Gingerbread house

Name: Gingerbread house
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 16
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons maple syrup; 2 tablespoons treacle; 160g muscovado sugar; 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 200g unsalted butter (cold); 1 orange; 460g plain flour, plus extra; ¼ teaspoon baking powder; 2 free-range egg whites; 500g icing sugar; sweets and edible glitter, to decorate

A festive fairytale feast for the eyes

Vegetarian

1 hr plus resting & cooling

Not Too Tricky

serves 16

About the recipe

Home sweet home! This magical gingerbread house is great for making with kids in the run-up to Christmas. We've got all the steps you need to make a gingerbread house kit from scratch, from dimensions to decor ideas. Pop a few gingerbread men and women onto the scene and you've made yourself the ultimate gingerbread cookie mansion!

nutrition per serving

Calories

19%

Fat

15%

Saturates

33%

Sugars

52%

Protein

Carbs

26%

of an adult’s reference intake

Recipe From

Jamie Magazine

By Georgina Hayden

Ingredients

4 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons treacle

160g muscovado sugar

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

200g unsalted butter (cold)

1 orange

460g plain flour, plus extra

¼ teaspoon baking powder

2 free-range egg whites

500g icing sugar

sweets and edible glitter, to decorate

Method

Put a small saucepan on a low heat, add the maple syrup, treacle, sugar, ginger and cinnamon with 4 tablespoons of water and combine with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture boils.
Carefully take the pan off the heat, then cube up and add the butter, saving 1 piece. Let it all melt in, stirring to combine, then grate in the orange zest.
Stir in the flour and baking powder until everything comes together as a dough – if it’s very sticky, dust it with flour, then wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Grease a baking tray with the reserved butter.
Dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour, then roll the dough out to about 5mm thick.
Using a sharp knife, cut out pieces for your house. You’ll need six pieces, in three different shapes measuring: sides: 20cm x 14cm; roof: 21cm x 7cm; gable ends: 10cm (base) x 14cm (outer sides) x 18cm (apex). Any scraps can be pressed together and rolled out for the next pieces.
Place your house pieces onto the tray, leaving a 1cm gap between them. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden and slightly darker around the edges.
Let the gingerbread cool completely before icing.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks then, while whisking, gradually mix in the icing sugar till you have a dense stiff meringue. Use this to glue your gingerbread pieces together.
See below for some decor ideas and have fun with it!

Ready to make some gingerbread men? We've got you covered!

The decorations are where the fun is! Use your icing generously as glue and unleash your inner architect with sweets, candied fruits, nuts, and edible glitter...

Layer toasted, flaked almonds on the roof to create a tiled effect, then sprinkle with icing sugar for a pretty layer of snow
Use thin strips of candied orange to frame the windows, and fill the openings with colourful square jelly sweets
Use edible glitter balls to outline the doorway for extra sparkle
Use a piping bag to add precise icing dots along all the seams for a polished, sparkling gingerbread house finish!

Tags

Christmas Biscuits & cookies Cooking with kids Vegetarian Baking

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