The construction of a gingerbread house has got to be one of my favourite childhood festive rites of passage. I have extremely fond memories of making gingerbread houses with my brothers and friends, although my recollection of them being aesthetic masterpieces is probably wildly inaccurate…
What I do know, however, is that they were always structurally sound. Not from any kind of design prowess on my part, but rather as a result of my father (a long-time member of the Doing-Things-Properly Club) insisting that they be stuck together with toffee, not icing. He was (and unfortunately, usually is) right. Toffee-glue is far stronger than icing. So strong, in fact, that the toffee foundations lasted much longer than the gingerbread slabs, which, weighed down with lollies, inevitably collapsed after a few days!
Happily, the annual gingerbread house construction is a tradition that lives on in our home. My kids, at five and eight, are both mad for it – although it must be said that their keenness probably has more to do with their love of garishly coloured lollies and sneaking icing straight from the piping bag, than any real fondness for gingerbread. Nevertheless, it is a Christmas tradition that I cherish, and one I hope will continue for many years to come.
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How to make a gingerbread house
Makes one. Begin this recipe the day before you assemble your gingerbread house.
Ingredients
GINGERBREAD
250g unsalted butter, cubed
175g golden syrup
220g light brown sugar
2 egg yolks
550g plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarb soda
¼ teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground mixed spice
Coloured, clear boiled lollies, roughly crushed (optional)
ICING
1 egg white
240g pure icing sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
TOFFEE
220g caster sugar
2½ tablespoons water
Method
First, make the gingerbread template using the measurements on the facing page. I make my template out of thick card so that it’s easy to trace around with a knife when cutting out the gingerbread. Take note of the pieces that require you to cut multiples.
For the gingerbread dough, place the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool until just warm, before whisking in the egg yolks.
Place the flour, bicarb soda, salt and spices in a mixing bowl. Whisk briefly to combine before making a well in the centre and pouring in the melted butter and sugar mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir until it forms a soft dough. Divide into two equal portions and shape each into a rough rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until dough is firm enough to roll.
When dough is firm, preheat oven to 160°C (fan-forced) and line three baking trays with baking paper.
Remove dough from the fridge. Use a rolling pin to roll each portion out between two sheets of baking paper, lightly dusted with flour, until they are about 5mm thick. Use templates to cut dough into required shapes, re-rolling offcuts as necessary (this gingerbread re-rolls well; just refrigerate the dough as necessary to keep it firm enough to work with).
Place gingerbread pieces on lined trays, leaving a couple of centimetres’ gap between each piece and making sure to place the front and side house panels on the same tray.
Put the trays back in the fridge until dough is firm again. When firm, cut the door out of the front wall panel. Cut window panes out of the front, side and door panels as desired.
Bake gingerbread in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove the tray with the window and door panels, leaving the other trays in the oven for a further 6-8 minutes, or until gingerbread is golden-brown and cooked through. Fill the window and door panes with crushed boiled sweets (if using), and return to the oven for a further 8 minutes, or until lollies have melted and filled the window panes.
Once you have taken the gingerbread out of the oven, but while the gingerbread pieces are still warm, use a sharp knife to carefully trim off any warped or curved edges, so that your gingerbread house will fit snuggly together when assembled. Allow gingerbread to cool completely.
When gingerbread is cool, make the icing by whisking the egg white in a medium mixing bowl until frothy. Add the icing sugar and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. You want the icing to be fairly stiff, so that you can pipe it without it running off the gingerbread. Add a little more icing sugar, if needed, to reach the right consistency. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a fine-tipped plain nozzle and secure the end.
Pipe detail onto the flat gingerbread house pieces as desired and allow to set for several hours or overnight.
When ready to assemble the gingerbread house, set yourself up with a large serving platter or board and all your iced gingerbread pieces at hand. The house is glued together with toffee, which forms a much stronger foundation than icing, but please take extra care as hot toffee can easily burn you – this is not a step for children to help with.
Make the toffee by placing caster sugar in a large frypan. Gently pour over the water, making sure to wet all the sugar. Place pan over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until toffee is a light golden-brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a minute or so.
Carefully dip each end of the side panels in toffee and attach to the front and back wall panels. Hold in place for a few minutes until set, making sure to keep your fingers out of contact with the hot toffee.
Stick the four roof pieces together, again holding carefully until set. If toffee is becoming a little stiff, return the pan to the heat and warm gently until runny again. Dip or brush toffee along the top edges of the house and gently sit the roof in place.
When set, dip the top edge of the verandah piece in toffee and attach to the roof. Allow to set. Check the height of the verandah posts and trim as necessary. Dip the tops of the verandah posts in toffee and attach to the underside of the verandah roof.
Finally, stick the front door in place. Now, sit back and admire your handiwork and try not to mind too much when the kids want to stick lollies ALL over it. It is a Christmas rite of passage, after all!
WriterTilly Pamment
Tilly is a food writer, photographer and stylist based in the Blue Mountains, Australia, with her husband and two small children. Here, in between chasing kids around, she photographs food and flowers, and writes seasonal baking recipes for her website, monthly Country Style column, and other publications. Her first book, The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, is available now.
