Gingerbread is a worldwide recognized delicacy, which is a real symbol of the holiday, and especially Christmas. Glaze for gingerbread can be lemon, cognac, protein, colored. There are more than a hundred recipes for this main element. To make it tasty and beautiful, you must observe the proportions indicated in the recipe, use natural and fresh products.

Glazed gingerbread - a delicious table decoration

This ginger treat was introduced to European countries around AD 900. French bakers were the first to make them, after which the recipe became so popular that at the beginning of 1200, gingerbread was cooked in Swiss villages.

Mass production of them began in the 15th century. Gingerbread has become a symbol of fairs and monastery bakeries. An interesting fact is that in the Middle Ages, healing properties were even attributed to this delicacy. Gingerbread came to Russia together with traders and became widespread.

Traditional recipe for gingerbread

• 160 g mix honey and boil with 120 gr. granulated sugar until a homogeneous mass is formed;
• add a couple of tbsp to the resulting mixture. spoons of baking soda;
• add butter - 150 gr.;
• mix with 3 eggs;

• pour a pound of flour into the resulting mixture, constantly stirring, in small portions, as a result, the dough should turn out to be homogeneous;
• add cloves, cinnamon and ginger to the kneaded dough to taste.

Confectioners advise not to knead the dough for a long time, as this will harden the mass.

The resulting mixture is wrapped with cling film and left in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, after which you can start forming gingerbread figures. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 ° C for 15 minutes.

The classic glaze recipe

Initially, all gingerbread cookies were glazed with white fondant, which consisted of 2 ingredients - egg white and powdered sugar.

For cooking you will need:

• 250 g powder;
• 1 protein.

Before adding protein to the powder, it must be carefully sieved through a sieve to avoid the appearance of lumps as a result. Beat the resulting mixture with a blender until smooth.

You can make the icing on the cookies more saturated white color by applying it in several layers, but each subsequent one should be added only as the previous one hardens.

White fondant for gingerbread

The decor elements of classic gingerbread cookies always feature curls and patterns made with white fondant. This ornament sugar glaze is made both at home and in a pastry shop from the following ingredients:

• zest of tangerine or orange - 20 gr.;
• chicken eggs - 2 pcs.;
• about 300 gr. sugar or powdered sugar.

For white fudge, only protein should be used. If sugar is taken for cooking, then it is crushed in a blender and sieved several times through a sieve. A protein mixture and zest are added to the resulting powder, after which all this is mixed until completely homogeneous.

Lemon with sourness

Lemon glaze has an unusual taste and is popular in Europe. To create it, it is necessary to mix pre-sifted icing sugar with melted butter (50 gr.), And only at the final stage of preparation add juice from one freshly squeezed lemon. All ingredients are mixed until smooth.

Chocolate

Chocolate icing for gingerbread is a favorite treat for children. Housewives will like this type of fondant, because it is convenient to cook it with their own hands and apply it to gingerbread cookies, both cold and cold.

To give the glaze a rich brown color, cocoa powder (4 tablespoons) is added to the powdered sugar (100 gr.), Which is sieved along with it, and then starch. The mixture is poured into 3 tbsp. spoons of cold water. Confectioners recommend that you put it in the freezer for 20 minutes beforehand. At the last stage of glaze preparation, all components are thoroughly mixed.

Fragrant with rum

Both light and dark rum can be used to prepare this glaze.

The components are as follows:

• rum - 30 ml;
• water - 250 ml;
• icing sugar - 300 gr.

Place a container of water on the gas, then sift the powder three times. Leave in boiling water for 3 minutes to cool slightly. Then pour it in a thin stream into a bowl of powdered sugar, while stirring it. When the water runs out, add rum, warmed to 40 ° C, to the resulting mixture.

The glaze should be left on for a while until it has completely cooled down, and only then can it be used to apply patterns and paint gingerbread.

Confectioners note that this is the most suitable type of fondant for creating complex patterns and monograms.

Color icing recipe

Colored glaze will decorate any gingerbread and give the feeling of a holiday. Confectioners say that this kind of decoration is easier to prepare than the classic white delicacy.

For cooking you will need:

• 1 egg white;
• food coloring of any color;
• icing sugar - 250 gr.

Cooking begins with whipping the protein until a light foam forms. Next, the icing sugar is sieved 3 times and gradually poured onto the egg, stirring in parallel. The preparation time for icing for artistic painting is about 10 minutes. The final result should be white and liquid.

You can check the readiness as follows: apply a drop on a flat surface and observe it, the finished product will not spread and will not lose volume at the edges.

To get the color, put a couple of drops of food coloring in a separate bowl of frosting. After that, it is packaged in bags. When the icing cools down, you can paint.

Egg-free cooking method

This glaze preparation option was invented especially for vegetarians and fasting people. To create a fondant, you will need to mix the powder (about 300 g) sifted through cheesecloth with cold water (4 tablespoons) and lemon or lime juice (4 teaspoons).

The juice should be added drop by drop. Bakers also use vanillin or flavorings for flavoring in the cooking process.

Cooking and glaze nuances

Gingerbread painting is the most painstaking and interesting process of creating this delicacy. For this purpose, confectioners use many different techniques: openwork decoration, simple schematic drawing, and so on.

Several rules for applying glaze:

• decorating with icing is necessary only for cooled gingerbread;
• the glaze should not spread, therefore additional powdered sugar is added to thicken;
• the decor can be any, the main thing is to align the elements with the help of toothpicks.

You can create an edible masterpiece using a piping bag or bag with a cut corner, a spatula, and decorative items such as beads or mastic flowers.