Winter wonderland gingerbread house
Follow our recipe to create your very own Winter Wonderland gingerbread house, a great activity to do with the kids.
This is a simple gingerbread house to assemble and you can download the template from the recipe. You can then decorate as you like, using any sweets or edible ornaments you fancy, or follow our decoration steps in the recipe below. It's a great Christmas activity to do with kids.
It would also make an impressive Christmas gift for a friend or become your own show-stopper decoration for your home around the festive period.
To gift wrap line a pretty box with waxed paper. Put in the gingerbread, interleaved with more paper. Decant royal icing into a lidded tub and put sweets into cellophane bags, tied with ribbon. Cut out and attach assembly instructions with a picture of the finished house.
If you're looking for a classic biscuit, rather than a house, try our easy gingerbread recipe or if you're looking for something more challenging our gingerbread wreath recipe.
For more festive baking inspiration, check out our favourite Christmas biscuit recipes.
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- Yields:
- 1
- Prep Time:
- 1 hr
- Cook Time:
- 45 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 45 mins
Ingredients
For the gingerbread house
- 525 g
plain white flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting
- 1 1/2 tsp.
bicarbonate of soda
- 3 Tbsp.
ground ginger
- 225 g
butter, plus extra for greasing
- 250 g
light muscovado sugar
- 3 Tbsp.
golden syrup
- 1
large egg, plus 1 egg yolk beaten
- 2
red boiled sweets and assorted sweets
To decorate
- 500 g
royal icing sugar
concentrated red food colouring
concentrated green food colouring
candy canes
icing sugar for dusting
desiccated coconut for decorating
Directions
- Step 1Click here to download our gingerbread house template.
- Step 2Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a large bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
- Step 3Warm the syrup in a pan, then pour on to flour mixture with the egg; stir to combine. Bring together to form a soft dough and knead briefly until smooth.
- Step 4Divide dough into two. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 3mm (1⁄8in) thick. Using templates as a guide, cut out two of each shape, re-rolling dough as necessary. Put on lightly greased baking sheets and chill for 15min. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5.
- Step 5Bake for 8-10min or until golden brown. Neaten edges with a sharp knife while gingerbread is still warm, again using the templates as a guide. Leave for 5min to set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 6To decorate, make the royal icing to packet instructions. Reserve small amount of icing for red and green decoration, set aside. Transfer rest of icing to piping bag fitted with 2cm straight sided nozzle. If you don’t have a piping bag, use a clear plastic food bag and snip one corner to make a small hole.
- Step 7Divide reserved icing into two separate bowls. Using red food dye, dye one bowl of icing to desired shade, mix until combined. Repeat second bowl with green food dye. Transfer into separate piping bags and use to decorate excess gingerbread shapes. Allow to set. Reserve any left over coloured icing for decorating the house.
- Step 8Pipe a line of icing along the base of a 12cm x 16cm side wall and fix upright on to a cake board. Pipe along the edge and base of an end wall (with the gable on top) and fix to the side wall. Continue with side and end walls to form a box. Hold for a few minutes until set. Pipe icing along top edges of house. Press roof pieces in position until set. Pipe icing along joins.
- Step 9Pipe icing windows, then decorate with candy canes and any excess coloured icing. Scatter coconut around base for snow.
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