GINGERBREAD CHRISTMAS TREE

Courtesy of NEFF. We suggest using NEFF CircoTherm® – the smart hot-air solution for simultaneous baking and roasting on several levels for this recipe

INGREDIENTS (makes one tree)
250 ml milk
60 g honey
300 g all-purpose flour
150 g ground almonds
15 g baking powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground clove
½ tsp ground nutmeg
150 g soft butter
120 g brown sugar
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
200 g chocolate, dunkle Schokolade

For decoration:
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Chopped Pistachios
Pecans
Dried cranberries
Confectioner’s sugar

METHOD

1. Add milk and honey to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on Induction
Hob heat setting 7. Then, set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cocoa
powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground clove, ground nutmeg, and a
pinch of salt.

3. Preheat your oven to 180 °C Circo Therm® and choose Added Steam Intensity
Level 2. With a hand mixer, beat soft butter and brown sugar until pale and
foamy. Then, beat in eggs adding one at a time until fully incorporated.
Alternating, add dry ingredients and warm milk mixture to the butter mixture.
Continue to beat until fully combined.

4. Add the batter to a greased baking pan (30×24). Spread evenly and gently
knock pan on work surface to release air bubbles. Bake on shelf level 2 for
approx. 10 minutes with Added Steam, then continue baking for approx. 10
minutes without Added Steam, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set
aside to cool.

5. For the Christmas tree shapes remove the cooled down cake from the baking
tin. Use either a self made template or simply cut out 3 trapezoidal shapes and
1 small triangle. Transfer the pieces to a wire rack. Then, set the rack onto a
rimmed baking sheet which will catch the chocolate drips while coating.

6. Roughly chop dark chocolate. Choose Temperature Cooking with the Twist
Pad Flex® and slowly chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pot with water at
70 °C. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake pieces and let the chocolate
set for at least 20 minutes in the fridge.

7. Assemble the pieces to form a christmas tree and decorate with fresh
rosemary sprigs, chopped pistachios, pecans, dried cranberries and
confectioner’s sugar. Enjoy!

Don’t have a CircoTherm oven? Click here for the full recipe and oven ranges.