This year I made a gingerbread castle for Sweet Creations at the Eastman Museum. I used a slightly smaller board (14 x 16) and created an easier to assemble design. In the past I relied on an extra pair of hands from friends. Because I am limiting time I spend with people indoors, I did it alone. I had a wonderful time! When my castle was done, I wished I could actually go and visit it and walk on the bridge.

Gingerbread Recipe: I used this recipe.

Royal Icing Recipe: I love using this recipe which uses Meringue Powder. It hardens fast and in works very well.

Castle Flat Roof – Red sanding sugar attached with royal icing

Turret Roof: Ice cream cone with Wrigley’s Spearmint gum shingles (cut with cookie cutter)

Flags: Gum painted with red food coloring, linguini poles

Tower: Round gingerbread cookies (cut with a cookie cutter), glue cookies with royal icing, wrap in fondant, roll stone texture roller over fondant. Larger gingerbread cookie round on top of tower – decorated with green balls.

Wreaths: Royal icing dyed green, piped with pastry bag, small red round decorations

Doors: Gingerbread with red decorating balls

Present: Peppermint candies with red fondant bow

Bridge – Gingerbread covered with strips of brown fondant, holes made with toothpick.

Cables: Shoestring licorice

Brackets for Cables: Black fondant

Pillars: Spearmint leaves

Dragon Body: Red fondant

Dragon Wings: Used swan wings mold

Dragon Eyes: black fondant

Castle Land: Rice Krispie Treats (2 batches pressed separately into a Springform pan, glued to base and to each other with royal icing

Snow Covered Land: White fondant, royal icing, unsweetened coconut

Rocks Around Land: Royal icing and assorted candy stones

Swans: White fondant, Black Paste Food Coloring, swan wings mold 

Moat: Royal icing with blue sanding sugar

Ice Around Moat: Rock candy pieces

Windows: Black fondant

Candles: White gum, Sour Streamers

Stone Walls – I used a stone texture roller on dough before baking, after assembling castle, I sprayed the castle with edible glitter. Caution: I would not recommend using edible glitter. A lot of glitter gets into the air and you could breathe in edible glitter.

New techniques I tried this year: Rice Krispie Treats, created a fondant dragon, fine coconut for snow piles, icing wreaths with pastry bag, edible glitter, towers (I tried baking two different types until I ended up using cookies covered with fondant.)

My Gingerbread Collection: Go here to see most of my gingerbread creations.