These days the term gingerbread is commonly applied to biscuits - think gingerbread men - as well as the loaf-like cake that its name implies. Forms of gingerbread have been made all over Europe for hundreds of years, with uses varying from decorations to indigestion cures - but we prefer it as a sweet snack!

If you have never made gingerbread before, try Martin Wishart’s easy gingerbread recipe to master the perfect squidgy loaf - it’ll undoubtedly become a new teatime favourite.

This collection also offers some great inspiration if you are looking to incorporate leftover gingerbread into a new recipe. Josh Eggleton’s gingerbread ice cream, flavoured with stale gingerbread, is a great incentive not to eat your loaf all at once, while Simon Haigh’s gingerbread soufflé is served with a beautifully refreshing apple sorbet. Proving that there are no limits on gingerbread’s myriad uses, Michael Smith spices up his savoury saddle of deer with a gingerbread crumb.