Mini gingerbread houses

1.Process flour, sugar, spices and butter until mixture is crumbly. Add syrup and egg; process until combined. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate 1 hour.

2.Meanwhile, cut out paper patterns for gingerbread houses. Cut two 7cm x 9cm rectangles for roof; two 6cm squares for side walls, and two 7cm x 9cm rectangles for front and back walls. Trim front and back walls to form two 6cm high gables.

3.Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll dough between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Peel away top paper; use patterns to cut shapes from dough. Pull away excess dough around shapes; slide baking paper with shapes onto oven trays. Bake for 12 minutes or until shapes are slightly firm. Repeat three times with remaining pastry to make a total of four houses.

4.While shapes are still warm and soft, use tip of a sharp knife to trim all shapes to straighten sides; transfer shapes to a wire rack to cool.

5.To make royal icing; sift sugar through a fine sieve. Lightly beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer; beat in sifted sugar, a tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until icing reaches firm peaks; cover tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use.

6.Assemble houses, securing roofs and walls together with icing. If possible, stand houses several hours or overnight, supporting sides with four cans, so that they are thoroughly dry before decorating. Spread royal icing onto roofs, decorate with All-Bran and cachous. Decorate houses with lollies, securing with royal icing. Dust house with a little sifted sugar.