Gingerbread Cake House

When I was little, my Mom made us a gingerbread house that was supposed to last forever- but it was ruined in the attic- and I know about 6 or 7 children that helped to ruin it. From that day to this, I have vowed to never make a gingerbread house that was not intended to be eaten. As a teenager, I made several gingerbread cake castles out of applesauce cake- they were coated with cream cheese frosting and intended to last for several weeks. I made it the week before Christmas, we cut the first slice shortly after Christmas dinner and it was long gone before New Years. That is how I like to see my creations go!

All the years, that I have been alone with my son, it was very sad that we never had the people to eat a whole gingerbread castle- and in Florida, it would be covered with bugs in a week. This year, I found the answer to having the delight of the gingerbread house that anyone can make easily, can be stored in the refrigerator, and eaten by a couple of people before it goes bad. What's more because there is not a lot of labor, you don't care that it is not on display for a long time. Here are the steps.




I started thinking of small gingerbread houses- no bigger than a cake. How to get the shape? Then I saw the Wilton giant cupcake pan and it was an inspiration. A giant cupcake is silly- but turn the bottom part upside down- put the top on it- and you have a great gingerbread person house! It looks a little like a mushroom house- so would also work for a gnome or even a smurf! I made my gingerbread out of a mix. It was not as good as I would like- so am in search of a great gingerbread cake recipe! I discovered that the top bakes faster than the bottom. I carefully removed the top portion of the cake with two table knives(very lucky it didn't break!) but you might want to bake the top and the bottom in two batches- or put the mix in the bottom, bake for about 10 minutes and then fill the top. Wish these were detached...

Was inspired to make a batch of my peppermint candies:
These came in very handy and used it like fondant for the doors, the windows, and the blobs on the bottom to keep the snowmen and trees in place.

Was very lucky at the Dollar Tree with the candy. Have absolutely no idea where the gumdrops came from because there were none in any store and I couldn't find a second at the Dollar Tree. Also found jelly beans, Chocolate gingerbread men, very miniature candy canes. Took a regular plate covered it in foil, then in colored plastic wrap- it came out very festive did it not? Used regular cream cheese frosting out of a can. Years when I am ambitious I plan to make marshmallows and gumdrops myself in little shapes to decorate- but this year is good to show how easy it can be. The house was decorated in an hour after the cakes cooled.

Here is the front of my finished gingerbread house:


And here is the back:


Think I'll make one every year! Try it at your house. This is so easy, you don't have to wait until Christmas. If the pan is too much- try looking around for 1 lb coffee cans and a bowl. Have fun!

Mary Rose
(Will be playing around with the camera a little more before this goes video- but will do my best to do a post a day and stay on topic. Friday's post will be the most useful thing I've learned this week- and for me this wonderful house is a new holiday tradition in my family!)