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Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House recipe with templates
Western Star butter recipes
Recipe By: 
Western Star
westernstarbutter.com.au [1]
Prep Time: 
2 hrs (+ 1 hr chill & set time)
Cook Time: 
15 minutes
Serves: 
12
Makes: 
1 house
Build your own Homemade Gingerbread House – a fun, festive project to make before Christmas Day. This classic showpiece keeps for up to 5 days and makes a beautiful edible centrepiece. Download the house templates under the recipe method to get started on this fun, festive bake.

Gingerbread

Ingredients

  • NB: Print gingerbread templates via link at end of recipe method
  • 125 g Western Star Original Salted Butter, chopped
  • 1/3 cup (75 g) firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (80 mL) golden syrup
  • 1 egg
  • 2½ cups (375 g) plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 125 g Western Star Original Salted Butter, chopped


Method

  1. Melt Butter, brown sugar and golden syrup together in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly.
  2. Whisk the egg and butter mixture in a large bowl. Sift the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda over the butter mixture and mix until combined into a smooth dough. Flatten into a disc shape, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until just firm.
  3. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan-forced. Roll out chilled gingerbread dough, in several batches, between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Use templates to cut shapes from dough. Carefully transfer shapes to baking paper lined baking trays. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Stand on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool.


Tips & Hints

  1. Download gingerbread house templates via link at the footer of the recipe method.


ROYAL ICING

Ingredients

  • 4 egg whites
  • 8 cups pure icing sugar, sifted


Method

  1. Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar until piping consistency.


Decorations

Ingredients

  • Red candy-covered chocolates
  • 2 red sour straps
  • 6 pretzels
  • 1 red edible decorating star
  • 2 candy canes
  • 6 Strawberry-flavoured liquorice twists
  • Desiccated coconut, to decorate board
  • Icing sugar, to dust


Method

  1. To assemble the house, spoon some icing into a piping bag fitted with a small star-shaped nozzle. Pipe a lattice pattern onto the roof pieces. Decorate with the red candy-covered chocolates. Allow to set.
  2. To make the pretzel stain-glass windows, cut out pieces of the red sour straps to fit the pretzel shape. Assemble and attach one each of these using royal icing onto the front and back walls and two each onto the side walls. Allow to set.
  3. Using royal icing, attach the door onto the front wall beneath the pretzel window. Add the edible red heart, securing with a dab of royal icing. And pipe a little royal icing over the top of the door to resemble fallen snow.
  4. Once the individual pieces have dried, it’s time to put it all together. Assemble the house on wooden board, securing roof and walls together with the royal icing. Use royal icing to attach the candy cane and the liquorice twists on either side of the front of the house.
  5. Finish decorating the eaves with royal icing to look like fallen snow. Dust the board around the house with desiccated coconut and the entire house with icing sugar.


Tips & Hints

  1. You need the icing quite thick when attaching and assembling the house, but if it’s too thick when adding final decorations, you can thin it with a little water
  2. The house can be assembled up to 5 days ahead, keep covered in a cool dry place.

Links
[1] https://westernstarbutter.com.au/