Gingerbread Boombox

It's up to you.

13 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Prepare the mould and ingredients

   Turn the oven on at 160 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan) and place the grill in the middle. Fully taps a 24 cm cake pan of baking paper, with a strip that protrudes from both sides to facilitate demoulding. Weigh 250 g of flour, 200 g of honey, 80 g of brown sugar and 50 g of butter; measures 150 ml of milk. Also prepare the egg, 10 g of baking powder, 6 g of sweet four-spice and a pinch of salt.

2. Gently melt the honey mixture

   Pour 150 ml of milk, 200 g of honey and 80 g of brown sugar into a saucepan. Add the 50 g of diced butter. Heat over low heat, stirring with a whisk for a few minutes, only until the butter is melted and the sugar is well dispersed. The mixture should be homogeneous; do not bring it to a boil.

3. Let it cool down before putting the egg

   Remove the pan from the heat and pour the liquid into a bowl so that it cools down faster. Stir from time to time and wait for it to be below 40°C, which often takes 10 to 15 minutes. Break the egg in a small bowl and beat it for 20 seconds with a fork. Pour it into the warm mixture, whisking immediately for about thirty seconds; too hot a liquid would cook the egg in small pieces.

4. Spread the baking powder in the dry ingredients

   Pour the 250 g of flour into a second bowl. Add the 10 g of baking powder, the 6 g of four-spice and the pinch of salt, then mix with a dry whisk for 30 seconds, going all the way to the bottom. This step avoids leaving a piping bag of baking powder or spices in the cake. If there are small packets of flour, crush them with the whisk or pass the mixture in a strainer.

5. Mix without making the dough elastic

   Dig a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour about a third of the honey mixture into them. Slowly whisked, drawing the flour from the centre to the edges. Add the rest of the liquid twice, then finish with a spatula scraping the bottom of the bowl. Stop as soon as the dough is homogeneous and there is no more dry flour: a few small lumps are less troublesome than a too long mixture.

6. Fill the pan and start cooking

   Pour all the dough into the chemised mould and scrape the bowl with the spatula. Spread it to the ends and quickly smoothes the top, without tamping. Place the mold on the central wire rack and set a timer for 45 minutes. Do not open the oven at the beginning of cooking, to let the cake take and inflate regularly.

7. Check the heart of gingerbread

   From 45 minutes, stick a long skewer in the middle of the cake, to the heart, then remove it. It should come out without liquid paste; some wet crumbs are normal in a gingerbread. If it is still coated with paste, extend it by 5 minutes and check again, up to about 55 minutes depending on the oven. If the top color too much, put a sheet of baking paper on it without it touching a heating element.

8. Unmold and wait for the next day

   Remove the mold with oven gloves and let it sit for 15 minutes on a heat-resistant surface. Gently lift the cake thanks to the paper, remove the paper on the sides and place the cake on a wire rack. Let it cool for about 2 hours, until the underside is also cold. Wrap it only then and wait at least one night, about 12 hours, before decorating it: its crumb will be less friable when cutting.

9. Install a stable face for the decor

   The next day, unpack the cake and place it on a board. With a bread knife, cut a thin slice at one end, making back and forth movements without strongly pressing; reserve it to show the crumb at the service. Layer the rest of the cake on the large sidewall that offers the most stable support, with the other large sidewall facing upwards. Place it on the serving dish before adding the chocolate, so as not to move the fragile decor.

10. Map the radio templates

    On a sheet of paper, draw two circles 6 cm in diameter and a rectangle 5 x 3 cm. Slide this sheet under a baking sheet of paper on a flat tray; the pencil will not touch the chocolate. Check that the three shapes can fit on the large side of the cake, with a space between them. Prepare a spoon, a small spatula and a fork.

11. Train the speakers and cassette

    Chop the 100 g of dark chocolate with a knife and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Pour 2 cm of water into a saucepan and simmer gently, then lower the heat. Place the bowl above: its bottom should not touch the water. Stir with a spatula until only a few small pieces remain. Remove the bowl from the heat and keep stirring so the residual heat melts them. Wipe the bottom of the bowl; no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Deposits about 20 g of chocolate in each of the two circles and about 15 g in the rectangle, then spreads on 3 to 4 mm thick. Wait for the chocolate to thicken slightly, then draw two or three wide grooves on the discs with a fork, without going through the entire thickness. Let stand for 30 minutes on the tray; keep unused dark chocolate in small pellets on paper for another use.

12. Glue the three pieces completely flat

    Chop the 40 g of white chocolate with a knife and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Pour 2 cm of water into a saucepan and simmer gently, then lower the heat. Place the bowl above: its bottom should not touch the water. Stir with a spatula until only a few small pieces remain. Remove the bowl from the heat and keep stirring so the residual heat melts them. Wipe the bottom of the bowl; no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Reserve about 15 g of this chocolate for the sticking points and put the rest in a small cone. Take off the discs and cassette by bending the paper underneath, without pulling on the chocolate. Place white chocolate dots on the back of each piece, then install the two discs at the ends of the upper flank and the cassette between them. Barely press and leave all under the pieces supported by the cake.

13. Draw a handle without training it

    Place a small cone of baking paper in a glass, point down, and half fill it with a spoon. Fold over the top to keep chocolate away from your hand, then cut a 2 to 3 mm opening at the tip. Pipe a test line on the paper: a continuous ribbon should flow when you squeeze gently. With the white chocolate reserved for the cornet, draw directly on the crust a wide rectangular handle above the cassette; it remains lying on the cake. Add a white dot to the center of each speaker and two big dots on the cassette. Let it take 30 minutes before touching the decor. Presents the cake with the bare slice reserved next to it, and cuts the parts with a bread knife, without trying to lift the radio by its false handle.