3D Gingerbread Christmas Tree

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160˚C/Gas 3. Lightly grease the mould and set aside.
2. Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle into a saucepan and gently heat until the mixture has all melted. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to cool slightly.
3. Sift the flour and ground ginger into a large mixing bowl. Pour the cooled butter and sugar mixture into the flour, add the egg and milk and mix together until well combined.
4. Pour the gingerbread cake mixture into all of the indents in the mould, filling each one three-quarters full.
5. Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until firm and a skewer inserted into the middle of the largest of the filled moulds comes out clean. Leave to cool completely, then remove the cakes from the mould.
6. Mix together the icing sugar and the orange extract, and add enough water to make the icing runny enough to pipe but stiff enough that it doesn’t run (about 6 tablespoons). Add your icing to a disposable piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle.
7. To assemble the cake, start off with the round cake piece as the base of the tree. Pipe a little icing onto the top to hold the next layer in place, then stack each of the star shaped cakes, largest to smallest, on top, adding icing between each layer to hold the cakes in place and to decorate with ‘snow’.
8. Sprinkle over the 100s and 1000s, then dust with a little icing sugar for a finishing touch.