egg, cocoa, butter, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, ground black pepper, egg white, powdered sugar.

Pour milk into a saucepan, add honey, salt, and high-quality butter. Place on medium heat and stir with a spatula until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Sift flour into a deep bowl. Add cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and ground pepper. Mix with a fork or a whisk. Adjust the amount and composition of spices to taste.

Pour the cooled milk and honey mixture into the flour mixture.

Beat a chicken egg and add the egg yolk to the mixture.

Start kneading the dough with a spatula or spoon. You should get a crumbly texture.

Transfer the dough onto a board and knead it with your hands until it forms a soft ball that doesn't stick to your hands. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or a bag and refrigerate it to mature for one to two days. If you are short on time, chilling the dough for 1-2 hours will suffice.

Divide the dough into four parts. Take out one part and roll it out into a thin layer. Keep the rest of the dough in the refrigerator. Place a round mold or a flat bowl with a diameter of 18 cm on top of the rolled dough and cut out a round shape.

Make a hole in the center with a diameter of 8.5 cm.

Roll out the second half of the dough. Use cookie cutters to cut out any desired shapes.

Place the dough ring and cut figures on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at a temperature of 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Repeat the same steps with the remaining two pieces of dough. In total, you will have 2 gingerbread wreaths from four pieces of dough.

Let the blanks cool.

To decorate, prepare a meringue icing. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar to the egg white and mix thoroughly to avoid lumps. The meringue should have a consistency similar to sour cream, about 20-25%. You may need 150 to 200 grams of powdered sugar, depending on the size of the egg white. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag with a small nozzle and decorate the gingerbread according to your preference. Immediately sprinkle with confectionery sprinkles, as the icing dries quickly on top. Let the icing dry slightly.

Attach the dried gingerbread to the round base using the same meringue icing or melted chocolate. Leave it for 30-50 minutes to dry completely.

The gingerbread wreath is ready. Have a wonderful holiday season and enjoy delicious treats!