November is almost over and it’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas! If you’re really keen to get into the festive season mood with the kids, why not spend the day baking your very own gingerbread houses? The 12th of December is international Gingerbread House Day and you’ve got just enough to get everything you need to bake your own gingerbread house at home.
Baking, building and decorating the house can be a fun activity for the whole family to enjoy and, of course, the best part is that once the house has been created it can be devoured! This recipe by Unsgaard Baking Paper makes baking your own gingerbread house super easy! Unsgaard Baking Paper is sold at most leading grocery retailers in South Africa and is the only baking paper supplied with patterns (standard round and loaf tin patterns plus a gingerbread man pattern).
Gingerbread House Recipe
Ingredients
· 250g honey (organic tastes best)
· 100g sugar
· 100g butter
· 2 eggs
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· 1/2 tsp ground cloves
· 1/2 tsp ground ginger
· 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
· 3 drops almond essence
· 500g flour
· 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
· 1/2 tsp baking powder
Royal Icing – for the glue and the piping detail
· 3 egg whites
· 250g icing sugar
Decorations:
Wafer biscuits and rolls
Raw pecans
Toasted almond slivers
Candy canes
Red mini Astros
Nicoletta silver balls
Coconut and green food colouring mixed for grass
Tools needed:
Gingerbread house stencil
Hand-held blender
Rolling pin
Wide turner or spatula – plastic works well
Paring knife or pizza cutter
Baking trays
Baking paper
Icing pen
Wooden board or cake board
Round and shaped cookie cutters
Method:
1. In a large saucepan bring the honey, sugar and butter to a simmer, stirring the ingredients together. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
2. Using a hand blender, whip the eggs and all the spices together until nice and frothy.
3. Add your honey mix to the whipped eggs and stir well.
4. Sift in the flour, bicarb and baking powder and mix well.
5. The consistency of the dough should be quite heavy, springy and ever so slightly sticky. Cover this with a dishcloth and set aside to rest for 12 hours before cutting using your stencil.
