It’s not a perfect house… or probably one that is Instagram worthy, but I am so proud of just finishing a house that I’ll let this one slide.

I’ve had many attempts at building a good gingerbread house, but mine always seemed to crumble down when I put the roof on or even assembling the walls!

It was Christmas eve and I knew I had to concur this beast once and for all (a little dramatic hehe) but I can’t handle knowing that there is a dessert I can’t make.

5 hours later, and many close calls, my gingerbread house was finished!

The gingerbread itself has an amazing array of cinnamon, nutmeg, and tons of ginger to give an amazing flavour – but the real key to great gingerbread is using a good molasses to give the gingerbread that caramel color and flavour.

Makes: 1

Christmas Gingerbread House

Equipment:

Mixing bowls

Spoons

Scales

Sifter

Double boiler/Microwave

Measuring cups & spoons

Electric mixer

Whisk and dough hook

Gingerbread house template / gingerbread house cookie cutters

Ingredients:

438g whole meal flour

228g softened butter

2 free-range eggs

¾ cup dark brown sugar

½ cup molasses

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

Pinch salt

Method:

Beat the brown sugar and butter in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Next, blend the molasses for 2 minutes or until fully incorporated. Add each egg until well combined, give about a minute for each. Switching to a dough hook (optional) and using a lower speed, blend in the flour, spices, vanilla, and baking powder till the dough comes together. Tip the dough onto a work bench and need gently to bind together, then split into two. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C and line several baking trays with baking paper. Take the dough out of the freezer and when workable, roll into ¼ inch thick sheets and cut out templates according to preference (I used cookie cutters). Bake each shape till edges have browned (large is approximately 13min, smaller pieces approximately 7min) and leave to cool on trays. Do not move until completely cooled.

Assembly:

When assembling the gingerbread house, two options may be taken.

To assemble using royal icing, which I have a link to the recipe below (minus the meringue powder):

https://sites.google.com/site/sprinkleprints/royal-icing

Tempered chocolate

Both work equally well, it is up to preference, but I recommend using royal icing if you are a beginner and waiting 5 minutes for each piece to dry, as the tempered chocolate requires greater skill to ascertain correctly.

Decoration:

This is the fun part! Choose from any candies, cookies, chocolates, etc. that you would like to use and let your imagination run free.

I’m not going to include the nutritional counter in this post because it’s a Christmas treat and we should all let ourselves indulge guiltlessly during Christmas!