8. December
It is really too late to bring you the recipe for Gingerbread Hearts if it's just right. The dough should preferably be made a month in advance and refrigerated before you bake them. Then they were supposed to be really good. However, I would like to tell you a secret, and that is that my patience is not at all for things that you have to wait THAT long for. And then I tend to be rather impulsive, - so maybe I don't even think about it at the beginning of November. Then I cheat and make them anyway, even if the dough is left for a short time. It usually goes very well and tastes quite good.. and I actually make them mostly because I think they are nice to have lying around for decoration... This year, however, we DID make it in time. My daughter Mathilde, who is also part of the team here at the editorial office, took care of that. She is good at (trying to) make me stick to following the recipes when we make films etc. to you. She LOVES honey hearts and we got some glasses of Honey which is collected right here in our "back garden" - the meadow by Kastbjerg Å. I'm excited to taste them.. but now for the recipe, which you get right here;
About 1 month before you want to make the gingerbread hearts, mix 250 g of lukewarm honey with 250 g of wheat flour. It must be kneaded well, wrapped and refrigerated. (must be longer - and I've tried to do it for a shorter time :)
The mass is added;
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon venison salt
1 teaspoon of potash
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground star anise
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Possibly a little grated orange peel
Grate the honey mass on a grater. Mix egg yolk and venison salt. Stir potash together with a couple of tbsp. cold water and add to the dough. Add the other spices and knead the dough really well.
Roll it out to 1/2 cm and cut out honey hearts with a mold or by hand. Bake at 170 degrees hot air for approximately 10 minutes. Maybe a little longer. The cakes should still be quite light. When they have cooled, they must be wrapped in a damp cloth and left for a few days so that they become soft and delicious.
The decoration is the fun and cosy.. it can consist of beautiful patterns, texts or chocolate and glossy images. If you want to write or draw on them, as we have done here - then you have to make a glaze of egg white and caster sugar, possibly added a little vinegar. Put it in a small peddler's house made of baking paper, so that only one tip is open. Finally, don't add too much glaze, so it's easier to control.
You can watch a video on how to do it when you click on the pink square below...
Get well. Hugs from Vivian