Ingredients

Cookies:

• 360 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 225 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 300 g dark brown sugar
• 1 egg

Royal icing for decoration:

• 80 g pasteurised egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 225 g icing sugar

Method

To make the cookies :

• Attach the Sifter and Scale attachment to the stand mixer. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a bowl on speed 4. Set aside.
• In a separate stand mixer bowl, place butter and dark brown sugar. Attach the Flat Beater and beat it on speed 4 until lighter in colour. Turn the Speed Control Lever to 2. Add the egg and salt, scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula if necessary. Mix until the ingredients are well combined. While the mixer is running, gradually add the sifted flour. Mix until a dough forms.
• Put the dough between two sheets of clingfilm. Roll it out to the thickness of 0,5 cm. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes. Remove from the fridge. Remove the top layer of clingfilm.
• Cut the cookies into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Arrange the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes on a 180°C pre-heated oven. The cookies should look dry but be soft when touched.
• Remove from the baking tray and cool on the wire rack.

To make the royal icing

• Add egg whites to the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with Flat Beater. Mix on speed 6 until the egg whites get frothy. Add lemon juice. Gradually add icing sugar until desired consistency is acquired.
• Transfer the royal icing into a decorating pen or piping bag. Decorate the cookies with the royal icing.
• Divide the buttercream into 3 equal batches. Leave one batch in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add red food colouring to it and mix until you get one consistent colour. Take 3 piping bags, fill each piping bag with a batch of the buttercream. Put one piping bag with white buttercream aside.
• Cut tops off the piping bags and insert the two piping bags with white and red colouring into another, empty piping bag. Cut the top off.
• Cut the cake into 3 even layers. Pipe the duo-coloured buttercream on the cake, starting in the middle of the cake (you can use a turntable to make the piping easier). Place a second cake layer on top of the buttercream. Repeat and place the last layer of the cake on top (making sure it’s placed upside down on top).
• Using the remaining batch of white buttercream, frost the top and the sides of the cake.