Decorating a Gingerbread House
A guide to preparing gingerbread house dough, creating custom cardboard templates, and assembling a sturdy base for gifting.
Story
Building a gingerbread house is a delightful project that brings out the inner architect in all of us. While preparing the dough and cutting out custom templates might seem daunting, a little bit of geometry and some careful planning go a long way. Whether you are crafting a festive centerpiece for your table or creating a beautifully boxed edible gift, ensuring a sturdy foundation is the key to a lasting and impressive edible creation.
Ingredients
egg
25g
milk
40g
low-gluten flour
350g
cinnamon powder
2g
melted butter
60g
brown sugar
50g
powdered sugar
50g
honey
50g
baking soda
2g
ginger powder
4g
icing
food coloring
decorative candies
powdered sugar
Instructions
1
Step 1
Mix the melted butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar from the main ingredients until well combined. Then add the egg, honey, and milk from the main ingredients, and mix evenly.
2
Step 2
Sift together the baking soda, cake flour, ginger powder, and cinnamon powder, and add them to the above liquid mixture. Simply mix into a dough; do not over-mix to prevent the dough from developing gluten. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for more than 30 minutes (if the room temperature is high or the dough feels particularly soft, you can put it in the refrigerator to rest).
3
Step 3
Roll the rested dough into a 3mm thick sheet. Prick some holes on the surface of the cookies to help release air, place them on a non-stick baking mat, and let rest for 10 minutes.
4
Step 4
According to the drawn template, cut out the required number and shapes of cookies for the house.
5
Step 5
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Place the cookies in the middle rack of the oven, bake for about 15 minutes, then take out and let cool for later use.
6
Step 6
For the royal icing, first mix it to a relatively thin, dripping state (flooding consistency). After coloring, decorate the various wall panels of the house. Then continue to add powdered sugar into the icing and mix until it reaches a thicker piping consistency, which will be used to adhere the joints of the entire house.
7
Step 7
When adhering, squeeze the icing onto the connection points of two wall panels, then pinch the two cookies tightly by hand for dozens of seconds to secure them. Continue to secure the remaining cookies, and place them in a cool, well-ventilated place to let them dry completely, which will take about 1 hour.
8
Step 8
Once the house is completely secure, use the remaining icing to decorate the surroundings of the house with various colorful cartoon candies. If you have extra cookies, you can arrange them into a fence for a great atmosphere. Finally, sift powdered sugar over the top.
