Sunday, 11 December 2011

Gingerbread House - Part III Construction

Part One - Making Gingerbread.

The number one rule is: PATIENCE  Allow ample time between each step to allow the icing to completely dry.  This will give your house the best possible structural integrity and help prevent collapses.


  • Place a thick line of royal icing along each side of each side wall.
  • Press sides together
  • Hold up with tins from your pantry
  • Wait till dry.  Approximately 2 hours 
  • Fill the center of your house with something.  I filled this one with some little toys for the family.
  • Place a thick line of icing along the roof line of the house.
  • Place something to support the roof along the side of the house until the roof glue has set. I am using two Tupperware mini tumblers.
  • Place the roof in place resting on the supports.
  •  Do the same for the other side.
  • Allow at least two hours to dry and set.
Completed House










To make the grass look I mixed some coconut with green food colouring and sprinkled it around the base.

Trouble Shooting
  • I had a problem with a house roof collapsing and the cause was the environment was too humid. The gingerbread pieces had absorbed water and softened.  To correct the issue I put the pieces back in a cool oven (the lowest temperature my oven would go to) and dried the pieces out.  I then put a thin layer of icing on the back of the roof to fortify it before constructing the house.
  • I had walls collapse once too.  I had used water icing to glue the grass (green coloured coconut) in place and the liquid had absorbed up the walls.  I now place a line of royal icing along the complete base of my house and use a runny royal icing to glue the coconut grass. 
If you have made a gingerbread house and blogged about it please leave a link in the comments section as I would love to see what you made.

Blessings


3 comments:

  1. Well done Chareen, as usual a house built to perfection!! It brings back many memories of you wrapping the house up with cellophane paper and decorating the top with Christmas bells. I have beautiful photo's of your houses you have made.Tried to copy and paste a photo of them on the table maybe next time. Blessings and thanks for sharing your story of gingerbread house making. love you

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  2. Beautiful gingerbread house:) The roof keeps sliding off of ours, so thanks for the tips...we won't give up just yet!

    Also, I wanted to pass on the Liebster Award to you! It is typically given to dear, favorite, or beloved small blogs as a way to recognize and encourage one another. Your blog is fairly new to me, and I am so glad I found it:) Here are the rules for the award, if you should choose to share the joy: Thank the blogger that nominated you by linking back to them; share your top 5 choices for the award and leave a comment on each blog; and post the award on your blog. Have a great week!

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