Merry Christmas Afternoon Everyone!
There is a certain magic about Gingerbread creations.
Somehow, it brings out the inner 5 year old in everyone.
We are currently experiencing a heat wave. I had no desire to
spend hours in front of a hot oven, baking cookies, cakes and goodies for
Christmas day.
So, this year I decided to make a Gingerbread House instead. One that would taste and look like Christmas. A crispy, spicy, sweetie sensation…
Christmas
Gingerbread House
6 C Cake
Flour
4 t Bicarbonate
of Soda
4 t Ground
Ginger
4 t Ground
Cinnamon
1 t Ground
Nutmeg
250 g Butter / Margarine
2/3 C Sugar
1 C Golden
Syrup
2 Eggs
2 t Vanilla
Essence
Grease
Proof Paper
Planning:
- Draw, measure out and cut your house on paper.
- Make sure you have a board that is strong and big enough for your creation.
- Get some sweets to decorate your board.
I kept it quite simple.
- Roof – Pink & White Marshmallows
- Windows – Sparkles. Bash sweets into small bits, use a pestle & mortar.
- Colour Outlines – Smarties & Sprinkles
Making
& Baking:
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Sift all dry ingredients (Cake Flour, Bicarbonate of Soda, Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Nutmeg) in a bowl.
- Add Butter/Margarine, Sugar and Golden Syrup in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute on 100% High. Mix together well and cool for 5 minutes.
- Add cooled Butter, Sugar, Golden Syrup mixture, Eggs and Vanilla Essence to dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Set your wooden spoon aside and knead your Gingerbread dough into a smooth ball.
- Divide your dough into 4 balls.
- Place a ball onto a sheet of Grease Proof Paper and roll out to ½ cm thick.
- Place your templates onto the Gingerbread dough and cut out your shapes.
- 2 Roofs, 2 Sides, 1 Front, 1 Back, 1 Door & Trees, Pathways, etc.
- Place onto a Baking Sheet Pan. Keep shapes on your Grease Proof Paper.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- For stained glass effect: Remove your Front, Back & Sides from the oven after 7 minutes. Fill the cut outs with Sparkle bits. Place back into the oven for a further 3 minutes.
- Allow Gingerbread to cool and remove Grease Proof Paper.
How to
Assemble:
Make Royal Icing:
3 Egg Whites
3 C Icing Sugar
- Mix together into a glossy paste. This is your glue.
- Cover the bottom of your board with Icing.
- Scoop the rest of your Icing in a piping bag and pipe on all the edges.
- Assemble pieces one at a time. Front, Side, Back, Side. Allow to set for 5 minutes.
- Top with the Roof. Allow to set for 10 minutes.
Finally, Go Crazy & Decorate….
Love C