It's been a hot summer in Rome, and, even though I haven’t turned on my oven for a while, I've been working on this tutorial for you! It's one that needn't require much, if any, baking as its focus is on stenciled royal icing transfers. You will learn how to create a cute little royal icing hut, perfect for fall sweets tables and cake toppers. These huts can even be set atop cookies as I have below. Each panel of the hut is a stenciled royal icing transfer, sometimes with an additional fall-themed stencil applied on the outward-facing side. But that's not all . . . these huts have an element of surprise! When illuminated with mini LED lights, they transform into haunted houses when spooky silhouettes (made with more stencils) are revealed on the inside of the walls and roof. As always with my projects, these huts can be customized for any holiday or occasion just by changing the stenciled decorations!
I classified this tutorial as “intermediate”, but don’t let this classification intimidate you. This project involves a number of steps and may take a little time, but it is mostly a fun way to practice stenciling and basic 3-D house construction. If you like the concept of stenciled royal icing transfers, please also check out my demo for Cookie Connection's recent Watch Learn Create Challenge #57, where you'll learn how to make 3-D flower and wax seal royal icing transfers.
- My hut design templates, to trace for stencils (see "Attachments" under "Files" at the end of this post)
- Parchment paper, for making stencils
- Sugarcraft knife and scissors
- Acetate or cellophane bags, for stenciling surfaces
- Royal icing:
- Purple toothpaste-consistency in tipless piping bag (or equivalent), for making stenciled walls, roof, and decorations inside walls and roof
- Orange toothpaste-consistency in tipless piping bag (or equivalent), for stenciling gourd/pumpkin decorations on hut outsides, hut assembly, and beaded borders
- Small offset spatula or spreading tool
- Any Halloween- or fall-themed stencils that fit my templates
- Silicone mat
- Props (I used 2 tall square cookie cutters)
- 1 (8.9 x 5.5-cm/3 1/2 x 2 1/4-in) oval cookie with center hole to receive mini LED light(s), flooded and decorated on edge (I flooded my cookie with orange royal icing and added a purple beaded border)
- Long (about 2.5 x 30.5-cm/1 x 12-in) parchment paper strip
- Mini LED light(s)
Step 1: Cut stencils
The design of this hut is very simple. Trace each of my templates (again, see "Attachments" under "Files" at the end of this post) onto three separate pieces of parchment paper. Then use a sugarcraft knife (and scissors, if needed) to cut along the traced markings to create the following three stencils (of the dimensions indicated on the photo):
- Roof: Square with scalloped edge (Feel free to cut a straight edge if you find it difficult to cut the scallops.)
- Front/back wall: Pentagon
- Side wall: Square
Note: In this tutorial, you’ll see me using Mylar stencils (the bottom set of stencils in the photo above), which I cut using a Cricut machine. However, I first tested the project using parchment paper stencils, and they work fine for a few uses. The parchment paper will eventually collect excess icing and get soft due to the moisture from the icing, at which point, you will need to cut fresh stencils if you're planning to make multiple huts. (Or make Mylar ones if you have a Cricut machine.)
Step 2: Stencil hut walls and roof
To stencil the walls and roof, use acetate or cellophane bags (like those used for packaging cookies) as your stenciling surface or substrate - not parchment paper. While parchment paper works fine for the actual stencils (again, provided you only use the stencils a few times), it's a poor stenciling surface because it will buckle and misshape as the icing dries on it, leaving you with wrinkled and misshapen transfers. Flat transfers will not only look more polished, but will also make hut assembly easier. I prefer thicker acetate over thinner cellophane bags just because it's easier to wash and use over and over again.
a. Place the roof stencil over a piece of acetate (or equivalent).
b. Pipe a small amount of purple toothpaste-consistency royal icing to the side of the stencil opening.
c. Using a small offset spatula (or other spreading tool), spread the icing over the stencil to cover the opening. Pipe more icing on the design if necessary to fill any gaps.
d. You'll need to spread a thick (at least 2-mm/1/16-in) layer of icing over the opening, so you may need to apply a couple of icing layers. Just make sure to spread an even top layer as it will be exposed in the final construction. You'll get the smoothest results if you swipe with the broad underside of the blade against the acetate (rather than the blade edge) and if you wipe the blade completely clean between swipes.
e. Carefully remove the stencil, taking care not to disrupt the wet icing and . . . half of the hut roof has been stenciled!
Now repeat Steps 2a through 2e to stencil the other half of the roof. Set the stenciled icing aside, still on the acetate, to fully dry.
f. Use the other two stencils to make two side walls, one front wall, and one back wall, following the exact same process used for the roof panels.
Allow all of the stenciled parts to dry completely. Drying time can vary quite a lot with ambient conditions. Transfers will also take longer to dry on acetate than on parchment paper. But since these pieces are rather thin, overnight drying is usually enough. That said, to avoid breaking transfers by removing them from the acetate prematurely, it's best to proceed cautiously with removal as I describe below.
g. and h. To avoid breakage, place a transfer near the edge of your work surface, and gently peel away the acetate from underneath. Do not pull on the transfer, as it is fragile and will break. If the acetate does not easily peel away from the icing, then the icing is not completely dry. If you attempt removal before the icing is dry, the surface won’t be as smooth as the one you see in picture i below, or, worse, the transfer may break. In this case, allow a little more drying time. I removed some of the transfers too early (those on the left side of picture j), which is why they are not smooth. In those cases, I made sure to face the rough sides toward the inside of the hut during the final assembly.
i. But if the icing is completely dry, the transfer will readily drop into your hand (be prepared to catch it!), and the back side will be very smooth.
j. Repeat Steps 2g through 2i to remove all of the transfers from the acetate.
Step 3: Decorate hut royal icing transfers
a. Using purple royal icing, decorate each stenciled transfer using any spooky stencil you have that fits the hut panel. These decorations will face toward the inside of the hut. Follow the same stenciling instructions used to make the hut panels, but be careful not to press too hard on the panels as you stencil, or they may break. Try to cover the front wall transfer with a big stencil. I used a ghost stencil that covers most of it. (In the next step, we'll be stenciling on the other side of this piece. The idea is to make sure that the inside stencil is larger than the outside one, so that the inside one reveals when the hut is illuminated.)
b. and d. Once the stenciling icing on the front wall transfer is dry, flip it over, and stencil the other side that will ultimately be on the outside of the hut. I used a cute gourd stencil and orange icing to contrast the purple icing. Again, the gourd stencil I used is smaller than the ghost stencil to ensure that a fair bit of the ghost shows when the hut is lit up.
Step 4: Assemble transfers into 3-D hut
a. Place the back wall transfer, purple-stenciled side up, flat on a silicone mat. Pipe two lines of orange royal icing along the lower side edges.
b. Keeping the purple-stenciled decoration facing toward the inside of the hut, attach one of the side wall transfers to the back transfer so the two panels are perpendicular to one another and the side wall stands upright. Prop the outside of the transfer with a cookie cutter (or other small object) so it stays upright while the icing dries.
c. Repeat Step 4b to attach the remaining side transfer to the other side of the back transfer. For the outside decoration of this transfer, I used a stencil that says "BOO", but I just wanted a hint of it on the outside wall, as a cue that the hut is haunted. That's why I stenciled it with purple icing rather than with contrasting orange as I did with the gourd.
d. Keeping the side walls propped, move on to the next step.
e. Pipe two lines of orange royal icing along the lower side edges of the front wall transfer, on the side with the spooky purple decoration.
f. and g. Hover the front wall transfer above the side transfers, spooky decoration facing down, taking care to align it with the back wall transfer underneath before placing it directly on the propped side wall transfers. Its edges should make contact with the orange royal icing you just piped in Step 4e.
h. Wait a couple of minutes for the icing to set, and then use orange royal icing in a tipless bag (or equivalent) to pipe a beaded border along the seams on both sides of the hut. Let the icing dry at least another 10 minutes before carefully lifting the hut.
i. Once the hut is upright, pipe a line of royal icing all around the upper edges of the hut.
j. Take one of the roof transfers, and pipe a line of orange royal icing along the edge opposite the scalloped edge, on the side with the spooky purple decoration.
k. Grab the other roof transfer, and hold it such that the purple-stenciled decoration and scalloped edge are facing down; then hover both roof transfers above the open hut . . .
l. . . . Carefully press the roof parts together along the line of orange icing while placing them as one unit on the icing piped on the bottom portion of the hut.
m. After a couple of minutes, pipe an orange beaded border along the roof peak to cover the seam.
n. and o. Let the icing dry completely. Avoid moving the hut for at least 20 minutes; then place it on the decorated oval cookie base to admire how it looks without any lights!
p. To reveal the inner stenciled designs, it's time for lights! Carefully take the hut off the cookie. Roll up the long parchment paper strip so that it fits inside the hole in the center of your cookie. Note: I cut my hole about 4.0 x 1.5 centimeters (1 1/2 x 9/16 inches) to fit three mini LEDs of the type in my supply list, but the exact hole size is not crucial. Just make sure the hole accommodates the lights you plan to use.
q. Place the parchment paper roll in the hole. (The paper's sole purpose is to keep the non-food-safe lights from making contact with the cookie.)
r. Turn on the mini LEDs, and then insert them inside the parchment paper roll.
s. Place the hut on the cookie again to reveal the inner designs.
And now, the final reveal! First, here's a closer view of what my hut looks like with no lights . . .
And - SURPRISE! Here it is illuminated . . .
More useful tips: I recommend using the same color of icing for stenciling both the walls and spooky decorations on the inside of the walls; that way, the latter won't show on the outside until the hut is illuminated. In my orange hut prototype (to the left in the photo below), I used dark grey royal icing on the insides, and, as you can see, the inside rooftop face decoration actually shows when natural light hits the hut. By contrast, none of the inside decorations are visible on the purple hut because I used the same icing color.
You can also stencil spooky decorations on the outside and make a fully spooky hut like my other prototype to the right, below. However, for this project tutorial, I wanted an element of surprise and therefore went for the "cute on the outside/haunted on the inside" concept instead.
And that's all for this month! 🏚
Ciao, Manu
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
Note: Made by Manu is a Cookie Connection blog feature written by Manuela Pezzopane, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To read all of Manuela's past Made by Manu tutorials, click here. And to see all of Cookie Connection's tutorials, click here.
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