A gingerbread house is more than just icing, chocolates and dough. Each homemade house is unique and a small work of art. Putting them together is fun for children and adults. Here comes a step-by-step guide.
Gingerbread house template: The preparation
Start preparing a few days before putting the gingerbread house together. Gather all the necessary ingredients and supplies in advance. You will need, among other things:
- cake stand
- baking tray
- Mixer
- Piping bag with various piping nozzles
- Template for printing and cutting out (see end of article)
- frosting
- Food coloring
- edible decoration
Knead the dough 3 days before building the gingerbread house. Cut out the details and bake them a day before assembling. Only cut out the windows and doors after baking, otherwise they will be crooked. You can then put the house together on a Saturday and then decorate the house on Sunday.
The necessary ingredients
A gingerbread house is probably the most popular edible decoration in Germany. In my family, too, the little house belongs on the dining table - so the anticipation of the celebration increases and a good mood is guaranteed for everyone.
For the dough you need the following ingredients:
- 828 g flour (type 405)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp ginger, ground
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 TL Carnation
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 170 g butter, soft
- 284 g brown sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 cup (220 ml) cane molasses or 220 ml honey
- 1 tsp water
For the icing:
- 3 1/2 tbsp coconut milk
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 298g powdered sugar, divided into three cups.
Gingerbread house template and construction instructions: Knead the dough
Preparation:
1. Place flour, baking powder, clove, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a bowl and mix well.
2. Beat brown sugar, butter and eggs until fluffy, add sugar cane molasses and water and mix well.
3. Add half of the flour mixture to the eggs and mix together. Gradually add the other half of the flour mixture and work the whole thing into a smooth dough. Knead well and when the dough is soft, add a little more flour.
4. Divide the dough into two and wrap each half with cling film. Chill for an hour.
5. Take the dough out of the fridge, roll it out and cut out the roof and walls. (Doors and windows are cut out after baking).
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper, add the details and preheat the oven to 180°. Bake the gingerbread details for about 20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
Cut out windows and doors
The next step is to take the gingerbread details out of the oven and put the house together. To do this, first cut out the windows and doors with a cake knife and then let the walls and roof cool.
Then put the ingredients for the icing in a bowl and mix well until a smooth mixture is formed. By the way, you can also prepare icing with egg whites, but then you have to keep the gingerbread house cold and eat it within a few days.
Assemble the gingerbread house according to the template
Putting together the gingerbread house is incredibly easy. The first thing you need to do is place the substrate on the work surface. Then pipe the icing around the edge of a wall and press it onto the floor. Hold the wall upright for 1-2 minutes so that the icing can dry a little. If necessary, support the wall with an empty can for another few minutes and then secure it with toothpicks. Then draw a line with icing on both sides using a flower nozzle. Then you can essentially “glue” the walls in place at the front and back.
As far as the roof is concerned, there are two variants.
Variant 1: You make a total of four small holes, take a nice bow and tie the two roof parts together. Then glue them in place.
The second variant for gingerbread house
The second variant – they attach the roof parts with icing and toothpicks. Another crucial difference is the side walls. In the second variant (see above), the side walls have no windows, but you cut out stars and Christmas trees using a cookie cutter. These can be decorated as desired with green colored icing or marzipan.
In addition, you can decorate the gingerbread house as you wish. For example with edible glitter, with M&Ms, with glitter flakes, with sprinkles, candy stars and anything else you can think of. Theedible decorationfor cupcakes is great for decorating the gingerbread house.
You can also use the icing to decorate windows and doors and “paint” roof tiles. A beautiful gingerbread house is ready! You can eat them within the next few days.
