How to Build a Gingerbread House

Royal icing is the best icing for assembling gingerbread houses, because it acts as a strong adhesive when it dries. It creates a firm and reliable glue between the gingerbread pieces. Royal icing also forms a long-lasting bond, ensuring that your house remains structurally sound throughout the holiday season as well as possibly several holiday seasons! See our Royal Icing Recipe to make your own. Or you can buy our Ready to Use Royal Icing and Royal Icing Mixes for an easy and convenient option.

Royal Icing Tips for Gingerbread Houses

• Consistency Matters: Royal icing can be adjusted in terms of thickness. For assembling the gingerbread house, you'll want a thicker consistency that resembles toothpaste. When mixing royal icing, make sure you whip the icing for a few minutes until the icing forms stiff peaks. This will also set the meringue, which is what is needed for a firm bond.
• Cans Can Help: If your royal icing is the correct consistency, the icing will be stiff enough to hold a small house together without support as the icing is drying. If the house pieces are large, or the icing is not stiff, vegetable or soup cans from your pantry can be used to hold up the sides as the icing dries.
• Keep It Covered: Royal icing dries quickly, so be sure to cover any unused icing with plastic wrap or a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.
• Adjust for Humidity: Humidity can affect the drying time of royal icing. If you're working in a very humid environment, it may take longer for the icing to set. Be patient and allow extra drying time.

Assembling the house requires several hours of drying time. It is important to allow the sides of your house to dry several hours before adding the roof. It is also important to allow the roof pieces to dry several hours before decorating. Patience is Key! Allow the icing to dry completely between house pieces or before moving on to another section of the gingerbread house. Rushing can lead to a collapsed house.

Be mindful of where you would like to place the house. Placing the house in the center of the board will allow for little decorations in the front of the house, whereas placing the house towards the back of the board will allow extra room for a scene in the front of the house.

Step One: Bake and cool the gingerbread house pieces, or purchase one of our gingerbread house kits. Set aside all pieces. Cover a cake board with decorative foil, or use a cake drum for the base. Mix Icing and put in a pastry bag. Cut a dime-size hole in the tip of the pastry bag.

Step Two: Pipe royal icing along the bottom edge of one house side piece. Position accordingly on the cake board.

Step Three: Pipe royal icing along the bottom of the front house piece. Pipe royal icing along the inner edge of one side of the house. Position on the cake board, lining the edges of the side piece with the front of the house piece.

Step Four: Pipe royal icing along the bottom of the second side piece. Pipe royal icing along the outer edge of the side of the house. Position on the cake board, lining the edges of the side piece with the front of the house piece.

Step Five: Pipe royal icing along the bottom of the back house piece. Pipe royal icing along the inner edges of the back of the house piece. Position on the cake board, lining the back of the house with the side pieces.

Step Six: Allow the royal icing to dry several hours. This is an important step as the weight of the roof will cause the house to collapse if the royal icing is not completely set.

Step Seven: After several hours, pipe royal icing on the edge of the front and back of one side of the house and the top of the side piece. Gently place on one roof piece.

Step Eight: Pipe royal icing on the edge of the front and back of the other side of the house and the top of the side piece. Gently place on the second roof piece.

Step Nine: Pipe royal icing on the peak of the roof. Allow the icing to dry overnight before decorating.

Step Ten: Decorate as desired using royal icing to attach Christmas themed edible decorations.

• Royal icing dries quickly. Only add royal icing a little at a time, “gluing” the candy quickly before the icing sets.
• Use a twist tie to secure the end of the royal icing bag and eliminate icing from spilling out of the bag when bag is squeezed.
• Royal icing spread on the base around the house creates a lovely winter wonderland. Make sure you only cover a little bit of the cake board at a time, adding decorations to each covered immediately before the royal icing dries.

Visit our Gingerbread House Decorating Inspiration blog to get ideas for your gingerbread house.