Ingredients
Gingerbread Dough
- 250 grams butter, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup golden syrup
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 5 cups flour, sifted
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Icing Mixture
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 ¾ cups icing sugar
Instructions
Gingerbread Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup until pale and creamy in color.
- Add the eggs and beat until combine. Gradually add in the flour, ginger, bicarb and cloves. Mix on a medium speed until the dough has come together.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 4 mm. Use the templates to cut out the required shapes. Freeze the dough cutouts for 30 minutes.
- Bake the dough on a tray lined with baking paper for 12-14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Icing Mixture
- Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer until foamy, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add in the lemon juice and icing sugar and beat until combined.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 3 mm nozzle and use to decorate and assemble the gingerbread house.
A template to help construct the gingerbread house can be downloaded from here.
The gingerbread house really is a classic Christmas tradition. Of course, it’s not a gingerbread house if it’s not coated with lots of lollies and layers of thick icing. Making a gingerbread house from scratch starts with good planning, after all it will take a bit of time to construct and decorate. The results are definitely worth the effort though, and you will have gingerbread that tastes far better than anything you can ever buy in a kit.
Preparing the Gingerbread Dough
To start, in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup. Beat the butter, sugar and syrup together on a medium speed until pale and creamy in color.
Continue by next adding in the eggs, one at a time. Beat between the addition of each egg until combine. To finish the dough, gradually add in the flour, ginger, bicarb and cloves. Mix on a medium speed until the dough has come together.
Rolling out the gingerbread dough
Start by Rolling out the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper. You will want to roll the dough out to a thickness of 4 mm. Lightly flour the rolling pin and surface before rolling out to stop the dough from sticking.
Once rolled out, use a sharp knife to cut out the required shapes to make the walls and the roof for the gingerbread house. You can download a template here to guide you as to what shapes to cut out. If you are using the provided template, the recipe will create enough dough to construct two gingerbread houses.
Lastly, freeze the dough cutouts for 30 minutes. If you keep the dough on the baking paper after it’s rolled out, it can make it easy to transfer to the freezer. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 180 °C.
After 30 minutes, remove the dough cutouts from the freezer and transfer them to a baking tray. Bake the dough for 12-14 minutes and then cool on a wire rack. The gingerbread panels can be made in advance and then kept in an airtight container until needed.
The Gingerbread House Icing
Start the icing by beating the egg whites of 2 eggs in a stand mixer until foamy, this will take approximately 2 minutes.
Next, add in a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and the icing sugar and then beat until everything is combined.
It’s important to get the consistency of the icing correct. If the icing is too runny you will have a hard time constructing the house. Too thick and it won’t pipe very easily. You can vary the consistency of the icing by adding a splash of lemon juice to thin it out or a small amount of icing sugar to thicken it up further.
Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a 3 mm nozzle ready to decorate and assemble the gingerbread house. Icing not being used should be covered until needed.
Decorating the Gingerbread House
Decorating the gingerbread house is definitely my favorite part of it all. It’s a time for creativity to shine. The trick to assembling the gingerbread house is to start by decorating all the panels first before assembling the house together. Pick your favorite lollies and use them to decorate to your hearts content. Start by piping down small dollops of icing and then push the lollies in and leave to set.
I always feel like a kid in a candy store when I’m at the shop buying the lollies. Some of my favorite lollies to use include:
- smarties/m&m’s
- musk sticks
- licorice
- small jubes
- freckles
- spearmint leaves
Assembling the Gingerbread House
Once your decorations are set, the next step is to assemble the house together. To construct the house together:
- Pipe a thick bead of icing along the short edge of a side wall panel and then stick it up against the rear panel. Pipe a thick bead along the base of both panels to affix them to a cake board. You may need to stand and hold the panels together for a couple of minutes until the icing starts to set.
- Next, repeat the process with the other wall panel to attach it also.
- Finish the sides by piping icing down the other sides of the wall panel and affix the front panel to the house. You can go a bit generous with the icing to help ensure the house doesn’t collapse once constructed.
- Once the sides of the house have had time to sufficiently set, finish the house by piping icing along the top of the wall panels and attaching the two roof pieces to the top.
Dust the gingerbread houses with icing sugar to create a snow effect over the top. It’s also a good way to mask any small errors your house may have.
If you’re making the gingerbread houses as a gift, you can wrap the houses in clear cellophane. Allow sufficient time for the house to set, wrap and then secure with a bow on top.
Not wanting something so time consuming? Why not try a gingerbread Christmas tree instead.
