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Gingerbread House
Using my delicious gingerbread recipe it's easy to make a delightful gingerbread house.
Click here to watch the video

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO!

Makes: 1 gingerbread house
Ingredients
  • 700 g (24 oz, 5 cups) plain flour
  • 250 g (8 oz, 1 cup) butter
  • 250 ml (8 fl oz, 1 cup) Golden Syrup or light molasses
  • 200 g (7 oz, 1 cup) sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Boiled sweets
For the Royal Icing "glue"
  • 250 g (8 oz) icing or Confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)
To decorate
  • 250 g (8 oz) chocolate buttons for the roof
  • Matchmaker chocolates for log effects
  • 4 or 5 squares of dark chocolate
Instructions
  1. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
  2. Beat in the egg and Golden Syrup until the mixture is smooth.
  3. Sift in the remainder of the ingredients and beat/mix to form a smooth dough.
  4. Wrap the dough in plastic or place in a plastic bag. Let the dough chill in the ‘fridge for an hour or two to firm up.
  5. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about ¼” (6mm) thick. The template (see Notes) to cut out the shapes.
  6. Place pieces of baking paper on a baking trays and arrange the shapes ready for baking. Leave at least ½” (1cm) between the shapes.
  7. Bake at 180°C/360°F fan oven, 200°C/395°F conventional oven for 10 minutes.
  8. To glaze the windows remove the gingerbread from the oven after 5 minutes, place a boiled sweet into each of the windows and return to the oven to finish baking.
  9. Remove the gingerbread from the oven and trim the edges square while the gingerbread is still warm.
  10. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Preparing the Royal Icing "glue"
  1. Whisk the egg white in a bowl for 10-15 seconds. Add the icing sugar a tbsp or two at a time and beat in. Eventually you should end up with a thick paste. Use this paste to construct and decorate the house (see video)
Notes
This dough recipe used for this gingerbread house can also be used to make gingerbread men. There will be enough dough for 24 large gingerbread men so you may wish to halve the quantities.

The template I used for my gingerbread house is here, but you can use your own.