This house measures 15cm x 15cm x 7cm. I have used a 26cm round board as the base. Have several small piping bags fitted with small plain and fluted nozzles. My templates are overleaf, make these first because gingerbread dough must be warm for cutting. To allow the pieces to harden, make house pieces at least a day in advance, or even up to one week.

for gingerbread
200g butter, chopped, room temperature
160g brown sugar
1tbsp ground ginger
1tbsp ground cinnamon
1tsp cardamom
1tsp anise powder
½tsp white pepper
650g self-raising flour
2eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
190g golden syrup or honey
finely chopped zest and strained juice 1 orange
water, if necessary
2 quantities of royal icing (recipe right)
lollies, macadamias, chocolate, licorice logs and coconut sugar, for decorating
600g packet ready-to-roll white fondant icing

In a large capacity food processor, place the butter and sugar and process until fully combined.

Add the flour and the spices and process on high until fully combined.

In a jug, mix the eggs with the golden syrup or honey. Pour this into the food processor while the motor is running and process until it is all combined.

Turn out onto a lightly floured bench and knead until smooth. Wrap and allow to rest in a cool spot for 1 hour.

Roll out to 5mm thick onto a paper lined tray 50cm x 30cm.

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Bake for 15-20 mins at 170C, or until golden. Remove from oven, and while still warm, put the template pieces (see over page) on the dough and cut around all the pieces, also cut out doors and windows using the door template and round cutter.

Allow the pieces to cool and harden for at least 24 hours.

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When ready to assemble, prepare the royal icing and set out lollies for decoration along with the cake board or heavy cardboard.

Open the pack of prepared fondant icing, knead lightly and roll out to cover your cake board or heavy cardboard to a thickness of 5mm-8mm.

for royal icing
2-3 egg whites
450g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, beat egg whites on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in icing sugar and vanilla. Once fully incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and beat until stiff shiny peaks form. Divide icing among small bowls, and dye with gel food colouring if desired. Keep any icing that isn’t being immediately used well covered as it dries out very quickly. Transfer to piping bags to decorate your house pieces. I find it easier to decorate each piece before constructing the house, but you may prefer to build the house and then decorate it.

It is easier if you have a clear idea of your decorating style before you start, perhaps even design a few options.

Make half the royal icing a bit firm, this will be your ‘cement’ for the construction. The rest can be loosened up with a few drops of lemon juice, egg white or water to form the piped decorations.

for templates
A 20cm x 20cm base (not necessary if you are using a cake board)B Cut 2, 14cm x 9cm for roof pieces

C Cut 2, 7cm x 9 cm for side walls

D Cut 2, 11cm x 6.5cm. The bottom part will be 7cm to join the side walls; the top part must be cut to form an equilateral triangle to attach to the bottom of the roof pieces. While warm, cut out windows and door (or you may choose to pipe these features). You may like to cut out a chimney shape as well.

Firstly, cut out the templates using a stiff cardboard. You will need to cut the gingerbread while the dough is still warm, so have them ready, also have to hand a small knife, a 2cm round cutter, dry pastry brush and damp cloth.

for assembly
Cut a piece of brown paper the same size as your two roof pieces together (remember the roof is attached with the long side across the walls), spread the paper with royal icing and stick it on the back of the two roof pieces so they are joined together (this will help support the weight of the roof). Leave to dry for half an hour.

Use royal icing to glue the walls together and to the board. Use some heavy objects (or an extra pair of hands) to support the walls as they dry.

Place the roof on and connect all the raw edges with the strong icing.

Use the softer royal icing to pipe the snow and shingles onto the roof.

Complete the decoration and leave to dry. Gingerbread will keep for at least one month.

You will have off-cuts from your dough, which you can use to cut out Christmas trees, logs, boulders, stars and so on. If you want to make shapes to hang from a Christmas tree, poke a hole in the top while the dough is fresh and warm.

This recipe first appeared in the November 2024 issue of SALIFE magazine.