Gingerbread house

[VJayJingles]

I want to make a gingerbread house for the first time this year, I have googled and found lots of recipes but wondered if anyone had a tried and tested recipe that they really like and is fairly easy to do.

Watching with interest. I made one a couplr of weeks ago, using a recipe from a magazine. However, it did not specidy how thinly the dough should be rolled, so I think I may have done it a little too thick. I made cardboard templates and cut round these - but when I lifted the dough up to put on the baking sheet it stretched a little, however carefully I did it. The shapes also spread while in the oven, and I got quite a large buble in one of the roof sections.

I loved doing the icing! Used royal icing mix, and was a bit tricky getting roof sections in place. Once finished it did have a slightly tumbledown cottage look about it, but a a first attempt I was very pleased.

Hopping an experienced g'bread cottage builder will be along very soon! (Have you seen the kits in Lakeland? They are about £11 each I think!)

Aldi sell them in kit form so you can just assemble and decorate. They have a train one too. Their kits are £4.99 and ready assembled ones are £5.99

I tried some for DD Christmas Fayre and lets say I'm a better baker than builder!

I used a template to cut out the shapes but they go a bit irregular.
Couldn't get the roofs on even with royal icing (it held the walls okay). Then I thought, how do we transport them?

DCs ate them, Yum. (did cupcakes for fayre)

And they do go soft, even in a plastic cakebox

I feel a trip to Asda coming on, thanks Pombear!

LordOfTheFlies sounds like we could set up an assembly line - you bake, I build?

Thanks for your replies

I used this recipe last year, very straightforward and it came out great for housebuilding

350g plain flour
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp bicarb of soda
100g butter, chilled
175g muscovado sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp golden syrup

Rub flour, ginger, cinnamon and butter together, add sugar egg and syrup to form dough. Roll out and cut into desired shapes, cook at 190 C ish for 10-15 minutes.

And this is the house I made

Looks good Tiz, how strong is the flavour- is it 5-6 year olds friendly would you say, or should I use less ginger? Making (2D) gingerbread houses with my Rainbows on Monday!

There's a good recipe and some templates for mini houses on www.bbcgoodfood.com

It's not a particularly gingery recipe. Think it would be fine for that age group

Marking place as making mine this weekend!

thanks, they've turned out well :) until they get decorated by 5 yos that is