Gingerbread Christmas Wreath

Prepare 1000 g of FunCakes gingerbread mix according to the instructions on the package, wrap the dough in cling film, and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (fan oven 160 °C).

Knead the dough well after taking it out of the refrigerator and roll it out to about 3-4 mm thickness, then cut two equal rings. Bake these rings in the preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes. Since the circles are a bit thicker than the cookies, they require a slightly longer baking time.

Roll out the remaining dough to 2-3 mm thickness and cut out various sizes of stars and snowflakes. Bake the cookies for 12-16 minutes at 180 °C (fan oven 160 °C). Let the cookies cool on the work surface.

Prepare 450 g of FunCakes royal icing mix according to the instructions on the package. When the royal icing is firm, take several large spoonfuls into two bowls. You will dilute it to the consistency of yogurt by gradually adding a little water while stirring. The 10-second rule applies here. Add just enough water to the firm royal icing so that it smooths completely within 10 seconds in the bowl and forms a mirror-like surface. Add water in very small quantities then stir; if you add too much water, the icing will run off your cookies, if it's too thick it won't spread evenly. You can also prepare cookies fully filled with royal icing one day in advance and leave them to dry in the open air overnight; this will reduce the risk of breaking them during decoration if the icing is still too wet.

Color 1 cup of royal icing with black-grey gel and cover both cups with a damp cloth to bring air bubbles to the surface. After half an hour, pierce all air bubbles with a needle then put the icing into a piping bag fitted with a #002 tip. Fill several cookies with this icing, push the icing well into the edges using the needle, and let dry for a few hours before continuing to spray it.

Put some rigid white royal icing in a piping bag with a #002 tip and draw a snowflake pattern as you wish both on the cookies filled with royal icing and on those undecorated, then let dry.

Glue the two rings together with a little royal icing and attach the dry cookies on top. Stick small fondant stars here and there. Decorate with a beautiful large bow made from a pretty ribbon.