Giant gingerbread man

Method

1. Melt the butter, golden syrup and both sugars in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring until combined and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Sift the flour, bicarb and spices in a bowl, then pour in the cooled butter/sugar mixture. Mix until the dough comes together – it should be sticky.
3. Dust a clean work surface with icing sugar, then knead the dough for a minute until it comes together to form a smooth ball. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to a large rectangle about 5mm thick. Chill for at least 1 hour between the sheets of paper to prevent it drying out.
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5. Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4 and line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Use a template or cut free-hand 1 large gingerbread person from the chilled dough using a sharp knife (see template). Transfer to one of the prepared trays.
6. From the gingerbread off-cuts, stamp or cut out boots, mittens, a woolly hat and any other accessories you like, then arrange on the other lined tray, spaced well apart.
7. Bake both trays of gingerbread for 10-12 mins until firm around the edges for a chewy finish (the gingerbread will firm up more as it cools). Cool on the trays for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. For the icing, sift the 150g icing sugar into a small bowl and mix in 2-3 tbsp cold water to form a thick yet pipeable consistency. Use the icing plain white, or, if you prefer, divide the icing into separate bowls and colour with gel food colouring to suit your design, then decant into piping bags. Decorate the gingerbread, then set aside for at least 1 hour until the icing sets hard.