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How to cover your buttercream cakes in a gorgeous marbled fondant

I'm obsessed with marbled fondant. If you watched last weeks video on how to get super sharp edges on your buttercream cake, you're going to love this next tutorial on how to cover your cake in a gorgeous marble fondant. This marbled fondant look was inspired by one of my favorite marble turn tables and I just love how it turned out. 

How to make marbled fondant

To make the perfect marbled fondant, you start out with white fondant. I take out a couple of tablespoons of the white and color it ivory. Then I do the same with some and make some grey. Now comes the easy part. Just layer on top of each other and pull the fondant a couple of times to start mixing in the ivory and grey. But don't mix it too much. You want to keep those interesting lines and patterns. 

Next I roll out the marbled fondant using some cornstarch. Make sure you keep moving the fondant around every couple of rolls so that it doesn't stick to the table. Try flipping it over and seeing which side of the fondant you like better. I roll my fondant out to about 1/16 of an inch. Thin fondant results in sharper edges on your cake, plus who likes to eat thick fondant?

How to cover your cake in marbled fondant

Now it's time to cover our cake in our marbled fondant. I roll my fondant up onto my rolling pin and unroll it onto the well-chilled buttercream cake. Use your fondant smoother to work out any air that might be trapped under the top right away. Then you can start slowly pressing the fondant against the cake to work out the ruffles. Try not to pull the fondant down, just open up the folds of fondant and press gently against the cake.

Once your cake is covered, cut off the excess around the cake about 2" away from the board. Gently flip your cake upside down and use your fondant smoothers to smooth the fondant upwards all the way around the cardboard. Use an x-acto blade to cut off the fondant around the top of the board. This makes a really seamless look to your fondant cake. 

Lastly I use my fondant smoother to sharpen up the edges of the fondant. This can be a bit time consuming but I love how the super sharp edges on the fondant look. 

Once you're done with your fondant, carefully turn the cake right side up and place back into the fridge to keep it chilled until you're ready to stack your cakes. 

How to stack your fondant cakes

Once you have your cakes all covered in fondant, all that's left is to stack them. I like to use milkshake straws because they are strong, easy to cut and not expensive to buy. Make sure you're always cutting your straws evenly and inserting them straight up and down. Download my straw guide to understand how many straws you need to use for the best stability. After your straws are inserted you can stack your cakes. 

For a two tier cake, you can definitely stack your cake at home and then deliver the cake already stacked. It will be very stable. If you have a three tier cake you might consider traveling with the top tier separately and then adding it on top when you arrive. Bring some extra buttercream to fix any gaps. 

When your cakes are nicely chilled, it should be very easy to pick your cakes up. Place the first cake onto your cake board and secure with some melted chocolate to keep it from sliding around. Make sure it's centered. 

Then take your second tier and place it on top, making sure it's centered. I use a small amount of buttercream to fill in the gap between the layers and my finger to smooth it out for a seamless look. 

That's it! That's all there is to making a simple marble fondant cake. Make sure you watch the full video tutorial on how to cover your cakes in marbled fondant for step-by-step instructions. 

If you have any questions feel free to leave them for me in the comments. 

These are my top 7 tips on how to bake from scratch successfully 

There seems to be a lot of confusion out there on how to bake from scratch. Some seem to think that they don't have the talent for it or that scratch recipes never work for them. I'm here to tell you that anyone can bake from scratch. If you follow my 7 simple tips on how to bake from scratch, you too can have a baking win!

Nothing compares to a vanilla cake or chocolate cake baked from scratch. I love to bake from scratch but even with all my experience in baking, I can easily have a fail if I don't prepare properly.

I recently got a copy of Baking Basics from one of my favorite authors Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of the Baking Bible. One of my most trusted sources of cake recipes. I wanted to try out her brownie recipe and thought this would be a great time to share my process for testing out new recipes. 

How to bake from scratch tip #1 - Get your recipes from a trusted source

I know it's tempting to just go to pinterest when you want to try a new recipe but literally ANYONE can write a recipe and say it's the best. You never know if this person can really bake or not or what their idea of "best" is. 

I once tried a banana cream pie recipe that was ranked #2 on google. I thought wow, it's ranked so high, it MUST be good. The photo looked amazing, the reviews seemed like it would be good.

Well... it might be considered tasty to others but for me, it just gave me a stomach ache. WAY WAY WAY too sweet. I couldn't even taste any banana. I should have searched my cook books first. 

Try asking in a cake or baking group if anyone has a trusted recipe that they love and could recommend. Look for recipes from highly rated cook books. Try a recipe from a well-known baking source like Sugar Geek Show.

How to bake from scratch tip #2 - Read the WHOLE recipe before you start

I can't tell you how many times I have had people leave comments under my own recipes stating that the recipe did not turn out. I ask, did you read the recipe. "well... sorta.... I skimmed it".  *facepalm*

I get it, I hate reading recipes too. But you know what I hate more? Wasting ingredients. Usually recipes contain a lot of helpful info that will help you find success the first time you try it out. 

There might be tips for trouble-shooting problems or even things to make sure you don't do to avoid failure. Whomever wrote the recipe has most-likely spent a lot of time testing and re-testing the recipe for success so make sure you take advantage of that experience and read the recipe!

When you read the recipe it also gives you a chance to look up any techniques that you may not understand like whipping to soft peaks or folding. 

How to bake from scratch tip #3 - Check your ingredients 

Make sure you have all the ingredients the recipe calls for before you even start mixing. If you have to run to the store then it's better to do it now then in the middle of mixing. 

Some recipes will actually not turn out right if you stop in the middle of mixing. 

How to bake from scratch tip #4 - Weigh your ingredients ahead of time

If your recipe calls for a scale, use a scale. If it says to use cups, use cups. Trying to convert recipes often results in disaster. Almost all my recipes call for ingredients by weight so that you get accurate measurements. Measuring by volume (cups) leaves a lot of room for mistakes. Maybe your flour is too packed, you aren't exact with your measuring or you're doubling the recipe. All these things can lead to disaster.

I measure all my ingredients before I start mixing. Sometimes I don't realize I don't have enough of a certain ingredient until I start measuring. Or I think I had an ingredient but I actually don't. That happens to me ALL THE TIME. Just ask my husband, poor guy is always being sent to the store last minute. 

Measuring out your ingredients ahead of time also ensures you don't forget any ingredients. I will read through the ingredients one by one and tap the bowl to the corresponding ingredient. Better safe to double check then waste all those ingredients because you forgot the sugar. 

How to bake from scratch tip #5 - Ingredients need to be room temperature or slightly warm

Some things do not like to mix. Oil and water or ingredients that are warm/cold. Things like butter that are oil based will not mix with eggs if the butter is warm and soft and the eggs are cold. Same thing with milk, cream cheese, sour cream etc. This is the second most common mistake people make when making a recipe from scratch. 

This is how I warm various ingredients before baking so they are all the same temp.

• Eggs - While still in the shell, place into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes 
• Milk - Warm in the microwave until it feels body temperature
• Butter - I microwave mine in 10 second increments until soft enough to impress my finger into the surface but it still holds it's shape. 
• Cream cheese - Cut into small chunks and place onto a plate. Place a hot glass bowl over the top of the cream cheese for 5 minutes. I warm my bowl by heating it with hot tap water. 
• Sour cream or mayonnaise - Microwave for 10 seconds and stir

How to bake from scratch tip #6 - Don't make any changes the first time you try it

I love to make adjustments to recipes after I have tried them so they are more to my preference but I always follow the recipe as is the first time. You never know if you're totally ruining the recipe by making a slight adjustment. 

Sometimes the author will put some notes at the bottom of the recipe for known acceptable substitutions. 

How to bake from scratch tip #7 - Read through the directions as you are making the recipe

It can be difficult to remember everything a recipe says to do so I have the recipe nearby as I am mixing to make sure I don't miss a step. Even as an experienced baker, I know it can be very easy to accidentally make a mistake. 

Baking from scratch can seem very intimidating when you're first learning and I totally get it. No one explains these simple techniques for testing out new recipes. Often times the recipe does not turn out and you're left feeling like maybe you can't bake at all and it's pointless to try again!

I hope these tips have given you the confidence to try your hand at baking from scratch and if you're looking for inspiration, check out the full list of free, tried-and-true recipes on our blog. 

Ring in the new year with this New Years Eve cake with buttercream stripes, water ganache drip and chocolate cake topper

New Years Eve cake to kick 2018 to the curb.

Happy almost New Year! I don't know about you but I'm really excited to say goodbye to 2018 and ring in 2019! I just have a feeling it's going to be an awesome New Year.

Last years New Years Eve cake was a big hit and people who had never tried pink champagne cake are now in love! I totally get it, I love me some pink champagne cake too and it has such a tasty flavor.

For this year, I'm creating something a bit different! I'm trying out my new cake combs from Ester Cakes to make some buttercream stripes. They have a whole bunch of different patterns and styles! Works really great on ganache too. 

How to make a New Years Eve drip cake

To make my drip cake, I start off with three 6" layers of my pink champagne cake and stack and fill them with easy buttercream frosting. I get a quick crumb coat on there then chill 15 minutes.

After chilling, I smooth the layers down as usual with my bench scraper. If you need some more tips on how to bake and decorate your first cake, check out my beginner cake decorating tutorial on how to make your first cake ever. 

After I got my cake smooth I chilled the cake again for about 20 minutes. 

Making the buttercream stripes

To make the buttercream stripes on your New Years Eve cake, you take the Ester Cakes cake comb and slowly start scraping away buttercream to make the stripe indents. I go nice and slow and take my time. Then after my comb hits the board, I chill the cake for about an hour so that the buttercream is really hard! That way the stripes don't get messed up later. 

After the cake is chilled, I add some gold colored buttercream. I colored my buttercream with some ivory food coloring gel to make the gold color. 

Scrape away the excess buttercream with your smooth bench scraper to reveal your stripes! Pretty cool huh!

Making the chocolate cake topper

For the chocolate cake topper, simply melt down some candy melts. Place them into a piping bag with the tip cut off. Print out the free New Years Eve chocolate cake topper template. Place some parchment paper over the top of template #2 and just trace the image with your piping bag. I chilled mine in the fridge for about 5 minutes to make it set up. 

After the word is piped you can paint it gold. I used Edible Artist Decorative paints glamorous gold because it's fully edible and has a nice pretty shine. It takes a couple of coats for complete coverage on chocolate just FYI.

Once that's set, I pipe the #1 template onto some parchment paper the same way we did the first one. You'll notice this one is a bit thicker and bolder. That's so that we can place the chilled word on top and it will have an outline. 

Finish the topper off with a little cake pop stick for placing into the cake. 

Making the water ganache drip

To make our water ganache drip, simple melt down 6 oz of your colored candy melts. I used Wilton royal blue. Then add in 1 oz of hot water and mix until it's a smooth consistency. I added in some more blue food coloring and a touch of black to make my drip more of a royal blue in color. 

Adding food color gel to water ganache will not make it seize up. 

Place your water ganache into a piping bag with the tip cut off and begin piping around the outside edge of your cake. once you get all the way around, squeeze the excess into the center of the cake and smooth it out with your spatula. 

Finishing the New Years Eve cake

All that's left to do now is to add some gold star sprinkles and place your chocolate cake topper on top! I love how the blue water ganache drip reminds me of a melting starry night sky. 

I hope you enjoyed this simple and fun New Years Eve cake tutorial! If you have any questions, just leave them for me in the comments section and I'll get back to you. 

Happy New Year!

Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

New Years Eve Cake

Ring in the New Year with this fun and festive pink champagne cake covered in white and gold buttercream stripes, water ganache drip and a yummy chocolate cake topper!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 60 oz

Calories: 248kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Ingredients

Champagne Cake

• 12 oz AP Flour
• 10 oz sugar
• 8 oz unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sparkling wine candy flavor (optional) affiliate link: https://a.co/74ZOSgf
• 4 large eggs room temp
• 6 oz champagne room temp
• 2 oz vegetable oil
• 1-2 drops electric pink food color

Blue Water Ganache

• 6 oz blue candy melts chocolate
• 1 oz hot water

Easy Buttercream

• 8 oz pasteurized egg whites
• 2 lbs powdered sugar
• 2 lbs unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

Instructions

Champagne Cake

• Preheat oven to 350F. Make sure all of your ingredients (champagne, eggs, butter) are at room temperature
• Place butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low until smooth and creamy. Sprinkle in sugar and turn up to medium and let mix until very light in color and fluffy (about 8-10 mins)
• Combine your flour, salt, baking powder and sift. Set aside
• Combine your champagne, food color and flavorings. Whisk to combine and set aside
• Once your sugar is ready, add in your eggs ONE AT A TIME. Letting mixture mix for one full minute after each egg is added before adding the next egg. 
• Add in ⅓ of your flour to your butter/egg mixture and once combined, add in ½ of your liquid, then flour, then liquid, then flour. Let mix just until everything is combined.
• Divide into two 8" round pans. Bake for 25-30 mins until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and then chill before trimming and stacking your cakes.

Water Ganache

• Melt down your white chocolate until they are almost melted. Stir with a spoon until completely melted then add in your hot water. Stir until combined and smooth. Add in a couple of teaspoons of dark blue food coloring if you want a darker blue. 
• Place melted chocolate into a piping bag for the drip

Easy Buttercream

• Place powdered sugar, egg whites, vanilla and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip on high for 5 minutes then add in butter on low in small chunks. 
• Once all the butter is added, go back up to high until the buttercream is thick and white. This can take ten minutes. 
• Take out two cups of the buttercream and color it with ivory food color gel and mix until you don't see any streaks. 

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 8oz | Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 93mg | Potassium: 32mg | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 520IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.4mg

28 Awesome Gifts For Bakers

If you're reading this, you might know an amazing baker. Maybe they're your best friend, maybe you're married to them. Maybe it's your neighbor that brings you all her leftover cookies. Whoever the baker is in your life, you can bet they will absolutely FLIP for any of these amazing gifts for bakers

Now this isn't just some random list of gifts put together for the sake of selling, no sir! I polled my followers and listened to what THEY want the most for the holidays as well as throwing in a few finds that I think any baker would love. So you know these gifts for bakers will be spot on!

*Full disclosure, there are affiliate links in this post. This doesn't cost you anything but I may make a few bucks from the post.

Gifts For Bakers Under $25

You don't have to spend a fortune to get the perfect gift for bakers! Here are my top choices for gifts for bakers under $25

1 Quality Cake Pans $9.99

One of the first things a baker needs are some really good cake pans! If you're in need of a beginners gift for bakers that they will absolutely LOVE, you can't go wrong with a set of professional cake pans. I love my Fat Daddio cake pans but another popular brand is Magic Line.

2 Glass Mixing Bowls - $24.99

Every baker needs a set of clear glass bowls for mise en place (everything in it's place). Mise en place is when you get all your ingredients together in bowls before you start baking so that you don't forget any important steps. Plus it makes food videography look so much cleaner and you can stop wondering where your cereal bowls have gone.

3 Mini Red Silicone Rolling Pin - $7.99

If the baker in your life is a huge Sugar Geek Show fan (which I hope they are) then they are probably familiar with my famous tiny rolling pin. People ask me ALL THE TIME where I got mine! In all honesty, I don't even remember. I've had it for so long but recently I found the same one on Amazon! Don't ask me why I love my tiny red rolling pin, I just do.

4 Chocolate Tempering Spatula - $21.99

Every good baker needs to know how to temper chocolate and unless you have a chocolate tempering machine, it can get a little tricky (and messy). Luckily I discovered this awesome spatula that has a thermometer inside so you can easily keep track of the temperature of your chocolate while tempering.

5 Food Jewelry - $18

Ok so maybe it's just me but I LOVE tiny foods!! There is just something so cute about it! I have a pair of donut earrings and I always get compliments on them. Now I just need this necklace...

6 Momofuku Milk Bar Book - $21.49

Christina Tosi is pretty much the baker's version of Madonna. She's one badass chick who's super talented! I've tried many of her recipes and they always please the crowds! If you want to get a gift for a baker that loves to try new recipes, this is a great gift! Just make sure they haven't already bought it for themselves

7 Rose Gold Baking Utensils - $17.97

Who wouldn't want this chic utensil set? Rose gold is a very popular color right now and pretty much goes with everything. *adds utensils to shopping cart*

Gifts for bakers from $25-$50

Don't have a lot of cash but want to impress? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Any baker would love to have these gifts make a sudden appearance in the kitchen.

8 Kitchen Scale - $36.05

If you want to bake from scratch and you want to do it well, you simple must have a kitchen scale (that almost rhymes). Seriously though, this is the scale I use in all my recipes and I lurve it soooo much.

9 Baking Basics - $21.39

Speaking of baking, my favorite cake author of all time, Rose Levy Beranbaum (author of the best cake book ever, The Cake Bible) has come out with a new book all about teaching you how to bake and the fundamentals of baking. If that's not a book for a baker I don't know what is.

10 Gel Food Coloring Student Kit - $22

Good food coloring is hard to find. Toss that watery junk you buy from the grocery store and get the good stuff!

11 Cake Photography Backdrop - $36.99

Nothing will help a bakers business grow faster than professional looking photos! This simple white vinyl backdrop is what I use to take clean looking photos of my cakes.

12 Kitchen Torch - $28.73

You wouldn't believe how often one needs to set things on fire (on purpose) for cake decorating! This kitchen torch runs on butane (same thing as a lighter) has an easy on/off valve and is perfect for all the torching things.

13 Turntable Expander - $39.99

If you ever make a cake over 10" then you definitely need this turntable expander! It turns your 12" turntable into 20" and is big enough to support a sheet cake! I could not live without mine.

14 Crystal Mold - $37.99

Crystal cakes and geode cakes are still super on trend and it looks like it's going to stay that way. These crystal molds are perfect for making beautiful crystals out of sugar!

15 Isomalt Beginners Kit - $44.99

Speaking of isomalt, this kit just came out for the budding sugar artist! Everything you need including isomalt, torch, gloves, mat and bowl so you can start whipping up some amazing isomalt sculptures

16 Chocolate Skull Mold Deluxe Set $49.99

This chocolate skull mold was designed for the sculptor! Everything you need to cast a chocolate skull, make realistic sugar eyes and sculpt an anatomically correct face for your bust cakes. Check out the bust cake tutorial for more info on sculpting realistic cakes.

17 Metallic Paint Palette - $48

Edible metallic paints are all the rage right now in cake decorating but totally edible can be hard to find! This metallic paint palette is soooo pretty (and edible) I might just use it for my face instead of the cakes.

18 Inspired Women Hoodie - $40

Does the (lady) baker in your life inspire you and those around her? Why not get her a hoodie that's comfy and cozy to wear on those cold caking nights. Then we can be twinsies.

19 Personalized Cake Fork - $31

I love this cake fork! The perfect gift for bakers! Or ya know, people who like cake (everyone). Personalize the fork with fun sayings like "my slice" or "piece of cake" or even the business name so you can use it for client tastings!

Gifts For Bakers $50+

Ready to really impress? These gifts for bakers are definitely on the "someday I'll buy this for myself but I'll feel really guilty if I do". Some of these are tools a baker really needs for their business or maybe it's just something they really want but would never buy. Bakersguilt is a real thing ya'll. Buy it for them.

20 Kitchenaid Pasta Machine Attachment - $59.88

Does the baker in your life love to make sugar flowers? Do they have a hand held pasta machine because "it's fine" and "get's the job done". Well let me tell you from experience, hand-rolling hundreds of gumpaste petals sucks. I could not live without my pasta machine attachment. Making sugar flowers already takes too much time, make their life easier with this gift.

21 Innovative Sugar Works Turntable - $77.83

A really quality turntable is invaluable to bakers and cake decorators! I love this turntable from Innovative Sugar Works because it's not too heavy and has a knob on the side so I can lock the wheel when I'm decorating and it's easy to clean. It also goes perfectly with that turntable expander *hint hint*

22 Arkon Mount - $99.95

If you're not a baker, you probably have no idea what this is but trust me, every baker needs one! This Arkon Mount is for holding your phone while you bake... anything really! You can record yourself hands-free while you bake, decorate or demo a technique. Video is the #1 driver of traffic and super important for advertising and social media. You can also use my special promo code "SUGARGEEK" at checkout to get 20% off your purchase!

23 Spa Day - $Depends On Your Location

When we polled our followers for what gift they really want for Christmas, "massage" was #1 on the list. Pretty crazy huh? It makes sense though, bakers spend a lot of time on their feet hunched over a table decorating cakes for other people and usually putting themselves last. Why not give them something they would never take the time to give themselves. Just do a quick search for "spa day" near you and book it! Or better yet, ask their best friend to recommend a place and get them a package deal so they can have a friend spa day.

24 Cake Decorating Airbrush - $84.99

The #1 tool I get asked about the most is "what airbrush do you recommend". I 100% stand behind the Clairella Cakes Airbrush. It's designed by a cake decorator and is so simple to use. There are multiple settings for how powerful of an airflow you need. The greatest airbrush for beginners or for a travel airbrush.

25 Cake Safe Mini - $299

This is definitely one of those gifts that every baker really wants and needs but will put off buying for themselves! A cake safe is an amazing transportation box for delivering cakes without the risk of them falling over. I even traveled all the way across the country with a competition cake in my cake safe, checked it onto a plane and it arrived perfectly! Definitely worth the investment.

Even better, here's a code that's valid until 12/25/18. It's HOLIDAY2018 for 10% off orders over $25, and surprise free gifts will be added to the orders that use the code!

26 Camera and 50 mm Lens - $499.99

I get asked a lot, what is the best camera to buy for cake photography? The answer is not specific but will hopefully be enough information for you to find the best deal. I prefer Nikon for photography and you want to get a lens that is a 50mm f/1.8 lens. This low number on the f-stop means the background will be blurry and will look magical when you take photos of your cakes or for food photography.

27 Edible Printer - $220

Another question I get asked about a lot is what edible printer I recommend. I have been using my Canon printer from photofrost for years. I never have to clean the cartridge heads and I don't get any streaks or lines. Make sure you watch my video on how to print edible images so you have great results. Check out this video of me printing out some plaid onto a photofrost sheet!

28 Cake Leveler (Agbay) - $149.95

This is one of those tools that a baker really needs if they have to level a lot of cakes quickly! The Agbay is so sharp you can level a cake in literally less than 5 seconds. Definitely a "wish list" gift for bakers!

Did we nail this gift for bakers list or did we miss your Christmas gift wish? Leave it in the comments and share this list with anyone who needs some gifts for bakers inspiration 😀

Gingerbread House Inspiration! My Top 10 List For 2018

The holidays are right around the corner and I'm already thinking about making my annual gingerbread house! My first house was a down right disaster but once I discovered the secret to a strong royal icing to hold my gingerbread house together, things got a lot funner! Now I'm pushing myself to create bigger and more elaborate gingerbread houses!

One of the best parts of building a gingerbread house is getting inspiration. Enjoy these photos of some of the best gingerbread house designs I've ever seen. Some of them are simple, some of them are downright crazy elaborate but all beautiful!

I absolutely love this super bright design! The colors, the candy, it just makes the inner me SO happy! I think it might be my most favorite gingerbread house of all time. Display made by Sonny Robinson - Freeds Bakery

Check out these awesome in-process pics that Sonny was so kind to show me! Amazing to see the process of building such a cool display. Sonny states that he builds a template out of foam core and works out all the measurements ahead of time so that he knows how the final pieces will fit together.

For curved pieces of gingerbread, he takes them fresh out of the oven while still warm and places them onto the curved pieces of foam core so they dry curved! If that's not genius then I don't know what is. Check out the video of the final piece on his facebook page.

I am a sucker for simple! Beautifully piped gingerbread house with melted sugar windows - Chatka z piernika

Super cute gumdrop gingerbread house with nella wafer stairs - sassybeautimous

lovely A-frame gingerbread house with amazing piped doors and sugar glass windows - Jeff Kyle

Probably my most favorite gingerbread house of all time. The textured gingerbread, the railing, everything is amazing! - Patricia Howard

This waffle gingerbread house is from a Target ad and isn't even gingerbread but seriously! can this be a thing?? There's a freaking bacon pathway! I need this to be my next Christmas brunch f'real.

Another cute idea! A gingerbread dog house! Love this idea! Get the gingerbread doghouse kit from walmart

This is the gingerbread Hogwarts built by Cherry Bay Cakery using a whole lot of gingerbread, royal icing, and over 50-pounds of fondant. It took over 100 hours to complete! My jaw is definitely on the floor!

Now this is a brilliant idea! Using gelatin sheets for windows! Love the effect that is has on this beautiful gingerbread greenhouse!  

This adorable gingerbread house made by Catherine Bedall Edible Art is SO cute it's hard to believe its really a cookie! It looks like it could be a piece of art!

How to make a gingerbread house

Making your first gingerbread house doesn't have to be stressful. All you need is a pattern, some strong royal icing, candy and your imagination! Learn to make my simple gingerbread house recipe with complete guide to the perfect gingerbread house on the first try. You can even learn how to make some beautiful stained glass windows out of candy.

Don't forget to use the royal icing recipe too so that you can easily glue your house together and add all that delicious candy!

Gingerbread House Pattern

Looking for the perfect gingerbread house pattern? I've got a super simple one for ya! This pattern makes a house that isn't too big so you don't waste a ton of candy decorating it but big enough that you can put some lights inside and make a pretty decoration for your mantle for the holidays.

Can you eat a gingerbread house?

Technically, yes you can eat a gingerbread house. Traditionally the house is build on the first day of December and then eaten on Christmas morning but if you ask me, that doesn't sound very tasty. Who wants to eat stale gingerbread?

Also, gingerbread dough that is sturdy enough for houses works great for building but not so great for eating. It's very hard! I suggest making these super yummy gingerbread cookies that are soft and chewy in the center and OH SO yummy! My hubby pretty much ate them all 😀