Ingredients
For the light gingerbread
375 g of Type 00 common wheat flour
125 g of soft butter
90 g of light brown sugar
2 g of fine salt
230 g of honey
The tip of a teaspoon of sifted baking soda
2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of mixed spices
 
For the gingerbread with cocoa
350 g of Type 00 common wheat flour
125 g of soft butter
90 g of light brown sugar
2 g of fine salt
230 g of honey
35 g of sifted cocoa powder
The tip of a teaspoon of sifted baking soda
2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of mixed spices
 
For the cocoa glaze
320 g of sifted powdered sugar
25 g of sifted cocoa powder
5/6 tablespoons of boiling water
 
Directions
First, prepare the light gingerbread: sift the powders and set aside, then work the butter and sugar in the mixer bowl for about 10/12 minutes. When you get a light and fluffy mixture, add the salt, honey and powders then work at low speed until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Turn it over on the work surface and compact it with your hands, then roll it out between 2 sheets of parchment paper until you get a sheet of about 5 millimeters. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, until completely firmed.
Repeat the same procedure to prepare the Gingerbread with cocoa.
Once the two mixtures are firm, you can create the saplings. Create the shapes on cardboard, drawing a triangle of 29x10 cm for the large tree, 22x9 cm for the medium tree and 17x9 cm for the small tree. Put the shapes on the white dough and make 3 triangles for each size from the base, then knead again, roll out again and with a 2 or 3 cm star-shaped pastry cutter create 3 stars. Proceed in the same way with the cocoa dough and, if during the carving the triangles get too hot, place them in the refrigerator to harden.
At this point you can cook the triangles for 25 minutes at 140° and, halfway through cooking, insert the stars: once cooked they will be soft so wait a bit before moving them, then let them cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, use a very fine mesh grater to file the sides of the triangles so as to straighten them as much as possible.
Proceed with the preparation of the chocolate glaze: first, blend the cocoa and sugar together, then add the hot water a little at a time and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy but consistent. Once ready, pour the glaze into a pastry bag with a 5 mm round nozzle.
Spread out the triangles, measure out the glaze on both sides and place the other two triangles by pressing gently so that they stick together. Return the tree vertically and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, or until it has solidified. At this point, pour a little icing on the top of each tree and attach the stars.



In cooperation with L’Ultima Fetta