Instructions

The day before baking, cook a can of condensed milk. I do it by immersing it in a pot of water and boiling it for 2 hours or 1 hour in a pot. This creates caramelized milk. I never open it when it's still warm, as there is a risk of burning. I always leave it closed to cool down for the next day.

On the baking day, I prepare a cream of butter, sugar, egg, honey, and cream in a metal bowl over steam. It takes about 5 minutes. In another bowl, I mix flour with baking soda and add the warm cream - this creates a semi-firm dough. I cover it and let it rest and firm up for 5 to 10 minutes. I do not put it in the fridge!

I divide the dough into 5 equal parts and roll out a 2-3 mm thick dough circle on baking paper and cut out a 20-22 cm diameter circle. The dough can be dusted with flour, and if it's very thin, I let it rest longer. I don't throw away the dough scraps, but bake them at the end and use them for decoration.

I preheat the oven to 180°C. I transfer each cut dough disc with the paper onto a baking sheet and bake for about 4 minutes. After baking, I let them cool on the paper, making them easier to handle. I bake all the layers this way.

I prepare the cream. I mix all the cream ingredients (caramelized milk, nuts, butter) and whisk until a cream forms. While mixing, I don't let it get too firm, as the cream will be difficult to spread and will pull the top layer of the dough down. I divide the cream into 5 parts to have an equal amount in each layer and enough to cover the entire cake.

I mix the syrup ingredients and lightly brush the bottom layer of the gingerbread cake (about 20 ml of syrup per layer), layer the cream, and before adding another cake layer, I brush it with rum syrup on the bottom and top side. The syrup adds moisture and stickiness to the cake, and the layers blend nicely with the cream. If it's not sufficiently saturated, the gingerbread will be harder and drier.

I arranged the 5 baked layers on top of each other. Sometimes the cream may come off the dough while spreading, but that's okay. Spread out the pulled pieces with cream. Coat the entire cake and sides with the remaining cream. Finally, chop 30 g of walnuts and 50 g of baked sheet scraps and sprinkle them on the sides and top of the cake. I leave it in the fridge for the next day. I recommend it, it's really delicious!