So this is how it goes with the gingerbread houses in our home. We usually buy pre-made box kits with ready-made hard-as-a-rock pieces that A) usually include one cracked or broken wall and B) never stand up and stick together like they’re supposed to. Constructing a gingerbread house from a box kit is a job very much like stretching too-small fitted sheets over a large mattress or trying to open a double stroller while resting a baby on your hip–both things I’ve attempted more times than I’ve liked and rendered pulling out my toilet vocabulary. The things I mutter under my breath during gingerbread house construction most definitely take the Christ out of Christmas, and when the icing isn’t strong enough to hold the south wall up, you bet the glue gun’s coming out.
We’re coming at it a different way this year with a lay-flat gingerbread house that is not only easy to decorate but also doesn’t taste like a spiced 2 x 4–the No Cursing Ginberbread CAKE! Easy enough to make that you can bunch several of them together to construct an entire lay-flat gingerbread village.
We used this recipe for the gingerbread cake, and it’s perfection–“gingerbready” enough where you recognize that rich holiday spice flavor but still mild so kids like it, especially with a little buttercream frosting.
I used my mom’s classic buttercream recipe which I never measure–softened butter, powdered sugar, a little vanilla and milk. And I skip the pastry bag and spoon it into a large gallon-size Ziplock (stiffer than the small ones) and clip the tip to decorate.
We used this house cake pan and this evergreen tree silicone mold.
I love the options with a lay flat cake. You can stretch butcher paper out on a table and create an entire winter wonderland scene with these. And kids can extend their decorating skills to the paper, dusting powdered sugar snow, adding drawings, etc. I love the simplicity of just the brown cake with a little white frosting, but for kids you can go wild and add all the candy fixings, colored frosting, etc.
The trees are about the size of a cupcake, so you could set up a gorgeous dessert table with a village scene for a holiday event. Or lay out several of these cakes for a gingerbread house decorating party where kids aren’t crying because their houses are caving in. See? WIN for all.
When you’re done gazing at how pretty the finished product looks, slice it up and serve it, because it’s so good!
Save your cursing for when your tree dries up two days before Christmas, or when you run out of tape at midnight Christmas Eve with nine gifts still left to wrap, or–here’s a new one–when your brother buys all your kids Yellies for Christmas (no seriously, click on it. It’s a real toy with the single design goal of making parents lose their shit).
But gingerbread houses? Nothing but peace and love now.
Happy Monday!
Carol says
We buy the house from Costco that is already put together and you just decorate. We decorate on Christmas Eve and it remains our centerpiece until Jan 1. At that time we put it in our back yard for the squirrels to disassemble and eat. My oldest is 31 and we have been doing it since she was 2. My youngest is 27, and has Asperger’s Syndrome and still loves doing it. My daughter is starting the tradition this year with my 1.5 year old grandson. I love when traditions continue!
Molly says
Oh I love that about the squirrels getting the houses! That reminded me of one time when my family was making gingerbread houses and my brothers got frustrated and put their whole house in the guinea pig’s cage and we just about died of laughter watching the guinea pig nibble away at it (now that I think about it, it was probably not super healthy for the piggy, oops, sorry piggy!).
Bree Roberts says
Hahaaaaaa! You are so genius! Thanks for saving the season.
jesseybell says
We gave up or should I say my husband gave up because I gave up before I even tried based on my experience when I was little – He built 2 and then gave up. Now we only get the ones pre-made and sometimes they are hard to find in stores. Thankfully we haven’t had too many that have come broken. We now get 4 and do a decorating “contest” within the family.
KC says
The sneaky trick for gingerbread houses is to assemble them in stages: put the walls up, support with foil-covered canned goods so they stay put, ignore for a half day; add roof, again let it dry. Then! Then you decorate, and everything has been cemented together with rock-hard royal icing, so kids won’t collapse in the roof even if they push a gumdrop on with undue force…
But waiting periods + kids do not necessarily combine well.
Heather says
I love this idea! The links you have in the post for the cake pan and silicone tree mold are not working for me though. Can you please repost them?
Leslie says
That HAS to be the ugliest toy evah. YUCK!
Jennifer Reil says
Oh my goodness! Swoon! I can’t wait to make these! We’ve done sugar cookie flat gingerbread houses and gingerbread people before, but I can’t wait to try this gingerbread cake. Thanks for sharing!
Molly says
SUCH a good idea! Thanks!!