Flimsy construction is discouraging, especially during the festive season, when so many of us are trying to keep the gingerbread house standing.
No easy task. The traditional gingerhome is baked flat, as a series of cookie-thin facades. The crew is expected to lift four sides, secure them upright, and weld on roof panels—producing a structure sturdy enough to withstand the efforts of sprinkle-happy exterior decorators.
It’s a recipe for candy-coated disaster.
In an effort to stabilize the gingerhome, many a builder trusts royal icing, the caulk of the gingerbread-housing industry. The sticky mix of egg white and powdered sugar squeezes on smooth, dries hard, and tastes like epoxy. Yet does not guarantee success.
Consider, then, the 3-D alternative. Old-fashioned gingerbread—more cake than cookie—bakes up thick and stable. It’s easy to cut down into cubes and triangles. Cube + triangle = house.
The cake building can’t collapse, needs no glue, and is warmed with ginger and cinnamon. It permits the homeowner to skip the frame-up and get right to the good part: encrusting with gumdrops.
