Snowflake Gingerbread House

Method

• First cut out in thin cardboard: a side wall: 114 x 20cm; an end wall, 114 x 13cm; a triangular gable, 114 x 7,5 x 7,5cm; a roof rectangle, 114 x 23cm. Tape the rectangular end wall piece to the triangular gable piece: match the long side of the triangle, 114cm, to one of the 114cm, sides of the end wall.
• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and molasses. Gradually beat in 2 eggs.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and spices together; stir into creamed mixture, then wrap dough in cling wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 portions, 2 slightly larger than the others.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the 4 smaller pieces to approximately the size of the side wall and the end wall with gable templates; cut out two of each. Roll out remaining dough, and cut into two rectangular roof pieces. Transfer gingerbread onto greased baking trays.
• Bake gingerbread for 10 minutes, or until crisp. When removing from the oven, leave the gingerbread on the baking trays for a few minutes to set, then transfer to wire racks. Leave out overnight to harden.
• For the icing: In a large bowl, lightly whisk 2 egg whites.
• Gradually beat in approximately 5 cups of icing sugar. The icing should be smooth and stand in firm peaks. Spread or pipe a 23cm line of icing onto a cake board, and press in one of the side walls so that it sticks firmly and stands upright.
• If necessary, spread or pipe a little extra icing along either side to help support it. Take an end wall and ice both the side edges.
• Spread or pipe a line of icing on the board at a right angle to the first wall, and press the end wall into position.
• Repeat this process with the other two walls until they are all in position. Leave the walls to harden together for at least two hours before putting on the roof.
• Spread or pipe a thick layer of icing on top of all the walls, and fix the roof pieces in position; the roof should overlap the walls to make the eaves.
• Pipe or spread a little icing along the crest of the roof to hold the two pieces firmly together. Leave overnight to set firmly.
• When ready to decorate, make the remaining icing. We've asked for more icing sugar than you probably need incase you want to decorate a lot. In a large bowl, lightly whisk 4 egg whites, and mix in remaining icing sugar as before. Use this to make snow on the roof, and to stick various candies for decoration.
• Finish with a fine dusting of sifted icing sugar.