Daring Bakers Challenge : Gingerbread House
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.
After seeing quite a few amazing DB gingerbread houses recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that mine actually looks rather spare. Lucky I had Steve the Stormtrooper to pimp my house a little. Darth would’ve joined the party too, but he happened to be overseas at the time (true story).
When Anna first told me what she had picked for this month’s challenge, I thought I could approach it in one of two ways – either go the whole hog and decorate it with every single bit of candy possible, or play the minimalist card, and make it plain and simple. Plain and simple won.
This is my second time ever, attempting a gingerbread house. The first was a good many years ago when royal icing was not my friend, and a collapsed house led me to swear off ever making them again. (Hence the beauty of being a member of the DB group, where challenges can often take you outside of your comfort zone.)
As stated in the forums, I chose to use a Scandinavian recipe from a book I love by Beatrice Ojakangas. Although her recipe for the dough isn’t very sweet and lacks the moisture of typical gingerbread recipes, I believe it’s a good recipe for this sort of thing where sturdiness is important, and less sweetness means you don’t overdose on sugar once you consume the gingerbread combined with the royal icing and candy decorations. I did however confuse quite a few people with my conversions for the flour content of the recipe, and for that I truly apologise!
Still I hope everyone managed to have as much fun as possible while attempting this challenge, and thank you again Anna, for allowing me to be your co-host. 
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year everyone!
Tags: cinnamon, Daring Bakers, gingerbread
Karen said,
December 25, 2009 @ 2:19 am
Thanks for an amazing challenge Y! I love your gingerbread house and I agree, plain and simple is always better.
And your house just wouldn’t be the same without Steve!
Erika from The Pastry Chef At Home said,
December 25, 2009 @ 3:19 am
Spare? Never! Sometimes (actually, MOST times) less is more! That’s my philosophy. Your house is both cute and lovely. The heart shaped windows and storm trooper really make it special! Happy Holidays
Leslie said,
December 25, 2009 @ 4:16 am
This was such a fun challenge! I’m glad you were able to co host it for us.
Lauren said,
December 25, 2009 @ 4:21 am
Its beautiful Y! I really loved this challenge =D. Thanks for hosting (I’m really excited and nervous to do it myself)!!
Andreas said,
December 25, 2009 @ 4:31 am
Thanks for hosting this Challenge.
The gingerbread turned out really tasty.
I will build the house tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.
zorra said,
December 25, 2009 @ 4:53 am
This was a very fun challenge! Thank you.
I did go plain and simple, too, but only after I noticed I’m not a good builder and decorator.
Happy Holidays!
Tonic said,
December 25, 2009 @ 5:23 am
Thanks for hosting, it was a very fun challenge! I love your gingerbread house!
Zita said,
December 25, 2009 @ 5:30 am
Ha… after seeing your pic my son kept bugging me to his stormtropper on my GBH
Anyhow… your’s is the most beautiful “SPARE” GBH I’ve ever seen
Pei-Lin said,
December 25, 2009 @ 6:06 am
Your gingerbread house looks stunning! Well-built, should last us till next year.
Merry X’mas & Happy 2010 to you, too!!
Pei-Lin
Hélène said,
December 25, 2009 @ 6:44 am
Beautiful! Happy Holidays!
Rosa said,
December 25, 2009 @ 6:47 am
I loved this challenge (my post will be up in a few days…)! Very pretty!
Happy Holidays and all the best for the New Year!
Cheers,
Rosa
Trissa said,
December 25, 2009 @ 7:19 am
Hi Y – I’m all for plain and simple – yours is adorable and classy! – definitely, the little storm trooper adds an extra oomph – I want to show my five year old nephew your blog – he would just love it if I told him that storm troopers really lived in gingerbread houses.
Steph said,
December 25, 2009 @ 8:46 am
Merry Christmas Y! I admit I may have squeed with delight when I saw Steve the Stormtrooper. Plain and simple definitely wins the day
Great challenge, and the sturdiness of your recipe was well appreciated by me, otherwise I think my igloo would have collapsed on itself!
Winnie said,
December 25, 2009 @ 10:46 am
I went plain and simple too…I’m not a big fan of all the crazy candy adornments. Your house is super sweet and I love the storm trooper. Thanks for hosting a fun challenge!
Thanh said,
December 25, 2009 @ 10:56 am
You had me at stormtrooper. A fantastic gingerbread house perfect for Christmas.
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said,
December 25, 2009 @ 12:19 pm
Thanks for the fabulous challenge! I alywas wanted to make one and now I can say that I did
We pulled it apart at Christmas Eve dinner last night and it was so much fun I’m thinking of doing one next year too! 
chocolatesuze said,
December 25, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
Merry Christmas Y! and lol love the inclusion of steve hehe
ChattyCha said,
December 25, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
Love the Star Wars theme. Building gingerbread houses was a great challenge. Thanks for taking this on. Definitely will be a new tradition in our house. Merry Christmas!
chef_d said,
December 25, 2009 @ 4:50 pm
Thank you for this challenge! I had fun making it and I used your recipe–I didnt have any problems with it at all. It was my first time making a gingerbread house. Merry Christmas!
Lesley said,
December 25, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Thank you for a lovely challenge, the children and I had a grat time
Merry Christmas.
Forager said,
December 25, 2009 @ 6:18 pm
Merry Christmas Y! Your gift to us all was choosing this recipe – loved seeing all the awesome creations on everyone’s blogs. And “steve”? Such an ironically un-exotic name, un-tecchy name! Love it!
Lee Tran said,
December 25, 2009 @ 8:15 pm
Gingerbreadalicious – this is fairytale-worthy (without the nasty endings or sour morals)! I’m glad royal icing hasn’t betrayed you again and your sugar-and-spice architectural stylings are quite the heartwarmer. Merry Christmas!
Christie @ Fig&Cherry said,
December 25, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
I was looking forward to the styling of your house, and it did not disappoint! I love the quirky little lego dude. Merry Christmas! I hope you had a great day,
Ellie said,
December 25, 2009 @ 11:13 pm
Merry Christmas Y! Love your gingerbreadhouse. Simple but nice!
Hannah said,
December 26, 2009 @ 1:32 am
Spare nothing, your house looks very elegant! Thanks for this challenge, it really fit the bill perfectly for the season.
Ivonne said,
December 26, 2009 @ 2:46 am
Y, I think your house looks cosy and cute and perfect for Christmas! I’d love to visit!
Thank you so much for hosting this challenge with Anna. You did a fabulous job and captured the essence of the season perfectly!
Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!
steph (whisk/spoon) said,
December 26, 2009 @ 4:31 am
a lovely house– steve must be happy to be home! thanks for a really fun challenge! and merry christmas to you!!
pontch said,
December 26, 2009 @ 8:52 am
Thank you for a great opportunity and amazing challenge
not only me, but all the family enjoyed building and decorating this cute gingerbread house *^*
Happy Holidays.
Cakelaw said,
December 26, 2009 @ 9:34 am
I love your sweet little house with Steve the Storm Trooper in the yard. Thanks for being our co-host this month. Merry Xmas!!
lisa (dandysugar) said,
December 26, 2009 @ 10:09 am
You’ve created a perfect little house–simple and sweet ! Thanks for choosing a great recipe–one that I will use again for sure. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday!
Tartelette said,
December 26, 2009 @ 11:24 am
Beautiful house my friend! It looks cozy and inviting and fun
Hope you had a lovely Christmas and wishing you happy holidays.
Simon said,
December 26, 2009 @ 12:10 pm
Nice work with the challenge and overcoming your issues with royal icing
Hope mine turns out just as well. Still have to see to it.
Jill said,
December 26, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
I love your gingerbread house! Thank you for hosting such a fun challenge. I used your recipe and I didn’t have any problems with it at all–it was great!
Merry Christmas!!
Joy said,
December 26, 2009 @ 6:10 pm
Hi! Thank you so much for an amazing challenge – it was my first and I loved it… although I am envious of how well your house turned out!!
Bron said,
December 26, 2009 @ 8:19 pm
Your gingerbread house looks just lovely Y, very cool indeed. Hope you had a super day on Friday, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and all my best wishes for the New Year ahead! xx
Gala said,
December 26, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
Thank you so much for this awesome challenge!
Trisha said,
December 27, 2009 @ 12:15 am
Gingerbread house & Stormtroopers for the win! Happy holidays Y!!!
penny aka jeroxie said,
December 27, 2009 @ 12:52 am
Still looks good to me whether simple or not! The house actually look and feel quite Scandinavian…. heh
Merry Christmas!
Natalie said,
December 27, 2009 @ 2:16 am
Thank you so much for a wonderfully challenging Daring Bakers event this month! I had such a great time making my house…so did my family. Cool stormtrooper…thanks for not making the Death Star in gingerbread to go with this minion of the Emperor. My son would have demanded I make one too!
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Aparna said,
December 27, 2009 @ 2:41 am
Thanks a bunch Y, for co-hosting such a great challenge. Really had fun with this one.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year.
Jamie said,
December 27, 2009 @ 3:03 am
I did curse my way through the dough but what fun we had putting this house together! I even got my son to help! In the end I was so glad that you guys chose this for the challenge. We all loved the house in the end… Happy Holidays, Y!
erin said,
December 27, 2009 @ 3:24 am
Oh, I’m so excited! I love gingerbread houses! Yours is simple, but classy!
Sometimes people can add way too much stuff onto their houses, making it look messy. Love the stormtrooper, too!
anna said,
December 27, 2009 @ 5:21 am
Hooray for Steve!! Your house is so cute. And thank YOU for co-hosting with me! I never would have been able to do everything myself!
Marcellina said,
December 27, 2009 @ 10:00 am
Thank you soooo much for this challenge. I followed the recipe you gave reducing the flour to 750g and it worked beautifully. I love your snow covered gingerbread house. Again, thank you. Merry Christmas. BTW love your blog!
Jeanne said,
December 27, 2009 @ 10:25 am
Thank you for the challenge! I had so much fun. I love your house, the roof is beautiful!
felicia said,
December 27, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
ahhh! what a lovely gingerbread house.
very ‘white christmas’ themed.
love the stormtrooper touch to it!
really cute. had a good laugh.
awesome job!
cathy/ShowFoodChef said,
December 27, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
Thanks for the cool idea for this month; really stretched me and I will be adding this to my traditions now. Yours is fabulous.
Alli said,
December 27, 2009 @ 2:18 pm
Cute house Y and thanks for the cool challenge. I always make gingerbread each year but I have never made my own house before. Happy holidays!
Anita said,
December 27, 2009 @ 4:35 pm
Thanks for hosting Y. It was a great challenge, made me go out of my comfort zone a bit
shaz said,
December 27, 2009 @ 6:01 pm
“Impressive. Most impressive. Obi-Wan has taught you well”. Thanks for co-hosting such a fun challenge Y! Loved every minute of it. Hope you’re enjoying the holidays.
Christy said,
December 27, 2009 @ 11:20 pm
Woohoo! We’re up! I wished I had stuck to the simpler version as well, and just made a house using the given template. But no, just had to be stubborn.
Love how your house turned out, and Steve the Stormtrooper looked at very much at home next to the gingerbread house. Pity Darth couldn’t come too.
isabelle said,
December 27, 2009 @ 11:24 pm
thanks for the challenge ! Big job but it’s fun
Esther said,
December 28, 2009 @ 12:03 am
Love the house and steve
Jenna @ Newlyweds said,
December 28, 2009 @ 1:15 am
Love your star wars gingerbread house. Thanks for hosting this challenge it was lots of fun!
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free said,
December 28, 2009 @ 1:30 am
Your house is so quaint and cozy…I can just imagine a fire going on the inside and people drinking hot cocoa. Thanks so much for hosting this month – it was a very fun challenge, and one that we’re still enjoying today. It’s been so much fun to look at my house – it’s now a table centerpiece.
clumbsycookie said,
December 28, 2009 @ 6:04 am
Thanks for hosting this month! I’va actually always wanted to do a gingerbread house, I just wish I had more time to play arround. Still I had fun! Yours is quite cute !!!
Erin said,
December 28, 2009 @ 8:25 am
I love your gingerbread house. It is perfect, especially with Steve
Michelle said,
December 28, 2009 @ 8:25 am
Thank you for such a fun challenge!
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction said,
December 28, 2009 @ 8:56 am
Beautiful! Thanks so much for hosting… Loved this challenge. It was so much fun to build a gingerbread house!
Alpineberry Mary said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:16 am
thanks for a fun challenge. have a very happy new year!
Julia @ Mélanger said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:22 am
Y – thanks for picking this challenge. It was amazing to do something I can’t imagine ever tackling. Even though I had a few hiccups (falling apart), I really wanted to do this one because it just screams Christmas and is so fun.
I love your little version. Glad to hear you once had issue with your royal icing and a collapsed house, too. Well, just the once at least!
Hope you had a lovely holiday!
Dharm said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:36 am
Thanks for an amazing challenge Y! I would never ever have attempted a gingerbread house if not for this challenge. Love your stormtrooper house too!
Merry Xmas and a Blessed New Year to you and yours!
Sue said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:41 am
Your house looks great-cute, cozy, nice and neat! I want to THANK YOU so much for such a perfect December challenge!!! It was a lot of fun!
Carolyn said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:43 am
Thanks for hosting the challenge this month. It was a fun lighthearted challenge- a lot of work too. Love your sweet little house- made perfect with the addition of the stormtrooper!
JennyBakes said,
December 28, 2009 @ 11:19 am
I think this might be my favorite challenge so far. I just wish I could have spent more time on it. I love your little cozy Star Wars house.
annmartina said,
December 28, 2009 @ 11:21 am
What a fun challenge. I’m so glad you invited the Steve the Storm Trooper to the party.
kristen said,
December 28, 2009 @ 2:27 pm
gorgeous gingerbread house! thanks for hosting such a fun challenge. hope that you and steve had a lovely christmas.
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said,
December 28, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
Your gingerbread house is very sweet, Y! What a great challenge that makes me long even more for February when I hope to have enough free time to join DB. Happy New Year!
Natalie said,
December 28, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
so cute
love the tiled roof.. ..
Angela @ A Spoonful of Sugar said,
December 28, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
Y, your gingerbread house is gorgeous! Thank-you for such a wonderful challenge—I had great fun and didn’t have any problems with the dough recipe that you chose. I love Beatrice’s recipes too!
bake in paris said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:23 pm
Thank you so much for this wonderful challenge! This contruction-related project is all that I need to put my patience in test!
Sawadee from Bangkok,
Kris
Meeta said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:38 pm
Y – thanks for a fun challenge! it brought out the creativity in all of us! hugs!
Angelica said,
December 28, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
Thansks for the challenger..It was fantastic =)
katie said,
December 28, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
Your house looks wonderful and very festive. thanks for choosing such a fun challange!
kat said,
December 29, 2009 @ 3:12 am
Thanks for hosting this month, my husband & I had such fun with it!
Christi said,
December 29, 2009 @ 5:46 am
I’m with you, plain and simple. I think your house is gorgeous. Thanks for the challenge!
Suz said,
December 29, 2009 @ 9:06 am
Thank you so much for coming up with such a fun challenge! I’ve always wanted to make a gingerbread house and this was the perfect excuse to make a real mess of the kitchen. Fantastic!
Your house is adorable. I love the little roof tiles and the heart shapes in the walls. Oh, and the Stormtrooper of course. I don’t think a gingerbread house is ever quite complete without a storm trooper.
Thanks again. Hope you’re having happy holidays and all the best for 2010.
MandyM said,
December 29, 2009 @ 10:57 am
Thanks so much for this challenge, I was hoping that we’d be making gingerbread houses so it was just what I wanted to do this month. I had a fantastic time putting it together and I’m feeling a bit sad that it’ll be demolished soon.
All the best for 2010!
Caitlin said,
December 29, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
As you know, I had so much fun with this challenge – love the minimalist route you took too! Although poor Steve looks rather lonely
And the scraps? I assembled those directly into my tummy as well – perfect!
Evelyne@CheapEthnicEatz said,
December 29, 2009 @ 2:08 pm
Y, thank for the challenge. I opted for you recipe too for sturdiness. great job on your house…simple yet elegant!
cookemila said,
December 29, 2009 @ 6:19 pm
El detalle Stars Wars es un encanto…soy fan…:)) estupendo…todo.Feliz Navidad Merry Christmas y happy new year
Wolf said,
December 30, 2009 @ 3:10 pm
It was a fun Challenge, obstacles aside}:P
I love your Stormtrooper! Hee!
Lisa said,
December 30, 2009 @ 11:18 pm
Y, first off, your gingerbread house and photos are marvelous! Such a traditional and perfect take on it. Secondly..thank you so much for a truly daring challenge, as I never would have done a gingerbread house on my own. Now that I’ve tackled one, I feel almost ‘lighter’. culinarily speaking LOL Have a wonderful New Year!
Debbie said,
December 31, 2009 @ 11:17 am
Thanks so very much for hosting such a totally fun challenge. My son had so much fun we will have to do this every year now:) Wonderful choice!
linda said,
January 4, 2010 @ 9:47 pm
Love your minimalistic approach, thanks for this challenge!
Jaime said,
January 6, 2010 @ 2:42 pm
thanks for a fun pick! i’m just sad i didn’t have more time to have fun w/it. still, it’s great to say i’ve made my first gingerbread house from scratch!
betty said,
January 11, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
your gb house is so cute i love the little hearts you cut out
Lisa said,
January 14, 2010 @ 8:24 am
Love the gingerbread house and especially the storm trooper coming home for the holidays! Fabulous!