The Gingerbread Gazette | Issue 4

Lincolnshire co-op's elderflower & strawberry cheesecake is one to tickle your taste buds!

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to the awesomeness of autumn

a new edition at hawkens gingerbread

The ultimate bitesize magazine for gingerbread lovers

issue 4 september 2020

CONTENTS 03

A WARM WELCOME TO AUTUMN Oh Autumn, how we love you dearly - we discuss what Autumn means for us!

06

ELDERFLOWER & STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKRE RECIPE! Our great friends and stockists, Lincolnshire Co-Operative share a tasty recipe...

07

A NEW EDITION! We introduce something spectacular to the bakery!

05 LET'S GET SOCIAL In this issue, we share photographs shared with us from our Instagram followers.

☎ 01476 501740

✉ alastair@granthamgingerbread.com @hawkensgingerbread

The Gingerbread Bakery 28 London Road Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6EJ

greetings!

Hi there fellow gingerbread fans, we hope that you have had a truly joyous summer, despite the current circumstances. Summer has flashed by before our own eyes; we love the season, but Autumn and Winter are by far our favourites. In this issue we talk about the awesomeness of everything Autumnal; we share Lincolnshire Co-Op’s cheesecake recipe (featuring our Original Grantham Gingerbread) and we also welcome you into our brand new kitchen, situated in our state of the art bakery. Happy reading!

A WARM WELCOME TO AUTUMN! COSY EVENINGS, COMFORT FOOD & CUDDLES, WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE? Let us be honest, there is nothing quite like a cosy Autumn’s evening, snuggled up on the settee and perhaps by the fire whilst we watch our go-to series or favourite movie. ‘Self isolation’ and most recently, ‘the rule of six’ seem to be common utterances across the nation, however, for us, this has come at a time where we can enjoy the true beauty of the Autumnal season. Don’t get us wrong, we love to socialise; mingle with friends and family; visit our grandparents, but sometimes we simply love to relax in the comfort of our own homes, accompanied by our home comforts.

Childhood memories take us back to walking to school, wrapped up in warm jackets and soon coats, zipped up meeting our chilly chins. We recall walking through wet fallen leaves and the day after, walking through the same leaves - dry, crispy and great fun to throw at your friends, parents and sometimes a cheeky throw to your teachers too.

Schools would be getting ready for the all exciting C word (Christmas

f you haven’t already guessed) by preparing their leading roles in the nativity, whilst mum and dad compile a list of Christmas goodies comprising foods, drinks, presents and more. Autumn is a season filled with preparation and assembling the perfect elements for greater and grander celebrations towards the end of the year.

In Issue 3 of The Gingerbread Gazette we discussed the tremendousness of picnicking, we now turn to embracing the Autumnal activities such as going for a walk whilst exploring the great British outdoors; observing the natural habitats of cute creatures whilst they hibernate.

Perhaps no picnics with gingham blankets and wicker baskets are to be seen, but instead, toasted hearty sandwiches wrapped in tin foil, flakey savoury pastries, a carton of Original Grantham Gingerbread and flask filled to the brim with hot

chocolate. All packed in tupperware, stored in Dad’s waterproof backpack; waterproof because weather during Autumn is without a doubt unpredictable.

The notable difference between Summer and Autumn outings is the change in temperature; slightly cooler, but still warm enough to enjoy the great outdoors without adopting an unpleasant cold.

The months of September, October and November are three that include key dates/events to document in your diaries: Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning (September 25th); National Baking Week (commencing 14th October); Halloween (October 31st) and Bonfire Night (November 5th). If we were to pick a favourite week in Autumn, it would of course be National Baking Week; an entire week dedicated to what we do best? A dream come true! However, other

"If we were to pick a favourite week in Autumn, it would of course be National Baking Week; an entire week dedicated to what we do best? A dream come true!" occasions/events such as Macmillan Cancer Support’s Biggest Coffee Morning hold substantial significance for many; whether it’s a school, a cafe or an office, the vast majority of the British public join together to raise funds for a cause that is close to many people’s hearts.

So, what does Autumn bring for Hawkens Gingerbread and its fans/customers? The team has been incredibly busy with the usual baking, packaging and delivering orders; whether that’s to our suppliers or directly to customers.

During the last several months, we have experienced exceptional demand from old and new customers; our gingerbread has touched the lips of hundreds of people from the UK to the USA; Nottingham to Northumberland; London to Latvia and more. Autumn for us will consist of preparations

for the all important time of the year, Christmas! Some of you may be unaware, but online retailers like Hawkens Gingerbread must get ready for the festivities months in advance. Autumn will therefore be busy filled with Christmas campaigns; corporate gifting; new product launches and more. You read right - Hawkens Gingerbread will be releasing new products soon, but that is all we can say for now!

Business aside, Autumn for our team includes a season of enjoying the warmth and closeness of staying indoors with friends and family whilst difficulty deciding which gingerbread to indulge in.

Most of us enjoy a hot drink whilst pecking at one of our Gingerbread Men or the bite size Grantham Gingerbread, however, sometimes they are best appreciated alone as a midday snack; a ‘pick me up’

whilst we watch the days get shorter and darker. Autumn is therefore a season to appreciate great foods and drinks around us whilst sharing these moments with our loved ones. We simply cannot get enough of the feeling of warmth and fuzziness during the months of Autumn, especially when weeks down the line we start the countdown to one of the most exciting times in the year.

However, we are also mindful that this year is not the same as the last. The current situation has stopped us from doing the things that we love with peace of mind, but we will be making sure that our loved ones feel the warmth and joy for the coming months whilst we scurry away to the bakery to create delicious treats for a season of sitting by the fire and appreciating the simple things in life.

LET'S GET SOCIAL! TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT OUR INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS HAVE BEEN SHARING WITH US!

@britishhamperco

@sarjeantsmess

@hardysfarndon

@SOPHIECHARLTON1

To feature in our next issues, tag us in your social media posts!

ELDERFLOWER & STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE A QUICK, SIMPLE & DELICIOUS RECIPE FROM OUR GREAT FRIENDS AT LINCOLNSHIRE CO-OPERATIVE

Serves 10

INGREDIENTS 2 x 115g boxes Grantham Gingerbread 75g butter, melted 600g cream cheese7 5g icing sugar3 00ml double cream 225g punnet strawberries, hulled and halved 2 tbsp Belvoir Elderflower Cordial

FOR LINCOLNSHIRE BASED GAZETTE READERS, DID YO KNOW THAT YOU CAN IN FACT PURCHASE OUR GRANTHAM GINGERBREAD AT YOUR LOCAL STORE?

method Break the gingerbread into pieces, put in a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Add the butter and pulse to mix. Spoon into a lined 23cm springform cake tin. Press down with the back of a spoon to smooth and chill in the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, icing sugar and 3 tbsp cordial. Add the cream, then whisk until the mixture is really thick and holds its shape – this may take a few minutes. Spread over the biscuit base and leave in the fridge to set further – overnight is best, but a few hours will do.

30 minutes before serving, mix the strawberries with the remaining cordial and leave to macerate.

To serve, remove the cheesecake from the tin and pile the strawberries in the middle, then drizzle over the pink syrup.

DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US AND OUR MONTHLY READERS? IF SO, PLEASE DO SEND THEM THROUGH TO ALASTAIR@HAWENKSGINGERBREAD.COM!

A NEW EDITION & EXCITING THINGS TO COME! H E R E ’S T O T H E F U T U R E A N D A P R O S P E R O U S ONE THAT SHALL BE! As we sit down whilst writing this feature for our fourth issue of The Gingerbread Gazette, we reflect on the year of 2020. What an unusual and heartbreaking year it has been for some. Not long after the new year, we were informed that the entire world was and still is suffering from a pandemic, a pandemic that has cost many lives and lost some of us, our loved ones. For businesses of all shapes and sizes, the unthinkable has happened - lack of revenue, customers and uncertainty has led to redundancies, closures and the diminish of some of our most loved brands. Despite adapting to the current crisis, for some, it was simply not enough and as an independent, small business ourselves, our hearts go out to all who have suffered during these difficult times.

beautiful concoctions for our customers and new gingerbread fans too. The kitchen is a place that we spend a lot of time in, therefore we have made it our own; adding simple yet homely touches and plenty of room to store our delicately produced range of gingerbread. Baking holds great sentimental value to us, so creating a unique and special space where our team can go to make a batch of the best gingerbread for our customers to indulge in is pivotal.

This leaves us to reveal that we have been working tirelessly on a brand new kitchen at the Hawkens Gingerbread Bakery, allowing us to create the most

Facebook: Hawkens Gingerbread Instagram: @hawkensgingerbread Twitter: @HawkensGingerB

Secondly, as we edge closer and closer to Christmas (at the time of writing this, it is 100 days until the big day!), we have been working behind the scenes on an array of exciting new additions. For now, we cannot delve too much as this would ruin the surprise and fun!

As a result of the crisis, we have researched, trialed and However, we do urge that both businesses and executed various ways of reaching out to our customers, individuals should watch this space, and watch it whether old or new. As mentioned in the first ever carefully whilst we whisk away, creating an exceptional Gingerbread Gazette, we reunited loved ones with our Gift experience for all to enjoy during the festivities. of Gingerbread Hampers, allowing friends and families to send their chosen ones gifted gingerbread with a personal You will notice that we are active as ever across our message to show their love and care towards those who social media channels, especially Facebook and were self isolating. This turned out to be a great move for Instagram as a result of experiencing a growing Hawkens Gingerbread; not only did the Gift of Gingerbread number gingerbread lovers enjoying our journey. So, if play an important role in providing smiles across the you're a social media user and keen to check our what nation, it also generated and re-generated a love for our we've been getting up to, particularly across the artisan delicacies. At a time where no day is certain, we recent months, head over to our pages and stay tuned are of course grateful for those who have chosen to in for our exciting news and revelations during a continue supporting us by every purchase they make and season of loving, giving and appreciating the small every bite they take. things around us.

A delicious bite for your tastebuds awaits...

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