Gingerbread Christmas Pirate Ship

It's up to you.

14 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Prepare the mold and preheat

   Place an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 160 °C, conventional oven setting (no fan). Line the cake mould with 24 cm of baking paper, allowing two tabs to protrude to make it easier to unmould. Fold the paper into the corners so that it marries the mold: this line allows you to use the 50 g of butter from the list entirely in the dough, without additional butter.

2. Weighing the ingredients separately

   Weigh 250 g of flour in a large bowl. Prepare besides 10 g of baking powder, 6 g of four-spice mixture and a pinch of salt. Measure 150 ml of milk in a graduated glass; weighs 200 g of honey, 80 g of brown sugar and 50 g of butter. The chocolates are reserved for the cold cake decor, the next day.

3. Melt the mixture with honey

   Pour milk, honey and brown sugar into a saucepan. Add the butter cut into cubes and heat on low heat, stirring with a spatula, without boiling. Stop as soon as the butter is melted and you no longer feel large grains of sugar under the spatula. Scrape the bottom and corners of the pan so that the honey does not stay glued.

4. Let cool and prepare the egg

   Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The liquid must return to the thermometer under 40 ° C: it must no longer be warm when in contact with the clean finger. Break the egg in a small bowl, remove any piece of shell, then beat it with a fork for 20 to 30 seconds to mix white and yolks. Do not pour the egg into the still-burning mixture, as it would begin to cook.

5. Mix the dry ingredients and then the liquids

   Add the baking powder, spices and salt to the 250 g of flour and then whisk dry in the bowl for 30 seconds to distribute them well. Pour the beaten egg into the fluid and tweezer for 20 seconds. Dig a hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients with the spoon: you will pour the liquids gradually to limit the lumps.

6. Form the dough without working it too much

   Pour about a third of the liquid into the trough. Mix with the whisk in small circles in the center, then add the rest in two by widening the circles towards the edges. Finish with the spatula to scrape the bottom of the bowl. Stop as soon as there is no more dry flour; the dough should fall into a thick ribbon, and not be whipped for several minutes.

7. Filling the mold

   Pour the dough into the pan by scraping the bowl with the spatula. Spread gently to fill the corners and evens the top with the back of a spoon. Tap the mould once or twice on the worktop to remove very large bubbles. Place it on the oven rack and close the door without shaking it.

8. Cook and check the center

   Cook for 45 to 55 minutes at 160°C. From 45 minutes, push a skewer into the thickest part: it must come out without liquid paste, with possibly a few crumbs. If the top browns too much before the center is cooked, put a sheet of baking paper on it without pushing it down and continue in 5-minute increments.

9. Unmould and leave to satiate overnight

   Remove the mold with oven gloves and place it on a heat-resistant surface. Wait 15 minutes and then lift the cake using the paper and let it cool on a rack, about 2 hours. When it is completely cold, remove the paper and pack it. Keep it overnight at cool room temperature: the crumb will be easier to cut and the taste of spices better distributed.

10. Cutting a boat down the next day

    Unpack the cold cake and place it on a board. With the bread knife, make short saw movements to remove only the top bump, then round both ends to evoke the shell. Keep a wide bottom and about 4 cm high cake so that it remains stable. Put all the offcuts in a small plate: they will be served next to, without serving as hidden supports.

11. Draw and sink the sail flat

    Draw a rectangle of 10 x 8 cm on the back of a baking paper and place the sheet on a flat baking tray. Chop 100 g of white chocolate with a knife and put it in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Place the bowl on a saucepan containing 2 cm of barely simmering water, without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Stir gently with the spatula and remove the bowl as soon as the pieces are almost melted; continue to stir off the heat. Wipe the bottom of the bowl before moving it: no drop of water should enter the chocolate. Spread part of the chocolate in the rectangle, about 3 mm thick, with the back of a spoon. Keep edges slightly irregular and lets take 45 minutes in a cool room.

12. Prepare the strips of the shell

    Chop 40 g of dark chocolate with a knife and put it in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Place the bowl on a saucepan containing 2 cm of barely simmering water, without the bottom of the bowl touching the water. Stir gently with the spatula and remove the bowl as soon as the pieces are almost melted; continue to stir off the heat. Wipe the bottom of the bowl before moving it: no drop of water should enter the chocolate. Reserve a small spoon of melted chocolate to fix the sail. With a spoon or a small spatula, draw two broad horizontal strips on the long sides of the cake, leaving the crumb of spices visible around. Uses little pressure to not tear the surface and keeps the strips simple, without carved portholes.

13. Lay sail on the bridge

    Check that the white plate is firm and then take it off by pulling the paper backwards, without lifting it by a corner. Drop the small spoon of dark chocolate reserved in the center of the deck and lay the sail completely flat on it. It must rest on the cake on its entire surface: no mast, skewer or support is necessary. Let the assembly freeze for 30 minutes.

14. Serve the hull with its offcuts

    Arrange the cake drops next to the boat to show the crumb and avoid wastage. White chocolate not used for sailing can be spread on paper in small pellets, cooled and then stored for another preparation. To cut, first move the veil on a small plate, then slice the cake with a bread knife; serve a piece of veil with each part.