changeable fate
21-12-2009, 12:40 AM
I found an idea for mini gingerbread houses (http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2009/12/18/a-gingerbread-house-that-perches-on-the-rim-of-your-mug/) that hang on the edge of your mug of hot chocolate. No one but me in this house like gingerbread so I used a chocolate biscuit recipe instead.
I had to make a royal icing to "glue" the pieces of the houses together. I'd never made it before and, after some research, found a really, (and I mean REALLY) easy recipe (http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html). Really, all it is, is a simple kind of meringue.
First, I printed out the pattern from notmartha.com (http://www.notmartha.org/images/other/2009dec/gingerbreadhouses/pattern.pdf) then used that to cut out the bits of dough.
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/cutting.jpg
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/on_tray.jpg
Once they were cooked, I made the royal icing. It really does set pretty quickly so I can highly recommend adding the couple of drops of glycerin to give you that extra bit of time before it sets.
Also, the above recipe makes heaps of icing - far more than I needed, (mind you, in the end, for various reasons, I only made two houses), so you might want to halve the quantities.
I can also recommend making an extremely small hole in your piping bag. The one I made was tiny, but could have been smaller if you want to get fine detail in the decoration.
Anyhow, for a first time I thought they turned out pretty good.
Next time I think I'll go with a gingerbread because I think it might be stronger, structurally speaking. I had some trouble with breakages - particularly just above the doors where the end pieces are weakest. Also, I think I'll just make the end without the doors.
I also think that doing some of the icing decorations before constructing the houses might be helpful/easier. With a finer piping tip you could pipe on windows and doors.
Oh, and if you're making them from the pattern, use the one with the larger door opening so that they sit on the rim of the mug better.
Cheers!
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/done.jpg
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/cup.jpg
Willow wanted to make some little men, so we cut some with a gingerbread man shape, then added little triangles for hats to make elves/Santas.
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/elves.jpg
And here's Willow perfecting her piping technique.
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/willow_decorating.jpg
I had to make a royal icing to "glue" the pieces of the houses together. I'd never made it before and, after some research, found a really, (and I mean REALLY) easy recipe (http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html). Really, all it is, is a simple kind of meringue.
First, I printed out the pattern from notmartha.com (http://www.notmartha.org/images/other/2009dec/gingerbreadhouses/pattern.pdf) then used that to cut out the bits of dough.
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/cutting.jpg
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/on_tray.jpg
Once they were cooked, I made the royal icing. It really does set pretty quickly so I can highly recommend adding the couple of drops of glycerin to give you that extra bit of time before it sets.
Also, the above recipe makes heaps of icing - far more than I needed, (mind you, in the end, for various reasons, I only made two houses), so you might want to halve the quantities.
I can also recommend making an extremely small hole in your piping bag. The one I made was tiny, but could have been smaller if you want to get fine detail in the decoration.
Anyhow, for a first time I thought they turned out pretty good.
Next time I think I'll go with a gingerbread because I think it might be stronger, structurally speaking. I had some trouble with breakages - particularly just above the doors where the end pieces are weakest. Also, I think I'll just make the end without the doors.
I also think that doing some of the icing decorations before constructing the houses might be helpful/easier. With a finer piping tip you could pipe on windows and doors.
Oh, and if you're making them from the pattern, use the one with the larger door opening so that they sit on the rim of the mug better.
Cheers!
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/done.jpg
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/cup.jpg
Willow wanted to make some little men, so we cut some with a gingerbread man shape, then added little triangles for hats to make elves/Santas.
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/elves.jpg
And here's Willow perfecting her piping technique.
http://www.yafnaro.va.com.au/forum_pics/willow_decorating.jpg