This Year's Gingerbread House!

One of my all time favourite traditions is here again! Gingerbread house baking. And I think this year's is a real beauty!

Nothing beats making my own Knusper Haus - a traditional German gingerbread house based on the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. It’s something my family and I did every year at Christmas time in Germany and it’s a tradition I’ve kept with my own children. 

And nothing makes me happier than coming up with the design, buying all the different sweets to decorate and taking the time to make my own house. I like to have a theme each year and this year I covered it head-to-toe in liquorice. Not to everyone’s taste but luckily all my family are fans.

I also decided to switch up my recipe. I wanted to have a deeper darker flavour to go with the liquorice so I added more treacle and extra ginger for a spicy kick.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE RECIPE

115g butter

200g  light brown sugar

115ml honey

230ml treacle

750g plain flour 

1 ball of finely chopped preserved ginger

6 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp ginger syrup from the ginger

2 tbsp cinnamon 

1 tsp salt

100ml water

Heat oven to 160c/325f

In a mixer cream the butter and sugar then add the different syrups, spices and salt. Once combined add the flour and water, alternating between them. The dough should be stiff enough for rolling. I like to roll my dough between one sheet of baking parchment and clingfilm to stop the dough sticking to the rolling pin.

Roll your dough out to 10mm thickness. And place in the fridge. Leave for 30 mins. Then use a pizza cutter to cut around the templates. This will stop the dough from pulling out of shape. Place back in the fridge for half an hour before baking.

Put on a baking tray and bake for around 35 minutes depending on how big the pieces are.

MY 5 TOP TIPS

Make sure to cool the dough in the fridge for half an hour before cutting. This will make the pieces easier to cut. 

Cut out each piece on baking parchment. This means you won’t have to lift each piece once cut, distorting the shape. Dust your dough surface with flour so that when you lay your template on it doesn’t stick. 

Use a pizza cutter or a metal dough scraper (usually used for bread making) to cut your pieces . They are better than a knife as it won’t drag your dough and mess up the shape 

Stick your sweets on before you assemble your house. This way they won’t slide off. 

You can use Royal Icing (this is icing sugar with egg white. It dries really hard and is great for construction) to stick your house together. If so, use tins and boxes to keep them propped up until your house dries. I like to use caramel as it sticks instantly. However it can be hot to handle. And once you place you piece together there’s no changing it.

CARAMEL (FOR STICKING THE HOUSE TOGETHER)

200g white caster sugar

60ml water

1/8 teaspoons cream of tartar or 2 teaspoons lemon juice 

I like to use a wide saucepan to make my caramel. This way I can dip each side into the pan and assemble immediately 

Place sugar, water and cream of tartar/lemon juice into the saucepan. Don’t touch. Don’t stir. Or the mixture will crystallise.  Place over a medium high heat. Once the sugar stars to brown turn onto a low heat and swirl the pan rather than using a spoon to stir. 

When the mixture comes to the boil, reduce the heat and watch the caramel brown. Watch for dark streaks. If so remove from the heat. The syrup will continue to cook even when taken off the heat. Aim for a medium amber colour. 

Take your decorated pieces, make sure you know which side you are dipping and place on your board or plate. I like to start with one of the sides and build out from there. Assemble the sides and then the roof.

ICING FOR DECORATION 

250g Icing sugar

35ml Water 

Use the icing sugar to stick your sweets onto the gingerbread. Then use the rest to decorate the edges once assembled. I place mine in an icing bag using a star shaped nozzle. And I ice over the joins, creating icicles along the edges to disguise any joins. 

If you’ve not had enough fun decorating your house, my family love to add extra decorations and sweets to the garden surrounding the house. We make fences from marshmallows or pretzels. We create pathways with jelly beans and sprinkles. And pine trees using upside down ice cream cones decorated with excess icing sugar and edible glitter. 

Enjoy baking and creating memories with your family.

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