Let's Put that House together!
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Okay, Let's continue on with the construction of our house. The house I made for the demonstration is quite simple. Only the four walls, a door and shutters. More complicated houses will have more angles on their roof, porches, two stories, etc. For the beginning house builder, this is a great "starter house".
First, you need to make a batch of Royal Icing. Royal Icing is simply a mixture of egg whites and powdered sugar. Lemon Juice is commonly used to help preserve the white of the icing. It is used when an icing need to harden to a hard, candy-like consistency. This is the icing that you see the cookies with the smooth finish are decorated with. It is great to work with (you do need to follow the rules)and is quick and easy to make.
Because of health reasons, I use meringue powder in my royal icing. It is available in cake decorating supply shops, or from Wilton Industries, or everyone's favorite Baking Catalog from King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalog.
Chefmom's Royal Icing
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted several times
6 Tbsp. meringue powder
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup warm water,
----you might need more for consistency
Stir the powdered sugar with the meringue powder, then add the lemon juice and slowly add the water until it is absorbed. You don't want to add it too fast, it may get too watery too quickly. When it is stiff, beat for several minutes, add water drop by drop to the consistency you wish. If you are using this recipe for construction or delicate lace work, ONLY beat it with a paddle and do not over beat. This prevents too much air being beaten into the mixture and it becoming brittle when dry. I like a medium stiff for building the gingerbread houses and for finished piping. For piping onto gingerbread men, I like the icing to be a little thinner. It is easy to thin the icing, it is HARD to make it stiff again.
Keep this icing covered at all times by a damp cloth, it will dry out quickly and the lumps are hard to deal with once they form. When piping only keep it in a grease free piping bag or use disposable plastic or parchment triangles. If you use a lot of royal icing, it is good to buy a new bag and ONLY use it for royal icings and meringues.
The icing in the photo is a medium stiff to stiff icing. I prefer this to a softer icing for construction. A softer icing will run all over the place instead of staying put and holding the house together.
Begin by piping a line of icing along the front corner, attach the side panel and hold in place for about a minute for the icing to take hold. If you have any shifting, do it now, you won't be able to slide the pieces around after the icing begins to set up. I like to run a narrow spatula along the outside of the bead of icing to smooth. This way, it makes room for a shell or other decoration.
Next, attach the back panel just like you did the front. Then after that, pipe a bead on the front panel and back panel and carefully place the other side panel in the icing. Hold the house with both hands for several minutes and make any adjustments now. Again, you can smooth the outside with a narrow spatula for a smooth exterior effect.
Before adding the roof, reinforce the corners with extra icing. I like to pipe a zigzag so that the icing is touching both sides of the house. This makes for a stronger bond. If you are constructing a large house, you will need to reinforce the sides and corners with wooden dowels, or even Popsicle sticks.
If you are adding a complete cover with cereal or candy to the roof, it is a good idea to add this before placing the roof onto the walls of the house. Pipe icing on the roof and smooth. You need to work quickly to keep the icing from hardening before you have added the decorations.
Smooth out the icing, and then arrange the roof decorations. Frosted Mini Wheats are a classic "snow covered thatched roof" for gingerbread houses. Shingle them, just like real shingles. For small pieces in the corners, they are easily broken in half. I like to keep the end line clean by putting the finished edge of the cereal on the edge, and the broken side towards the center. Set the finished roof aside to completely dry before adding it to the walls.
Cut the cereal in half to fill in the small gaps at the end of the row. Continue until the roof piece is covered in cereal or candy.
To attach the roof, first do a dry run by lining up the roof to the walls. When you know the position, then pipe a bead of icing on the angled wall pieces. Turn the roof upside-down and place the walls onto the roof. Once again, do any sliding now, once it's set up, it's too late!
The house will not stand in this position by itself. Look around for something it can sit up against to prop it up until it dries.
As with the walls, pipe a zigzag to reinforce the roof. Allow this to dry before adding the second roof panel. When you are ready to add the second panel, pipe the icing onto the walls where the roof will set. Then press into place and prop up like you did with the first panel. Reach into the house from the bottom and pipe extra icing onto the second roof panel if you can. Like the walls, you can smooth the outside icing to allow room for decorations.
If you are adding the cereal to the top, when both panels are attached, they probably won't line up. So pipe a bead across the top where the seam is, and arrange another row of cereal shingles to finish the top. Allow the whole house to dry for several hours before decorating.
If you want the house as a centerpiece, you will need to set it up onto a base. You can use covered cardboard (cover with freezer wrap), if you are making a large house you will need a heavy wooden base, cover with freezer wrap. If you are just making a small house and don't really want a large scene around it, you can simply bake off a square of gingerbread and attach the house to this.
Up to this point I have NOT attached the walls to anything. I like this so that I can move the house around. In fact, I like to work on a piece of cake cardboard so that I can spin the house around while I am working on it, or slide it out of the way without disturbing it. Then, when it has set up, I attach it to the base with icing and decorate the house from there.