Gingerbread House

Ingredients

Butter 65g

Brown sugar 65ml

Honey 100ml

Flour 300ml

Soda 1/3 tsp

Ground ginger 2 tsp

Cocoa powder 1 tbsp

For the icing:

Egg white 1 piece

Icing sugar 300g

Lemon juice 1 tsp

For gluing:

Sugar 250g



Imagine what the house will look like and sketch out a 3D model. Draw templates on gridded notebook paper. You can draw Christmas trees, reindeer—whatever your heart desires. Transfer the notebook templates to thick cardboard. Cut them out. You might need to use a knife in some places.

 Mix the sugar and butter and beat thoroughly until fluffy. Add the honey and beat lightly again. In a separate bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking soda, and ginger. Combine with the butter mixture and mix until smooth. The dough should be pliable but slightly crumbly—this is how it should be. Simply gather it into a ball with your hands and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3-4 millimeters. To ensure the finished house pieces are firm and light, the dough should be fairly thin. Cut out the house pieces using the templates. Don't throw away the scraps; they can be used to make excellent cookies. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 8-10 minutes. When you remove the house pieces, they will be soft at first, but they will cool and harden very quickly. Let the baked pieces rest for about an hour.

 

Once the gingerbread pieces have completely hardened (they should be light and firm, like dry cookies), we begin gluing them together. Place the sugar in a thick-bottomed ovenproof dish and add a little water (about 2 teaspoons of water for every 2 tablespoons of sugar). Don't pour all the sugar in at once; add it gradually, as needed. Add the water gradually. Stirring constantly, wait until the sugar dissolves and the syrup begins to thicken and turn yellow. Dip the cake pieces end-on into the caramel and quickly press them into the joints. First, glue the side wall, then the front, then the second side and the back. Glue on the roof. You need to work very quickly, as the caramel hardens quickly, so it's a good idea to have an extra pair of hands. Let the house set for about an hour.



Whisk one chilled egg white and a spoonful of vinegar until stiff. Begin adding powdered sugar little by little and whisking thoroughly. Use at least 250 grams of powdered sugar per egg white, otherwise the icing on the house won't set. Let it set. Beat thoroughly... check – no, it's still a bit runny. Add some powdered sugar. Now it's just right – it's almost spoon-proof.



Let's start decorating our house. First, decorate the small details – windows, door, etc. Carefully sand all the joints so the caramel isn't visible. Lastly, decorate the roof. Refrigerate the house until the icing sets – overnight is best. Finally, dust the house with powdered sugar.



You can eat the house right away, or you can keep it as a table decoration for the holidays. Basically, you can always eat it – the house won't spoil, the dough will just become tougher.

Enjoy!