How to assemble a gingerbread house
Gingerbread walls are heavy and the icing starts soft, so most of the work is holding things still while the icing sets. This is the order I'd follow, with the parts that tend to go wrong.
Before you start
- Bake the pieces until firm at the edges. Right out of the oven, lay the paper template back on each piece and trim along it with a sharp knife. Warm gingerbread cuts cleanly; cold gingerbread cracks.
- Let the pieces cool completely on a flat surface. Overnight is better. They harden as they dry, and hard walls stand straighter.
- Set out a sturdy base: a cake board, a cutting board or a sheet of cardboard covered in foil. You won't be able to move the house much once it's up.
- Have a few cans or jars ready to prop the walls while the icing sets.
Royal icing for building
Royal icing is powdered sugar beaten with egg white or meringue powder. For building, make it stiff: it should hold a sharp peak that doesn't fold over when you lift the beater. The icing guide has the amount for each house size. Thin icing for decorating can come later from the same batch with a few drops of water.
It dries quickly in the air, so keep the bowl covered with a damp towel and fill a piping bag with only what you'll use in the next few minutes. A thick line of icing (about as wide as a pencil) along every edge that touches another piece works better than a thin smear.
How the corners fit
At each corner one wall's edge butts against the face of the other. That decides which walls are cut shorter, because the dough has thickness. The generator lets you pick either joint and shortens the right pieces:
For example, a 6 × 8 in house with dough rolled to 1/4 in and the side walls inside has side walls 7.5 in long. Cut them the full 8 in and the house ends up half an inch deeper than planned, which eats half of the roof's overhang at each end. The generator starts with the first joint, because the front and back then keep the width you typed.
Putting it together
- Pipe icing on the base where the front wall and one side wall will stand, and along the side wall's end edge.
- Stand the front wall and the side wall up together at a right angle and press them gently into the icing. Prop both with cans.
- Add the second side wall, then the back wall, piping each joint first. Wipe off icing that squeezes out on the outside, or leave it and cover it later with decoration.
- Pipe an extra line down the inside of each corner for strength.
- Wait until the walls are firm. Give them at least a couple of hours, or overnight. King Arthur's guide says 4–12 hours, depending on the weather.
- Pipe icing along the top edges of the side walls and the sloped edges of the gables. Set one roof panel on, with the ridge edge lined up with the gable peaks, and hold it for a minute or two. Prop the eave edge if it starts to slide.
- Add the second roof panel and fill the gap along the ridge with icing. Let the roof set before decorating, ideally overnight.
When something goes wrong
- The roof slides off. Usually the icing is too soft or the walls weren't set yet. Take the panel off, let the walls dry longer and use stiffer icing. Steep roofs slide more; a pitch around 45° is easier.
- Gaps at the corners. The pieces spread unevenly or weren't trimmed. Fill gaps with icing; it's hidden under decoration later. Next time, trim against the template while the pieces are warm.
- A wall cracks. Glue it back with icing on both edges and prop it flat until set. Thin pieces crack more, so roll the next batch a little thicker.
- Walls lean. Check the bottom edges are straight. A wall that rocks on the base can be sanded flat with a fine grater before assembly.
Templates and sizes
The template generator draws the pieces at actual size for any house. The dimensions guide lists common sizes, the one-sheet guide has houses that bake on a single pan, and the icing guide says how much to mix.