Victoria Love's Sweets: Gingerbread House Primer Part 2

This was my gingerbread house for Rational Animal's fund raiser "Gingerbread Homes for Animals" at Chelsea Market December 2006. It was a home built for Bailey, my rabbit and Spot, my cat (I especially liked adding the loo) and I modeled it after a doll's house.

I participated in this fundraiser for 3 years. My first house was a scale model of the Dairy in Central Park to commemorate the Central Park Conservancy's 25th Anniversary and the event was held at the Dana Conservatory in Central Park. My third year I created a southwestern landscape out of gingerbread with a wild horse in the foreground.

The next step for the gingerbread house we are creating is making the base. I use cardboard cake circles glued together. I prefer a circle shape, because I have found that with a square or rectangle base the edges tend to sag eventually from the weight of the royal icing. You could also use foam core, masonite or wood. But don't assume the wood will hold up either. I used 3/4" plywood once for a large house and it too bended under the weight while I was moving the house and caused significant damage.

For this house I used 3 16" cake circles for the top and 4 14" cake circles for the stand. You need to elevate the base a bit so you can fit your fingers underneath. Just glue the same sizes together and weigh them down. When they are dried, glue the 16" circles to the 14" circles and weigh it down.

Once you have your base ready, make sure you have a work space set up with all your equipment. You will need your base, royal icing in a piping bag with a number 10 Wilton Decorating tip and extra to go on the base, gingerbread house walls, and the sugar shrubs and trees, plus if you like, a ribbon to go around the base.

Start assembling the base of the house by piping a line of royal icing on the edge of the side wall. Line up the edge of the wall with the front panel of the house.

You can use cans of soup to prop up the two walls.

Pipe another line of royal icing on the other side wall and line it up with the front panel. Pipe a line of royal icing inside the seems to reinforce the inside corners.

Pipe royal icing along the other two sides and attach the back panel. Adjust the sides to make sure everything is square.

Reinforce the seems of the next two inside joints. Let the royal icing dry for at least one hour or overnight if you have time.

Putting the house on the base is a point at which you need to make sure you will not have any interruptions, otherwise the royal icing covering the base may dry and then you will have trouble putting the shrubs around the base and attaching the ribbon.

Once you are ready spread the royal icing over the base with a spatula and smooth it back and forth to make it look like snow drifts. Make sure you spread it to the edges.

Line up your gingerbread house base where you would like it and press gently into the royal icing. Place your shrubs along the outside walls of the house and press gently into the royal icing.

Make sure you have left space on the front for your doorway and if you are going to lay down a path indent the royal icing before it dries so you can lay the path flush with the snow. Also put your Christmas tree on the wet royal icing to cement it into place.

Around the edge of the base pipe a thin band of royal icing to hold the ribbon into place. Gently attach the ribbon and smooth out any bumps.

To lay your path pipe some royal icing into the indented path space you made and then insert your tiles. I used broken Necco wafers.

To hide the seems, pipe decorative royal icing along the edges. I used a star tip to pipe this border. Then pipe any windows or decorations along the walls before you put on the roof. This will give you better access to the sides then when the roof is on. At this stage I let the base dry overnight before putting on the roof.

Have fun while you are making your house. Remember you can decorate it any way you like and there are tons of fun candies out there that would make great decorations. Candy canes along the seems are always good. Gum drops for shrubs and Gummy Bears for your inhabitants work well too.