Small Gingerbread House

I was a bit in a slump this holiday season, and seeing the gingerbread house challenge motivated me to finally mount and decorate the house I had cut out and baked a full fortnight before. The house template is from Marielle (DeKoekkenBakers), slightly modified as to be used with a real candle - thus the slightly ajar door and hollow chimney to allow for airflow.

Mounting the house was a real challenge - the walls and chimney were easy enough, but the roof is so slanted it kept falling off. I had to redo it three times, and got annoyed enough that I ended up mounting it both upside-down (the roof is a trapezium whose wider sides were supposed to go on the top, not on the bottom of the roof) and backside-front (the chimney was supposed to be on the left side). Argh. And I ran out of ginger-couloured icing and couldn't be bothered to make some more, so I finally mounted the roof with white icing which makes for unsightly seams in some pictures.

Apart from the roofing issues, decorating the house was fun and easy. I flooded the roof with very wet icing, deliberately letting it overflow on the bottom sides to mimick melting snow, then over piped the roof with different-sized "2020"s all over. The windows are melted red candy (containing a high proportion of isomalt), the roof railing is a royal icing transfer, and the decorations on the front eaves are stringwork.

The chimney actually draws quite well, and the house gives off a delicious gingerbread smell when the candle is lighted! I am wary of letting it lit too long, however, as I am worried the windows might melt or the whole thing catch fire. It is nonetheless fine for 15-20 minutes (did not test my luck beyond that).

I attach here several pictures of the back, sides and roof. I also have a 2-second video of the chimney in action, but am not sure I can post it here. I will try to grab a still from it and add it later on.

Edit : the house is 18cm tall at the top of the railing (ca. 7 inches) and 15 cm wide (ca. 6 inches).

Beautiful . The 2020 incorporation is so clever!❤️

Love all those delicate royal icing details,well done

Lovely! I especially adore the detailed fretwork on the very top.

Beautiful icing work at the roof😍

Dear Annelise, congratulations on your beautiful artwork and the perseverance to complete it!! You did a magnificent job and I love all the details you added. 👏👏👏♥️

Very pretty..love the string work and the roof railing.

I forgot the picture of the roof detail!

And here is a still of the chimney in action - I sprayed some edible pearl powder in the draft so it could be visible.

Love the roof, how original too! You really made sure the year was visible 😆 And the tiny detail in the chimney is so cute and delicate ♥️

So beautiful,  well done!!

I am so happy to know that this challenge motivated you to finish your gingerbread house! Had you not pointed out the issues with the roof, I never would have known. I love how you have written "2020" all over your roof. At first glance it looks like filigree because your numbers are sized and spaced so perfectly. The fretwork is such a great compliment to the top of your roofline, and the red windows add the perfect pop of color. Thank you for including the photo of the chimney draft - it looks magical! I also noticed the wonderful stringwork along the roofline. How did you keep the gingerbread house angled in place while piping the stringwork?

Just Beautiful!!! ❤️

I love gingerbread with just white icing. Your piping is gorgeous. And I have been there: my first gingerbread house got all smoky inside by the time I took the picture. They are not made for real candles

@Sweet Prodigy posted:

I am so happy to know that this challenge motivated you to finish your gingerbread house! Had you not pointed out the issues with the roof, I never would have known. I love how you have written "2020" all over your roof. At first glance it looks like filigree because your numbers are sized and spaced so perfectly. The fretwork is such a great compliment to the top of your roofline, and the red windows add the perfect pop of color. Thank you for including the photo of the chimney draft - it looks magical! I also noticed the wonderful stringwork along the roofline. How did you keep the gingerbread house angled in place while piping the stringwork?

Hi! Thanks for your kind comment! That roof annoyed the heck out of me, but I agree it doesn't look too bad in the end. Still, if anyone has tips for fixing 3D gingerbread pieces at a steep angle, I'd be grateful! And of course the angle made it complicated for the stringwork as well. I first tried doing it on the roof as is, but the design ended up looking like cobwebs, which wasn't the intended effect (though not entirely unfitting for 2020...). So I propped up the house on its side inside a biscuit tin with a towel on the edge ( which surprisingly worked for both sides, chimney notwithstanding) to work on a reasonably horizontal edge. The side of the biscuit tin came slightly in the way, so the design is not as elaborate as I had initially planned, but I think I actually prefer the simpler, less busy design I ended up with.

@Annelise (Le bois meslé) posted:

Hi! Thanks for your kind comment! That roof annoyed the heck out of me, but I agree it doesn't look too bad in the end. Still, if anyone has tips for fixing 3D gingerbread pieces at a steep angle, I'd be grateful! And of course the angle made it complicated for the stringwork as well. I first tried doing it on the roof as is, but the design ended up looking like cobwebs, which wasn't the intended effect (though not entirely unfitting for 2020...). So I propped up the house on its side inside a biscuit tin with a towel on the edge ( which surprisingly worked for both sides, chimney notwithstanding) to work on a reasonably horizontal edge. The side of the biscuit tin came slightly in the way, so the design is not as elaborate as I had initially planned, but I think I actually prefer the simpler, less busy design I ended up with.

Sounds like the stringwork was its own challenge, but the end result makes it look like it was done so effortlessly. Nice work and thank you for the explanation!

What a gorgeous house Annelise @Annelise (Le bois meslé) !! Sudh attention to detail, especially the string work on the front eves of the house. Simply stunning. I like that you used the cookie and that the main decorative color was the white. The contrast of red is the perfect touch. Beautiful ❤️❤️❤️ Hugs...

Wow, Annelise, what a great gingerbreadhouse!
these many fine details! I love your roof with the different 2020 !! Made so clever! It looks like a pattern! @Annelise (Le bois meslé) ❤️😘

So very pretty ❤️❤️❤️!