Cake nineteen - Father Xmas's House

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There are a few things you should consider before making a biscuit house, time, patience and possibly help. You must also change your point of view: you’re not making a cake, you’re building a house! Yes! You’ll be more like an architect in the first phase and then you need the expertize of a bricklayer to make it stand. If you, for example, don’t use the appropriate materials to stick all the parts together your house will  collapse. 

It’s going to be a real project. You’ll have to design the house starting from its size including all details: windows, doors, roof, a chimney, the garden around, with trees and paths; you’ll have to prepare the stencils of each part of your house; you’’ll have to choose the materials, i.e, what kind of biscuit dough to use for the sinlge parts; you’ll have to make and bake the doughs; to cut all the parts, to build your house and surrounding park and finally to decorate it.

It’ll take quite a long time to see it ready but all your efforts will be rewarded! Consider at least four days from project making to decoration.

Step 1: Design 

A very importatnt step| Decide what your house will look like. Prepare the cardboard templates of the house: walls, roof, and door, choose the cookie cutters for the trees and reindeers and decide the choco decorations for doors and windows.

Here are my templates.

Step2: Dough

I usually make two different doughs, one for the house and one for the decorations. when I want my house to look like a wooden mountain chalet. The dough I use for the house is made with a lot of honey which gives the structure the look and strength of real wood while the gingerbread dough is good for the trees and the decorations.

Honey-based dough (for the house)

1 kilo honey

1/4 l water

1,250 g flour

200 g candied orange and citrus 

40 g cinnamon, ginger, muskat nutmeg

30 g baking soda

Combine the honey and water in a saucepan and heat to boiling, stirring continuously. Let cool. Put the flour and the candied fruit on a pastry board, make a hole in the middle, pour the honey mixture and knead well. Add the baking soda and knead until smooth. Cover and let rest at room temparature for one or two days. 

Gingerbread dough (for the decorations)

100 g butter

250 g honey 

250 g sugar

1 tsp ginger

1tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cocoa powder

500 g flour 

1/2 packet baking powder

one pinch of salt

2 eggs

Combine the butter, honey, sugar, spices and cocoa in a saucepan, and heat to boiling, stirring continuously.. Let cool. Add the flour mixed with the baking powder,, the salt and the eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon at first then pour the mixture onto a floured surface and knead well. Wrap in aluminium foil and let rest overnight. 

also visit: 
http://time-for-a-cake.blogspot.it/2013/01/cake-nineteen.html