• 250g butter
• 1 cup golden syrup
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6-7 cups of plain flour

Melt the butter and syrup in a pan. Mix the sugar and the spices. Pour the warm butter and syrup over the sugar and mix well. Mix this mixture with the water and let it cool to room temperature. Add the flour and baking powder together and then mix them into the liquid. The dough will be runny but it will slowly swell.

Work the dough with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are well mixed. Allow the mixture to rest in a cool place for 1-2 days. Cut off pieces of dough as needed and roll out on a well floured surface. Cut out and bake.

I bake the pieces at Gas mark 4, the time varies depending on the size of the piece. Tree decorations take about 20 minutes, walls and roofs etc take longer and I have been known to leave them in for 30 minutes and longer. The gingerbread should be golden brown not pale, otherwise it doesn't harden properly.

GOOD LUCK