Have I ever mentioned that I always have at least one gingerbread project per year? I love anything gingerbread, especially decorating it. This time I decided on a medieval gingerbread house. If you are looking for something more traditional, how about this gingerbread house. You know why I have a gingerbread project every year? Because you can spread it over as many days as you like. You make the dough and can chill it in the fridge for up to a week. You bake the parts and decide to wait before decorating them. Decorating itself can take days if so desired. And then gluing everything together and waiting for the icing to dry… Yes, it does take time, I won’t deny that, but take it slowly and enjoy every moment of it. Are you in the mood for this medieval gingerbread house?
You will find a lot of different gingerbread ideas on my blog. Did you know that I even made an advent wreath from gingerbread, or some tiny houses you can place on your mug? If you are interested in learning more, what to consider when making the dough, decorating, etc., check this blog article. This was the first time fore me that I used gelatine sheets to represent the windows. You may also use a small candle inside with the flickering light to make it even better. I highly recommend using an eletronic light inside.
Credit: Idea and samples from Genusskind (in German), gingerbread recipe my own
This is a medieval gingerbread house including the recipe for the dough, icing, and has templates. For the gingerbread dough, bring molasses, water and sugar to a boil, add butter and take off heat, stir and let cool. Add all other ingredients and mix well until it forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour in the fridge or overnight. The dough will keep in the fridge for about a week. You will notice that the chilled dough will have a darker color, that's normal. Roll out dough on a generously floured surface about half a centimeter thick, place your cut out "cookie cutters" on it and cut out all shapes twice with a sharp knife. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place all parts on it. Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until brown. I recommend baking about one minute longer than normal as you want all parts to be sturdy. Let cool. For the royal icing mix the egg whites with about 450 grams of icing sugar with a mixer for about 5 minutes. The consistency should be of a toothpaste. If it is too thick, add a little bit of water, if it is too runny, add a bit icing sugar. Icing which is not used should always be covered airtight. Transfer to a piping bag, cut off just a tiny part of the tip and start decorating. Having fun is the most important. You can see my pictures for ideas, but by all means feel free to decorate as you like. I highly recommend first making sure you have decorated all parts as you wish before you assemble the house. Best is if each decorated part can dry for at least half an hour. Add the gelatine sheets if you want to imitate the window look. You can also continue the next day. I also recommend cutting off a slightly bigger part of the piping bag if you want to glue the parts together. The icing works perfectly, but should be applied with a slightly thicker stream. Using mugs, etc. to stabilize, glue together two parts and let the icing dry. I recommend first gluing together the house itself. Separately, glue together the chimney. Once all is sturdy, carefully glue on the roof and lastly the chimney. Feel free to put on display with a small electric light inside to enjoy during the season.Medieval Gingerbread House
Ingredients
Instructions
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