December 25, 2009

Chocolate Gingerbread House



The December Daring Baker's Challenge

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

My family and I had a wonderful time making this recipe together. We printed off the gluten free candy list from Celiac Central and went shopping together. My parents were with us for the holiday and helped us with the candy hunt. Then on our big construction night, my Dad made us all dinner. My Mom, who is still in stroke recovery mode, was our cheerleader and helped us out with the candy.

When we began the baking process, we started a few days before the construction of the house. On day one, we made the gingerbread house pieces. Even though I over baked the gingerbread, I allowed the pieces to air dry for day two and constructed the cardboard base. I layered one end of the base with additional layers, so the house would look like it was on a slight hill. Then on day three, I made the royal icing and constructed the house. 

Just remember when you start making your gingerbread and start constructing your house, each process will take well over three hours. The gingerbread took me 6 hours and the house construction took 7 hours. For a ball park figure, I'd plan on between 7 to 14 hours to make the house from start to finish.

Recipe

Chocolate Gingerbread

1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
3/4 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp chia seed powder
1/4 tsp agar agar powder
1 cube crystallized ginger, minced
2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp cloves, ground
1 Tb baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
5 Tb butter, softened
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 cup molasses
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
approx. 1/4 cup water, if needed

Royal Icing

3 egg whites, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tb lemon juice

Making Gingerbread House Pieces

 1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, vegetable shortening and sugar until blended. In another large bowl, dump in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, flours, chia seed meal, agar agar powder and salt. Stir together thoroughly. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, molasses and chocolate. Slowly add the dry mixture into the mixing bowl containing the butter blend. Alternate adding the egg mixture into the butter blend. Mix until you have a stiff dough. If the dough won't form into a ball, add water, a tablespoon at a time.

2. Divide the gingerbread dough into 4 balls. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the counter and place one of the dough balls in the center. Cover the dough with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. Place your gingerbread house template or house cutters on the dough. Cut the outside edge of the template or press down the house cutters. Remove the excess dough between the house pieces.  Leave the house pieces on the parchment paper and slip the parchment paper on to a cookie sheet.  Place the sheet in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the rest of the dough.  Continue until all the house pieces are cut out.  Any excess dough can be cut into cookies for decoration.

Tip: If your gingerbread dough won't form into a ball because it's still a bit too dry, put water on the palms of your hands. Then roll the dough until the water is absorbed. This works really well when trying to work the scraps back into a ball.

3. Preheat the oven to 350'F (190'C). Bake for 25 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. The house pieces will be over baked, but shouldn't be burned.  Cookie pieces can be baked the same way or for a softer cookie bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

4. Transfer all the house pieces to one tray and lightly cover with a sheet of parchment paper.  Allow the pieces to air dry for one day before construction of the house.

Making Royal Icing

1. Beat the egg whites until a soft peak forms.  Then gradually add the powdered sugar until you get the desired slightly firm consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling.

2. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Constructing the Gingerbread House

1. Begin with the house back and one side. Pipe the icing on each piece and hold the two pieces together. Move on to the second side and the house front. If the sides don't hold together, have another person to hold them up for you until you can get the other sides added. If your royal icing is stiff enough, it should hold together pretty quickly. Allow the sides to dry before putting on the roof.

2. Go back and repair any decorations that might have gotten dinged while assembling.

3.  Decorate your landscape to your heart's content. Then enjoy!  But don't forget to take pictures so you can remember all the fun you had building your gingerbread house.

26 comments:

Jill @ Jillicious Discoveries said...

What a great idea--a chocolate gingerbread house!! Your piping details are excellent--I just love your roof and the candies that decorate the outside. Beautiful job! :)
Merry Christmas!!

Sue said...

Your house looks beautiful! I love the scroll work with the white icing!

Karen Baking Soda said...

Adorable house! The dark color really sets of the decoration, great job and what fun you all had participating!

Jo said...

You did an absolutely fantastic job on your gingerbread house. Really nice. Hope you had a great Christmas and wishing you a happy new year.

Lauren said...

I love the idea of a chocolate gingerbread house! It looks fantastic, and is constructed flawlessly =D.

Anonymous said...

I love your yard decorations (they're almost like candy totem poles) and your use of peanut butter cups. Your "hill effect" is fantastic as well. Nice work!

Warm n Wonderful said...

Wow, and gluten-free too, amazing.

Tasty Eats At Home said...

What a gorgeous gingerbread house. I am in awe!

Y said...

Beautiful house! Chocolate gingerbread sounds like a very very good thing indeed :) Wonderful to hear it was a family effort too!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Your house looks so beautiful. Love the way you decorated it.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a very Happy New Year!aulotist

Francijn said...

Chocolate gingerbread, wow! I wish I could taste it.
And the picture is adorable, with the lights in the background, and the precise decorations!

LtlLori said...

Your house is beautiful!!!

Julia @MĂ©langer said...

What a fantastic house. Your piping is so detailed and neat. Fabulous that you were able to find some gluten free substitutes. I had fun doing this challenge, but think I need to plan for more time, next time! :)

Alpineberry Mary said...

So cute. Your piping skills are great. :) Happy New Year!

Lis said...

Gorgeous house, Natalie! So glad you and the family had fun with it!

Hugs!
xoxoxo

Angela said...

Wow! What incredible piping you've done, Natalie! I am in awe of your skills. You've created a beautiful house and scene. Bravo!

Cakelaw said...

Your house looks great! Extra special with the chocolate flavour. Hope your Mom is recovering well, and that you and your family had a wonderful Xmas. Happy New Year!

Wic said...

this stunning gingerbread house could be standing in the black Forrest. And since I live near it I should know.
so Hansel and Gretel would want a peace of it.

Unknown said...

beautiful detail work! I especially love the roof :)

Anonymous said...

What a lovely gingerbread house! The piped detail is absolutely beautiful. Fantastic baking :)
All the best to you for 2010!

Namratha said...

Loved the look of your house, very neatly decorated.

Lori said...

A very beautiful house. Wonderfully decorated.

The Cookie Fairy said...

Wow, what a fabulous gingerbread house!
Great shape and lovely decorations!
Wtg for the fabulous job!
Inbal
(also a DB)

http://blog.tapuz.co.il/ChefBal

Amy Green said...

I wish I would have gotten here earlier...I didn't realize that there was a separate posting place for alternative bakers and only posted my house in the regular folder. So, I missed seeing your until now. It's gorgeous and I love the chocolate spin.
Amy at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free
www.simplysugarandglutenfree.com

Natalie, aka "Sheltie Girl" said...

Thank you everyone who visited and showed your appreciation of my gingerbread house. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Natalie

creampuff said...

Natalie,

You captured the beauty of this whole challenge. First of all your house is adorable and the fact that it was a family effort makes it even sweeter!