Scandinavian Gingerbread House
Adapted from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas
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1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
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1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
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2 tablespoons cinnamon
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4 teaspoons ground ginger
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3 teaspoons ground cloves
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2 teaspoons baking soda
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½ cup boiling water
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5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]
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12 orange lollies, crushed up
Step 1 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.
Step 2 - Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls and door out of cardboard.
Step 3 - Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place. Cut out squares for the windows and fill these spaces with the crushed orange lollies. These will melt into the shape of the cavity. Also cut out small window ledges although these will only need a few minutes to bake.
Step 4 - [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]
Step 5 - Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.
Royal Icing:
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1 large egg white
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220g powdered sugar
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1 teaspoon lemon juice
Beat egg white until frothy, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.
To decorate
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flaked almonds
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mini pretzels
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marshmallow candy canes
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large jubes
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candy canes
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tiny edible flowers
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diamond shaped jubes
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chocolate for shutters
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dessicated coconut
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icing sugar
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Royal icing in a piping bag
Step 1 - Sit gingerbread house upright on a large parchment lined tray and pipe along the joins of the walls and attach. Using straight edged cups or jars against each each wall or side to support, wait until royal icing has set (mine took an hour to set).
Step 2 - Pipe dots of royal icing on the back of the pretzels and stick them to the sides of the house. With the roof, using royal icing (I used quite a bit to secure the roof) place the roof on top and leave to set. I piped some icicles using the royal icing with a fine tip and then drew a line of royal icing and attached the flaked almonds onto the roof in rows. Attach window ledges using royal icing and ensure that you have something that can sit under and support the ledge while the icing dries.
Step 3 - Sprinkle dessicated coconut onto the parchment for snow and then go a bit crazy with the decorations!