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Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House

Not a single Christmas without a gingerbread house. It has become a special moment for our family!

Ingredients
  

Gingerbread dough:

  • 150 g butter (softened)
  • 150 g light brown sugar
  • 230 g caramel sauce*
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 5 g vanilla extract
  • 40 g molasses
  • 700 g all-purpose flour
  • 10 g grated orange zest
  • 2 g cinnamon powder
  • 2 g ground ginger
  • 1 g ground cardamom
  • 2 g salt
  • 4 g baking powder
  • 3 g baking soda

Royal Icing:

  • 50 g egg whites
  • 315 g powdered sugar (sifted)
  • 5 g lemon juice

You will also need:

  • food coloring
  • candies (marshmallows)

Instructions
 

Gingerbread dough:

  • Mix the butter and light brown sugar for 5 minutes until light.
  • Add the caramel sauce, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and molasses and mix well for a few more minutes.
  • Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and spices and knead the dough a bit until you can gather it into a ball.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
  • Once chilled, place the dough on a floured working surface and roll it into a 4-5mm thick sheet. Cut out your desired shape - you can make a gingerbread house or you can use various cutters to shape small gingerbread pieces.
  • Place the cut out shapes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven at 170C for 10-12 minutes or a bit more, depending on the thickness of the dough or its size. The final gingerbread should still be a bit soft when removed from the oven as it will dry out more as it cools down.
  • Allow the shapes to cool down completely.

Royal Icing:

  • Combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix for 8-10 minutes or until fluffy and light.
  • At this point, you can add food coloring if you want - I like to keep the frosting white and play around with candies for decoration.
  • Place the walls of the house on a cardboard, making sure they stick to the bottom of the board. Use glasses to support the walls if needed.
  • Allow to dry out for 30 minutes then attach the roof, sticking it with more royal icing for support.
  • Decorate the gingerbread house as you wish!

Notes

*Caramel sauce is obtained by caramelizing 250g white sugar in a pot then pouring on top 100g of hot water. Mix well then allow to cool down completely.
Keyword Cinnamon, Ginger, Gingerbread, Spices