Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6

Put the sugar, syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and bubble for 1-2 minutes, stirring until well combined. Cool for 10 minutes.

Tip the flour into a large bowl along with the spices and bicarbonate of soda. Add the cooled syrup mixture and the egg and stir together. Gently knead the mixture in the bowl until smooth.

Wrap the dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Cut out the door and 2 or 3 windows with a sharp knife but leave the pieces in place for baking

Top Tip: This will prevent the openings closing up too much as the gingerbread bakes and expands in the oven.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the gingerbread start to brown on the edges. Recut and remove the window and door pieces immediately with the knife and leave the gingerbread on the trays for 10 minutes. Transfer the gingerbread pieces to a cooling rack to crisp up.

Top Tip: When the gingerbread is cold you can file any uneven edges flat with a fine grater – this will make it easier to fit the pieces together to build your house.

 Fit a piping bag with a No.2 piping tip and spoon in some royal icing.

Top Tip: If using ready-made royal icing you may need to thin it a little to achieve the correct consistency for piping – put a few spoons of royal icing in a bowl and mix in ½ tsp of cooled boiled water at a time until the icing is smooth and thick.