Gingerbread Facade Food

GINGERBREAD FACADE

Steps:

• Make template. (See our tips for an architectural treat here.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out gingerbread dough on a Silpat to about 1/4 inch thick. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Lightly dust top of dough with flour. Place templates on top and cut out shapes. Place Silpat with house pieces on a baking sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until just beginning to brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Place template over baked gingerbread. Using a utility knife, lightly score along roof lines, shingles, and door (to serve as guides when piping). Gingerbread can be stored on baking sheets, covered with plastic wrap, up to 1 week at room temperature.
• Decorate facade. Decorate shutters as desired.
• Make windowpane molds: Roll out molding clay 1/4 inch thick on a Silpat. Measure windows of house; add 1/2 inch all around. With a utility knife, cut out molds from clay using measurements. Make the caramel syrup, and pour into molds. Let set, then use royal icing to glue onto back of facade.
• Lightly brush some un-iced areas of gingerbread with egg wash; liberally sprinkle nonpareils or sanding sugar over top. (Work quickly, as egg white dries rapidly.) Let sit 20 minutes, then brush off any excess.
• Attach the shutters. Once the shutters are set, attach supports for the house to either end: Pipe icing along the angled edge of support, using a small plain tip (#3). Hold support, narrow end up, flush against one side of the house until set. Repeat on the other side of the house.

GINGERBREAD FOR A GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Make the gingerbread dough: Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
• Combine the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the egg, molasses and vanilla and beat on medium until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sifted flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined into a smooth dough, about 1 minute. Form the dough into a flat square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until just firm, about 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, make templates for a gingerbread house. Gather several sheets of stiff paper; a manila folder works well. For the wall panels, cut a rectangle that measures 4 by 7 inches. For the front and back panels of a house with a peaked roof, cut a template that is 6 inches wide at the base, 4 inches to the roofline and 4 1/2 inches slanted to a peak. The template for the roof panels should measure 4 1/2 by 8 inches.
• Roll and cut the gingerbread: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and cut into 3 equal pieces (a pizza wheel is handy for this). Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the other pieces refrigerated, roll the dough into a rectangle 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using the templates, cut out the front and back of the house and remove the scraps around the cutouts. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, cutting out 2 roof pieces and 2 side pieces. (If the dough gets too soft while rolling, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before proceeding.) Discard the dough scraps or reroll to make cookies. Chill the dough pieces on the baking sheets for 15 minutes.
• Bake the gingerbread: Bake the dough pieces until crisp almost all the way through (the very center will still be a little soft), 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the pans 10 minutes on a rack, then remove the house pieces to the rack to cool completely. Assemble and decorate the gingerbread panels as desired.

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a parchment round.
• Stir together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• Combine the brown sugar and butter in another large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined (it's fine if the mixture looks a little curdled).
• Stir the molasses into the boiling water in a large spouted measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the molasses mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium and beat just until smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 22 to 27 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans on a wire rack. Once cool, invert the cakes onto the rack, then peel off and discard the parchment.
• For the frosting: Combine the butter and cream cheese in a clean mixer bowl. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the confectioner's' sugar, beating until combined. Add the vanilla and gradually increase the speed to high. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, adding up to 1 tablespoon of milk if needed so the frosting is spreadable.
• Place one cake layer flat-side down on a cake stand or platter. Top with about 3/4 cup of the frosting, spreading almost to the edges using an offset spatula. Place the remaining cake layer on top, flat-side up. Spread the remaining frosting on the entire cake and smooth the top and sides with the offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake while you decorate the gingerbread cookies.
• For the decorations: Meanwhile, microwave the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl until just melted. (Alternatively, melt the chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; do not let bowl touch the water.) Let cool slightly and put into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip (or use a plastic ziptop bag with the corner snipped off). Pipe eyes and smiles on the gingerbread cookie faces.
• Arrange the merry gingerbread men side by side around the bottom edge of the cake, pressing in slightly to adhere. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the nonpareils.

GINGERBREAD FOR HOUSES

Steps:

• Into a large bowl, sift together flour, spices, baking soda, salt, and pepper; set aside. In a large saucepan, melt shortening over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes. Whisk in sugar and molasses until well combined. Remove from heat, and stir in the flour mixture until just combined but still crumbly. If dough is still sticky, add a bit more flour.
• Turn out dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, and wrap to enclose completely; let cool slightly, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into two equal parts, and place on prepared baking sheets. While dough is still slightly warm, roll out gently but firmly to a 3/8-inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes, and remove excess dough from around cutters or templates.
• Bake 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

FAVORITE OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
• In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Combine egg, sugar, molasses, butter and water; mix well. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, ginger and salt; add molasses mixture. Beat until well mixed. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 350° until cake tests done, 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares; serve warm with whipped cream.