Warm the honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan stirring constantly until all the sugar has dissolved

Pour into a mixing bowl and leave to cool.

Add the egg, almonds, flour, cinnamon, gingerbread spice cocoa and orange oil to the mixture and knead thoroughly until it forms a smooth dough.

Mix the bicarbonate of soda and the brandy together and add to the dough, continuing to knead well.

The dough will be a little sticky at this stage and you may need to add a little more flour until it is smooth, glossy and doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl.

Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight, or for at least six hours.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface until just over a centimetre thick and cut into heart shapes.

Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and bake for around 15 - 20 minutes.

The hearts will still be soft at this stage so remove them from the oven and carefully place on a wire tray to cool thoroughly - they will harden up a little during this process.

For the topping

Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Allow to cool slightly then, gently dip the top of the hearts into the melted chocolate and place on greaseproof paper to dry.

Add a drizzle of melted chocolate, using a piping bag and decorate with the sugar or chocolate hearts.