Gingerbread houses may or may not be on public display, but these impressive constructions are yet another notable sign that the holiday season has arrived. As families prepare to celebrate the holiday season, they can work together to create this impressive, and edible, “Gingerbread House” courtesy of Lines+Angles.
Gingerbread House
Makes 8 servings or 1 house
Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Total time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Difficulty: Difficult
For the house:
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup molasses, warmed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, plus extra as needed
1 ½tablespoons meringue powder
1 to 2 tablespoons warm water
To decorate:
Assorted colourful candies, sugared chocolate candies, round peppermint candies, candy canes, etc.
1. For the gingerbread: Combine the flour, cornstarch, spices, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir well and set aside.
2. Beat the softened butter with the molasses and vanilla in a separate mixing bowl until pale and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Beat in the flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing well between additions until you have a rough dough; add more flour as needed to form a stiff dough.
4. Turn out and knead briefly. Shape into a round, wrap in parchment paper, and chill for 2 hours.
5. After chilling, preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll out to about 0.333” thickness on a lightly floured surface.
7. Cut out two rectangles approximately 4.5” x 4” for the roof. Cut out 2 pointed rectangles approximately 5” at their tallest points and 3.5” wide at the base; these will be the front and back of the house as per the image. Make sure that one side has a round window cut out.
8. Using some of the remaining dough, cut out the 2 rectangles to be the sides of the house, approximately 3” x 4” in diameter. Use the remaining dough to cut out 4 even rectangles, approximately 2” x 1.5”, to shape the chimney.
9. Arrange the pieces across the baking sheets. Bake for about 25 minutes until browned and dry to the touch. Remove to cooling racks to cool.
10. For the frosting: Combine the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and 2 tablespoons warm water in a large mixing bowl.
11. Beat with an electric mixer until the frosting is thick and glossy, about 4 to 5 minutes; beat in more confectioners’ sugar if too thin and more water if too thick.
12. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a thin, round nozzle. Chill for 15 minutes.
13. To decorate: Using the frosting as ‘glue,’ assemble the chimney using the 4 even rectangles of gingerbread. Let dry and set.
14. Start to assemble the rest of the house by gluing the pieces together as per the image, attaching the front and back of the house to the sides before attaching the roof in place. Let set dry and set at each building interval.
15. Once the sections are dry, pipe more frosting onto the edges of the roof and down their sides, shaped as icicles.
16. When the chimney is set, attach it to the top, cutting the pieces to fit if necessary, and decorating the outside with frosting.
17. To decorate: Attach the assorted candies to the house, decorating the roof with a tiled pattern using the frosting.
18. Let the house dry and set until ready to serve.
Tips:
Some of the gingerbread pieces will bake quicker than others depending on their size; keep an eye on them and remove from the oven when ready.
Meringue powder is available online or from specialty cookware stores.
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