- Do you dream of a perfectly white and gingerbread house that will delight everyone?
- Discover the secret of our grandmothers and Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa, who added a surprising ingredient to the icing!
- Check out a simple icing recipe that will not only beautifully decorate your baked goods, but will also be great fun for the whole family!
Gingerbreads scented with honey, cinnamon and ginger are delicious, but if we want them not only to taste but also to look good, it is worth decorating them with icing. Decorating Christmas baked goods in this way can be an opportunity to spend some time with family or friends. Just bake gingerbread cookies in advance and invite others to join in the fun. Cookies can be decorated with chocolate, nuts or icing, which is very easy to prepare.
How to make gingerbread icing as white as chalk? Recipe by Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa
If we want the icing to be thick, intensely white and stable, it is worth adding egg whites. Such recipes can be found in cookbooks from several centuries ago. Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa, a master of Polish cuisine whose cookbooks were more popular than literary works in the 19th century, advises combining egg whites with lemon juice and sugar.
– Ordinary white, chalky icing. It is formed by rubbing egg whites and sugar back and forth; you need four proteins per pound of sugar; lemon is squeezed to taste, and if you want a punch frosting, you add arak and lemon. Knead for at least half an hour – we read in the book “Baby, pancakes and mazurkas: practical recipes for baking bread, rolls, pancakes, mazurkas, cakes, cookies, gingerbread, etc.”
It is worth adding, however, that a pound of sugar in the 19th century meant 500 g. If you need a bit of icing to decorate gingerbread, just divide the ingredients. For 125 g of sugar we need egg white from one egg. Add the rest of the liquid gradually – the less, the thicker the icing will be. Moreover, today the time to prepare such icing will be much shorter. Just use powdered sugar.
How to make lemon or orange icing for gingerbread cookies?
If we want the icing to be only sweet, we will only use sugar and water to prepare it. However, if you prefer it to have a lemony, slightly sour taste or an orange aroma, replace the water with citrus juice.
Gingerbread icing ingredients: 40 dag of powdered sugar, 8 tablespoons of lemon or orange juice, or water.
Preparation: Start by sifting the powdered sugar through a strainer into a bowl. This will make the icing smooth and lump-free. Add squeezed lemon/orange juice or water. Using a spoon or whisk, mix the powdered sugar and liquid thoroughly. If the icing is too thick, add a little more liquid, but remember to do it gradually – the icing should be thick but liquid. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Remember that the icing sets quickly, so if you’re not using it right away, cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. When the icing is ready, you can transfer it to a pastry bag – it will be easier to paint patterns on the gingerbread cookies. You can experiment with different flavors by adding vanilla extract or spices to the icing. The latter will work, especially when you use orange juice to prepare the icing.
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