12 ginger mansions
How to Build the Perfect Gingerbread House
A homemade gingerbread house is always something to look forward to at Christmas. Here’s a great blueprint from our friends at Lindt. A handful of caveats: 1) It takes 90 minutes to make one house, 2) it’s NOT for novices, and 3) you have to refrigerate it overnight.
Ingredients for the dough
- ½ cup water
- 5 ½ tbsp. golden syrup
- ¾ cup honey
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. gingerbread spice
- 1 1/3 cups butter
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 ¾ cups flour
- 6 ½ tbsp. peeled almonds
Ingredients for the frosting
- 2 tbsp small, edible, decorative silver pearls
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 ¾ cups icing sugar
- 3 egg whites
What your gingerbread house will look like.
Gingerbread Steps
- Bring water, golden syrup, honey and brown sugar to a boil. Whisk in gingerbread spice and diced butter. Stir in baking soda and salt. Let cool to room temperature.
- Once cool, add cocoa and flour and hand knead until combined. Roll dough into a ball and cover tightly with saran wrap. Cool in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight).
- Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C), or convection 355°F (163°C).
- Knead dough briefly on a floured surface and then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll out the dough until it’s 6 mm thick, flouring the surface as needed.
- Trace and cut out the gingerbread house parts on baking paper. You will need:
—2 roofs
—2 sides
—1 front (cut out a front door that is 8 cm x 5 cm in size)
—1 back
—4 chimney walls
—1 30 cm x 25 cm base plate
—4 2.5 cm x 5 cm window shutters
—Fir trees (optional) - Cut out gingerbread parts from the rolled out dough.
- Brush all parts with water and decorate with almonds.
- Place the gingerbread house parts on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes. Bake small parts around 12 minutes.
- Let the gingerbread parts cool completely.
- Icing: Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer, gradually adding icing sugar until stiff.
Assembly Steps
- Using the icing, attach the front, back and sides of the house to the base plate. Let it dry for 1 hour.
- Attach the roof with the icing glue and let it dry for 1 hour.
- Build the fireplace and attach the window shutters with icing and let dry for 1 hour.
- Finally, decorate the gingerbread house with the fir trees, icing and edible silver pearls. Be creative and have fun!
[More at LindtTheSeason.ca]
