Image: Photo © Flikr.com
Author: Rebecca Frey
Gingerbread House(s)
Here’s a recipe for all those who want to get their hands not necessarily dirty but into some real tasty dough. After all the essay writing this should be a welcome change and I can assure you, baking can be quite relaxing! And if on top of that, you want to impress your friends and family and get back in touch with your inner child, here you go:
This recipe is for about 10 people or lets rather say a whole gingerbread village! Feel free to reduce the ingredients if you don’t want your home to be overloaded with a Hansel and Gretel atmosphere… Plan two days for this adventure: preparation time is roughly 2 hours but you have to let the dough rest over night!
Ingredients:
dough
- 700g honey
- 200g sugar
- 200g butter
- 2 eggs
- lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons coca powder
- 2 little bags of gingerbread spice
- 1 kg flour
- 2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
- 5 to 6 tbsp of milk
- 4 tbsp baking powder
icing
- 2 egg whites
- 300g icing sugar
- 6 drops of lemon juice
- 1 vanilla pod
decoration
- flower for the working plane
- powder sugar
- various sweets for decoration
How to go about it:
- gingerbread dough
- melt honey, sugar, butter in water-bath, mix slightly with a wooden spoon, cool down
- whisk together with eggs, lemon zest, coca powder and spices
- add flour and mix well
- in a cup dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk
- in another cup dissolve the baking powder in the rest of the milk
- incorporate in both and knead together to a smooth dough
- wrap the dough in transparent film and leave to rest over night at room temperature
- bake the gingerbread forms
- (preheat your oven at 180°C)
- on the next day quickly knead the dough again
- spread out the dough 1 to 2 mm thick with a rolling pin on a floury working plane
- draw templates for the roof and walls of your ginger bread house on cardboard, cut them out, check if your elements assemble nicely
- put the templates on your spread out dough and cut along the edges with a sharp knife
- use the rest of your dough to cut out chimneys, a door, Christmas trees, or any kinds of cookie shapes to decorate your gingerbread house
- put all the forms on baking tray covered with baking foil and bake at 180°C for 5 to 10 min
Various Gingerbread house templates
simple: 2 triangles for the back and front, 2 rectangles for the roof
more complex: 2 pentagons for front and back, 2 rectangles for the roof, two rectangles for the sides
Rebecca’s Gingerbread templates
- icing
- while your gingerbread is baking prepare the icing
- whisk egg whites until stiff
- add icing sugar and whisk till nicely thick and creamy
- add lemon juice and vanilla (cut open the vanilla pod with a knife and scrape out the seeds)
- fill the icing into a piping bag
- build the gingerbread house
- prepare a solid and flat surface (for example thick cardboard covered in tin foil, or a tray of some sorts)
- when your gingerbread forms are finished baking and have cooled down start building the houses by using the icing as glue to stick together walls and roof
- let the house dry for at least half an hour before decorating
- use the rest of your icing, sifted icing sugar and various sweets for decoration
Enjoy! And send us pictures of your magnificent Oeuvre!
Love,
Muse