In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and spices and mix together. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted, cream together the dairy-free butter, dark brown sugar and golden syrup. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until a crumbly dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of baking paper that has been lightly dusted with flour to prevent the dough from sticking, and with floured hands press the dough into a flat, round disk before using a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about a 5mm thickness. Make sure to flour the rolling pin if the dough is getting too sticky. Place another piece of baking paper over the rolled out dough and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour to chill.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Print out the gingerbread house template and cut out the shapes. Remove the dough from the fridge and trace the shapes with a ruler and a knife to cut out all pieces of the house. You will need to combine the excess dough and roll it out again to get all shapes.

Place the cut out shapes carefully on a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake the shapes in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until they are starting to turn golden. Let the cookie pieces sit on the tray for 10 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Assemble the gingerbread house. Select a flat cake stand or plate that you want to serve it on. Layout the sides of the house and make sure you know where the pieces need to sit so that the house is in the middle of the plate. Place a line of royal icing on the bottom of the front piece of the house and stick it to the serving plate. Hold it there for a minute or two so that it stays in place, from there, prop the piece between two cans so that your hands are free. Use more royal icing to glue the side piece to the plate and the font of the house, again holding in place for it to set. Repeat with the second side, followed by the back piece. Finally, place another line of royal icing along the joins on the inside of the house to reinforce it.

To complete the house, use the royal icing to stick the 2 roof pieces and carefully press them in place and hold to allow it to set. Set the house aside overnight for the icing to dry completely before decorating. Keep the remaining royal icing in and airtight container in the fridge until ready to decorate.