Gingerbread houses and other edible art

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Pygoscelis

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I got it in my head this year to attempt to build a cart made of gingerbread, with working wheels, candycanes for axles and jujubes for hub caps. I'll let you all know if it works out or not.

Has anybody here tried anything similar? I have childhood memories of gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, cut into all sorts of shapes and decorated as pretty much anything me and my childhood friends could dream up. We did the same with pancakes sometimes.
 
Pygoscelis said:
I got it in my head this year to attempt to build a cart made of gingerbread, with working wheels, candycanes for axles and jujubes for hub caps. I'll let you all know if it works out or not.
Click to expand...

Please post pictures! :)


Pygoscelis said:
Has anybody here tried anything similar?
Click to expand...

I will confess that I have never done any gingerbread-decorating. I have done pancakes, as you also mentioned. We used to make them like little teddy bears. I have also done cake decorating. I once made a tea pot cake for a mother-daughter tea party. It was a cake shaped like a tea pot, and decorated to look like one, complete with handle, spout, and lid. When my oldest was little I used to make her cakes every year for her birthday. One year I made her a caterpillar. Another year I made her a beach and ocean cake. One time for a work picnic I made a choo-choo train cake. About a year ago I made my son a fire engine for his birthday, and we went to the firestation for a visit, and then went to a park that has a fire truck playground.

As far as food decorating goes, cakes are mostly about it, other than the occasional hors d'oeuvre for special occasions.... and those must be both picture perfect and truly divine in flavor! :nervous:
 
Pygoscelis said:
I got it in my head this year to attempt to build a cart made of gingerbread, with working wheels, candycanes for axles and jujubes for hub caps. I'll let you all know if it works out or not.

Has anybody here tried anything similar? I have childhood memories of gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, cut into all sorts of shapes and decorated as pretty much anything me and my childhood friends could dream up. We did the same with pancakes sometimes.
Click to expand...
Does this count?

Golden_Wonder_TransformASnack_Spicy-1.jpg


If they don't, at least they're delicious.
 
Pygoscelis said:
Has anybody here tried anything similar? I have childhood memories of gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, cut into all sorts of shapes and decorated as pretty much anything me and my childhood friends could dream up. We did the same with pancakes sometimes.
Click to expand...

I've tried to build a gingerbread house and the ceiling just kept collapsing so i just ate it.
But i like playing around with food.
When I was younger I would fix my grandfather's lunch for him and I would cut his sandwhiches in shapes and actually design his food into weird designs/or landscapes.
I've made homemade chocolotes as gifts for some friends...its really tidious and by the time I'm finished the smell of chocolate makes me sick to my stomach.
Im planning on making my lil bro green eggs and "ham" (pink colored pancakes) since he likes the dr.seus story so much
 
Every now and then I attempt to make meringue mushrooms. But have yet to succeed as the caps get eaten before I put them together.

They are supposed to look like this

meringuemushroomsrecipe-1.jpg


But I have never had them last long enough to assemble.

Here is a recipe, I colored red the step I get stuck on.



What is amazing is how these Meringue Mushrooms actually look like real mushrooms. They start with just two ingredients, egg whites and sugar, that are beaten until stiff and glossy. The meringue is then placed in a pastry bag and piped into shapes that look like mushroom 'caps' and 'stems'. After baking in a slow oven the stems are attached to the caps in one of two ways; a little meringue is used as a 'glue' to attach the stems to the caps or you can use a little melted chocolate to 'glue' them together (used here). Either way is delicious. The finishing touch to make them look like real mushrooms, is to dust the tops of the meringue mushrooms with a light sprinkling of cocoa powder. The beauty of these meringue mushrooms is that they will keep, in dry humidity, several weeks. Serve the mushrooms standing upright on a platter or they also look wonderful placed in a basket.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/MeringueMushrooms.html#ixzz18z1Ij0TU
 
Woodrow said:
But I have never had them last long enough to assemble.

Here is a recipe, I colored red the step I get stuck on.


After baking in a slow oven the stems are attached to the caps
Click to expand...

Since you have a problem with eating them out of the oven, and never get to the point of attaching them, then I have a solution for you......

Don't make them as mushroom!!!! Just make them as cookies. :sunny: I make a cookie thatis the same basic ingredients (egg whites whipped + sugar ..... but no cream of tartar as mentioned in your link)... once stiff peaks form, stir in with a spoon chocolate chips and pecans or walnuts..... then drop by spoonfuls onto a foil lined cookie sheet and "bake" in an oven on low temp until done.

This way you can enjoy them directly from the oven! You just won't have your mushrooms. LOL

cookies-1.png
 
The car didn't work out to well. We must have chosen the wrong recipe for the gingerbread, as the base just wouldn't support the weight of the walls, and the wheels kept falling off. It isn't very functional, but it does look pretty nice.

I did discover a icing agent that is very pliable, like play dough, and we sculpted little smurf figurines, not unlike those mushrooms you posted a picture of (sadly i don't have a cam to take pics with).

Building with food is fun!
 
Pygo, we made a gingerbread house some years ago and used what we call royal icing. It contains egg white and sets really really hard. We needed to hold the walls together with wooden sticks while the icing set, but it didn't take too long and held very well!

ROYAL ICING

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
500g icing sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preparation method:
1. Beat egg whites lightly and add enough sugar to make icing that will hold shape. Blend in lemon juice to get desired consistency.
Click to expand...

Do you have a recipe for your mouldable icing? It would be great if you could share it.
 
PouringRain said:
I once made a tea pot cake for a mother-daughter tea party. It was a cake shaped like a tea pot, and decorated to look like one, complete with handle, spout, and lid. When my oldest was little I used to make her cakes every year for her birthday. One year I made her a caterpillar. Another year I made her a beach and ocean cake. One time for a work picnic I made a choo-choo train cake. About a year ago I made my son a fire engine for his birthday, and we went to the firestation for a visit, and then went to a park that has a fire truck playground.
Click to expand...

Ive only recently started baking...but i seem to be pretty hopeless at it at the minute..although i do try! these sound really artistic. I guess it would take a while to be able to accomplish something like this ?

Mila said:
I've made homemade chocolotes as gifts for some friends...its really tidious and by the time I'm finished the smell of chocolate makes me sick to my stomach.
Click to expand...


I wouldnt mind doing something like this for next eid. how difficult are they ? is it a truffle recipe ?
 
nature said:
I wouldnt mind doing something like this for next eid. how difficult are they ? is it a truffle recipe
Click to expand...


The difficulity level depends on what you want to make
I made about 5 gift baskets with different brittles,chocolate drizzled popcorn, lollipops, and I had some molds that I painted with colored white chocolate and then poured milk chocolate into the molds and put them in the freezer to harden. It was not difficcult it was just a matter of having time and alot of patience (which I lack so it was torture lol).
 
Reading this page is making me hungry. I think I am going to go make something that looks like a grilled cheese sandwich.
 
nature said:
Ive only recently started baking...but i seem to be pretty hopeless at it at the minute..although i do try! these sound really artistic. I guess it would take a while to be able to accomplish something like this ?
Click to expand...

They are not very difficult. Mostly they just take a lot of time and patience. I suppose a steady hand helps also. You could always try starting with taking a basic cake and then just decorating it fancy. The most difficult part is cutting the cake. It is recommended to freeze the cake first before cutting it. IMO freezing cakes also make them drier. One thing I have found, is that if you plan to make a decorative cake, then make the cake from scratch, not from a box. Cakes from scratch are more dense and easier to work with.

I say just go for it and try it!
 
Mila said:
The difficulity level depends on what you want to make I made about 5 gift baskets with different brittles,chocolate drizzled popcorn, lollipops, and I had some molds that I painted with colored white chocolate and then poured milk chocolate into the molds and put them in the freezer to harden. It was not difficcult it was just a matter of having time and alot of patience (which I lack so it was torture lol).
Click to expand...

no idea what brittels are ? Im just experimenting with foods atm. I suppose i could make these things well in advance and freeze them ? I wouldnt mind giving it a go.

PouringRain said:
They are not very difficult. Mostly they just take a lot of time and patience. I suppose a steady hand helps also. You could always try starting with taking a basic cake and then just decorating it fancy. The most difficult part is cutting the cake. It is recommended to freeze the cake first before cutting it. IMO freezing cakes also make them drier. One thing I have found, is that if you plan to make a decorative cake, then make the cake from scratch, not from a box. Cakes from scratch are more dense and easier to work with. I say just go for it and try it!
Click to expand...

You made it sound so easy...but for some reason my cakes dont turn out right ? 1 error i have picked up on is, constantly opening the oven door! I dont really wana freeze it, but i'm gona give it a go, and see what happens. I cant really go wrong with a sponge can I ?
 

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