• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • twigg studios

    a british baking blog

    • Home
    • BLOG
    • WORKSHOPS
      • One to one
    • SHOP
    • PORTFOLIO
    • Contact
    • hire me
    • ABOUT ME
    • NEWSLETTER
    December 19, 2020

    Gingerbread cottage template

    baking, recipe, sweet, tips

    My gingerbread dream house, a sweet little cottage inspired by two of my favourite houses.

    One of them is lived in by my friend Ros @her_dark_materials who has a beautiful cottage in the Cotswolds and the other is the Rose cottage from the film “The holiday”. (love that film) I mixed my favourite parts of them both.

    If you want to make it more like the house from the holiday, then make two chimneys and add a space for the extra chimney on the opposite side of the roof panel, and make a larger base for a bigger front garden.

    I wish i could shrink my self so i could live in it, imagine how wonderful it would smell each day.

    This was such a fun project to make, but it has a few steps to make all the parts.

    I made an extra template just in case i needed it, and had not planned to share this tutorial at the time, hence the lack of step by step photos. So this post is not as detailed as it should be, i apologise for that. I hope my instructions make sense.

    I was asked if i could share it, and asked if it could be by the weekend in time for Christmas, so it was a bit of a rush.

    Read all the instructions first to see the order you have to make and assemble it.

    Jump to Recipe

    The gingerbread cottage templates

    gingerbread front of houseDownload
    gingerbread sidesDownload
    gingerbread roofDownload
    gingerbread chimneyDownload
    gingerbread wall and gate mixed doughDownload
    gingerbread window frames use light doughDownload
    gingerbread porch use a mix of doughsDownload

    The structure of the porch and roof are made with the darker dough, and lighter dough strips are added to make the wood pattern.

    Use the front of house template for sizing for the back piece, but just cut a doorway on the back part so you have a hole so you can add lights inside the house. You can add windows ect if you wish but i didn’t.

    Do not cut the door out of the front panel, just cut the doors window, use the doors placing on the template as a guide so you know the placement for the door you made with the lighter dough.

    Tips before you start

    • Read everything first so you know what order to do things.
    • Its best to bake the roof after you have made the other parts and assembled the chimney, so you can see how big the chimney is once the royal icing and gingerbread rocks are added. I have added a suggested size on the template to cut out but it may be bigger or smaller depending on how big you make the bricks, or if you decide to not add bricks.
    • Keeping the pieces the same size as the template is important, so bake one part at a time, bake for half the suggested time, then remove from the oven and place the template back on top and use a pizza cutter or knife to cut it back to the right shape, leaving the offcuts in place until its baked then you can remove them and it will be the right size.
    • Roll the parts out on a sheet of baking paper so you don’t need to move it once its cut
    • Use a flat baking tray
    • Adding the brick texture = once you have cut the front and sides and garden wall, use a spoon or a knife to make a brick pattern, then once baked and cooled, rub icing sugar onto the pieces so it sticks in the indentations to look like real bricks and brush off any excess.
    • Leave a open door on the back panel so you can add lights, you wont need to add windows to the back, but use the template for a size guide.
    • Use a mixture of the left over doughs to make the roof tiles and chimney bricks, having a mix of both colours adds a realistic element.
    • To speed things up feel free to use cereal for the roof tiles if you don’t want to make them
    • To make roof tiles roll out dough thinly and use a pizza cutter to cut lots of lines making squares. Keep it as one large piece, bake for half suggested time and then remove from the oven and quickly recut the lines and then bake for remaining time. Once it is baked you can break it apart on the cuts you made to get lots of little squares. You will need to make a few trays to get enough tiles.
    • If you can use a thicker paper for the template that is best, a thin card works well.
    • The lighter dough parts don’t need to be precise to the template that is just the suggested design for the windows, door and porch wood pattern.
    • It will harden as it cools, if the parts still feel soft then it needed longer in the oven.
    • The dough needs to chill after it is made for t lest 2 hours
    • Once the dough is cut out, if you have space you can place baking trays in the fridge to keep the dough cool while baking the others parts.

    The recipes

    The recipe makes one batch, I made a double batch of the dark dough. In the end i only needed half of the second batch. however its nice to have more than you need so you can make a base the size you want, and you have some spare dough in case you break any of the parts or want to add extras.

    Make one and a half of the dark gingerbread recipe if you don’t want any left over dough, i used it for some cookies.

    I made two different shades of dough so one was the colour of brick and one more like wood. when the icing sugar is added it makes it seem like stone.

    The recipe is different than my usual gingerbread dough, its a quick to prepare hot mix one when you heat the syrups, butter and sugar.

    I used a scale to measure ingredients so it is in grams.

    Gingerbread cottage

    Dark gingerbread dough

    Made with added cocoa powder and black treacle. recipe for one batch, make two batches or one and then make another using half stated ingredients if you want a small sized garden like mine and one chimney
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine european

    Equipment

    • saucepan

    Ingredients
      

    • 250 g unsalted butter
    • 210 g soft light brown sugar
    • 45 g black treacle
    • 45 g golden syrup i use lyles
    • 5 tbsp water
    • 2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
    • 2 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
    • 1 tsp ground all spice or clove
    • 1 / 2 tsp grated nutmeg
    • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 15 g cocoa powder optional use 575g plain flour if not using
    • 560 g plain flour see above note
    • 1/2 tsp salt

    Instructions
     

    • Add the butter, sugar, and syrups and the spices in a pan and heat until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved, turn off the heat, let cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix into a soft dough. make two balls and flatten, flour slightly and cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
      when rolling out to cut flour well so it does not stick to the baking paper or the template
    Keyword gingerbread
    gingerbread house

    lighter gingerbread dough for wood parts

    lighter gingerbread dough with golden syrup and no treacle
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine european

    Ingredients
      

    • 65 g unsalted butter
    • 55 g light brown sugar or caster sugar
    • 25 g golden syrup
    • 1 and 1/2 tbsp water
    • 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1 and 1/2 tsp ground ginger
    • 1/4 tsp allspice or clove
    • 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
    • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 145 g plain flour
    • zest of one small orange (1 tsp)

    Instructions
     

    To make the dough

    • Add the butter, golden syrup, sugar and spices in a pan and simmer gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes
    • Mix in the orange zest, then mix in the bicarbonate of soda, then add the flour and mix into make a soft dough.
    • Dust with a little flour, then cover in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
    Keyword gingerbread

    Using the templates.

    Once the dough has chilled and the templates have been printed and cut out, roll some of the dough out on a piece of parchment paper.

    Place the paper with the rolled out dough onto a flat baking sheet, and place the template on top.

    Cut out the shape. I find a pizza cutter great for this.

    Use a long ruler if you have one to keep cuts straight.

    Now add the brick texture using a spoon or knife.(see video) Bake one tray at a time on the centre shelf of the oven.

    For the pieces that have a mix of both doughs, (the front of the house window frames and porch) cut the window frames/door and place them on top of the darker dough and bake. when it bakes they will join together.

    You do not need to follow the exact template for the window frames etc, that is just the suggested design. Cut small strips of the lighter dough and arrange them together around the windows and porch to create the window frame and wood design.

    Bake for half the suggested time, remove from the oven, then quickly place the template back on top and cut around template again using a pizza cutter or knife. Make sure you leave the cut pieces in place and return to the oven to bake for the remaining time. Once cool remove the off cuts.

    This process will make sure that the pieces will remain the correct size.

    The front porch piece is a mix of two doughs so cut out the dark dough and place the strips of the lighter dough on top to make the design, then place template over the top and re trim to make sure the size is still the same.

    Suggested baking times

    • Front and back part approx 12 -15 minutes at 180c 350f fan
    • side parts approx 8-9 minutes
    • chimney parts approx 8 minutes
    • roof parts approx 10 minutes
    • roof tiles approx 6-8 minutes if baking in large cut pieces
    • chimney bricks approx 6 minutes
    • garden wall approx 6 to 8 minutes
    • porch approx 5 to 6 minutes for smaller parts, larger part may take longer
    • gate approx 5 minutes
    • Base approx 15 minutes 20 minutes depending on size
    • times may vary slightly depending on your oven and if it is a fan or standard oven.

    You may need to bake it longer than suggested times, once you notice the dough starting to colour around edges take it out.

    Let the parts cool on the tray for 5 minutes before moving onto a large cooling rack. They will harden as they cool making it easier to move.

    I made the chimney bricks and roof tiles with a mix of both doughs so that they are different colours. The chimney bricks are really small balls of dough that i flattened slightly. I needed a lot more than i anticipated to cover the chimney, so you will need a lot.

    To make the gate, cut thin strips of dough and cut to size. Arrange them together on the baking paper. Once baked it will stick together in that shape as long as you place the bars across like the template.

    You can cut strips for it as wide as you like, and make more fence panels if you want to make a larger garden and put a fence all the way around.

    Stick the gate to the fence posts.

    Assembling the gingerbread cottage

    • Royal icing (recipe below)
    • thyme and rosemary for decoration
    • piping bag
    • icing sugar for brick work
    • sheets of leaf gelatine for windows

    part 1

    1. Once cool, rub some icing sugar onto the parts that have the brick pattern so it looks like cement between the bricks and makes the dough look like stone and highlights the pattern.
    2. Make royal icing, then assemble the chimney. Stick the parts together, then cover in royal icing attach it to one of the side pieces, make sure it is level then stick on the bricks. leave to harden.
    3. Measure how much of the roof you need to cut to make space for it, then bake the roof panels and leave to cool,
    4. Add royal icing to the roof and starting at the bottom edge stick on tiles and cover the roof, leave to harden.
    5. Next make the porch and stick it to the front of the house, making sure it will stand up straight. Stick roof tiles to the porch roof.
    6. Cut some leaf gelatine to size and stick it behind the windows to look like glass.

    Adding these parts first, will help with the stability when you stick the other two sides on as they can stand up on their own.

    I assembled it over two days, the first day i assembled the chimney and stuck it to the side panel (then i measured it so i could make bake the roof). I made the porch and stuck it to the front panel and made the roof and added roof tiles. This way it was dry when i assembled the rest the next day.

    I made one chimney, but feel free to make two one for each side, like the house in the movie, but be sure to cut a space on the roof both sides. I found the chimney very time consuming so only made one.

    part 2

    1. . Make a large base with the dough any shape you wish that is big enough to fit the house and fence.
    2. . Stick the house together onto the base, adding most of the royal icing on the inside so the joins are not seen. let it harden for 10 minutes before adding the roof. You can pipe a thin line of icing on each of the joins first for extra strength, but add the majority of royal icing inside the house so you cant see it.. i used a lot of royal icing.
    3. . Once assembled, add the fence and gate, then add icing to look like snow on the base around the house. If you have any left over chimney bricks you can use them to make a path or door step.
    4. Add royal icing snow on roof and parts of the house and front wall and add thyme to look like ivy or wisteria branches growing on the front of the house.

    I added a thin candle in the chimney and blew it out to make smoke for the photos and added some battery powered lights inside through the door hole i left at the back.. If you use a candle to do this for a photo be careful not to set the gingerbread house on fire.

    fox ginger bread

    royal icing

    recipe from the butter book
    royal icing for building gingerbread and piping cookies
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine european

    Equipment

    • stand mixer with paddle attachment

    Ingredients
      

    • 455 g icing sugar
    • 80 g egg whites about 2 eggs
    • 3 g cream of tartar
    • 9 g water

    Instructions
     

    • Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps, add in the bowl of the stand mixer and add the water, egg whites and cream of tartar, mix for a minute or two with the paddle attachment at a low/medium speed until combined, scrape bowl with a spatula and then turn up speed to high and mix for 5 minutes or until peaks form.
      Place in a bowl or lidded box and cover with a layer of plastic wrap touching the surface so a crust doesn't form then add a wet paper towel on top and add another layer of plastic wrap, then if using tub/box place on lid and keep in the fridge.
      lasts for two weeks.
      if using right away cover bowl with a damp towel until ready.
    Keyword icing

    If you want a Gingerbread house project that is a bit less time consuming then sally’s baking addiction has this really sweet one

    looking for other gingerbread projects i have made?, find them here.

    gingerbread deer shadow box

    Gingerbread Christmas card scene

    Gingerbread mushrooms

    • gingerbread shadow box
    • Gingerbread shadow box
    • gingerbread mushrooms

    You might also like

    • linda lomelinos banana cake with bourbon caramel

    • hot cross buns

      Very best hot cross buns

    • cranberry meringue pie

      Mulled wine cranberry curd meringue pie

    christmas, cottage, gingerbread house

    SIGN UP TO GET MY NEWSLETTER

    Reader Interactions

    OLDER
    NEWER

    7 Comments

    1. Malissa says

      March 30, 2021 at 10:09 am

      5 stars
      Such a great recipe. Thanks for your sharing!

    2. Marcia says

      September 14, 2021 at 12:12 pm

      Be still my heart. And the most exciting part is that I knew it was Rose cottage from first glance. Bravo!
      Your page is stunning and yes, I am stalking. 🙂 Hope you don’t mind. It’s all so very lovely. Thank you for sharing.

      • twiggstiudios says

        September 14, 2021 at 4:22 pm

        im so happy you like it, i had so much fun making it x

    3. Denitsa Todorova says

      November 28, 2021 at 8:50 am

      it looks amazing! How long did it take to make it?

      • twiggstiudios says

        December 8, 2021 at 5:27 pm

        i made it over a few days during the evenings so it was about 4 days xx

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi there, I'm Aimee

    A food and photography lover. Welcome to Twigg studios. If you would like to find out more about me then head to my bio.

    LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

    Sign up for my free visual storytelling guide

    Categories

    • baking (69)
    • cake (25)
    • dinner (12)
    • pasta (10)
    • photography (1)
    • recipe (172)
    • sweet (44)
    • tips (6)
    • Travel (6)
    • Uncategorized (827)

    On the cover of Where woman cook

    Visit Twiggstudios's profile on Pinterest.

    Recent Posts

    • A weekend at The lost music hall with Unique homestays
    • Beetroot rose tart
    • Chimney cakes Kürtöskalács
    • Gingerbread choux bun wreath
    • Brown butter gingerbread and edible cookie box

    Instagram Slider

    • The last slice. Lemon meringue cheesecake recipe. Base 200g digestive biscuits (or any you like) 75g butter, plus a little for the tin Cheesecake layer 250g mascarpone 200g cream cheese 90g double cream 2 eggs 2 yolks (save egg whites for meringue in a clean bowl) 80g caster sugar Zest of 1 lemon 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste Curd Topping Juice of 2 lemons Zest of one 1 whole egg 1 yolk 65g caster sugar 45g butter Pinch of salt Meringue (approx) 60 egg white 120 g caster sugar Line a 20cm springform cake tin Preheat the oven to 180c
    • Making some pasta and had to take a moment to appreciate these beautiful eggs. I love all the different colour shells. The sun is out today and it’s wonderful, it really feels like spring. I hope you are having a wonderful week. #eggs #seasonalsimplicity #flatlaystyle #still_life_gallery #hautecuisines #foodfluffer #foodphotography #onvtable #f52grams #bonappetit
    • I haven’t made Ukrainian paska bread before, but I have seen it shared at Easter time each year and thought how delicious it looked. Often it is made in tall deep tins, but I don’t have any tins like that. I saw some smaller braided ones online, so I decided to give that a go. My attempt reminds me of a basket. The dough is similar to a broiche and is made with milk, eggs, butter and sugar. This loaf is flavoured with orange and sultanas that I soaked in the orange juice. It smelt so wonderful baking in the
    • Pablo waiting for his cheese dog biscuits. My brothers dog Ralph came to stay over Easter, so on Sunday we made dog biscuits together. I couldn’t get a photo of them both together as they were moving around too much I thought it might end up in disaster but it was really fun. The recipe I used was from @theartoftreat beautiful treat book. it is full of really fun recipes for dogs. I have been wanting to bake from it since Natalia kindly sent me a copy. I highly recommend it, These biscuits were a big hit with them and
    • An old favourite from last year at @her_dark_materials house. I can’t wait to go and visit again. Ros has the most beautiful garden full of borage. It’s always a joy to cook with it. I love it’s pretty shape and colour. I haven’t baked or photographed much recently so I have nothing new to share. I had planned to make a carrot cake but the time seemed to disappear. I feel a bit lost at the moment and don’t know what to share on here. I have enjoyed experimenting with video, but I feel confused what part of a recipe
    • An old photo from a trip to puglia a few years ago. I’m sharing it again today as I had a dream about it last night. In it I was there eating Taralli. Those little crackers are so addictive, have you tried them? Most of my dreams involve food I have eaten or want to eat. My jaw hit the floor when walked into this place. I especially loved this corner. that beautiful sink and the curved ceilings!. I have a bit of a soft spot for kitchens and I thought you might enjoy seeing it as well. This kitchen
    • Hope you had an ‘egg’cellent weekend. sorry I couldn’t help myself. It’s a bank holiday here in the U.K. so I spent the afternoon at the beach with my brothers and our dogs. I’m exhausted now, it must be the sea air. I hope your week has started well. I thought I would dig this old photo out from a few years ago when I was in Australia with @georgie_dolling and @joefilshie #easter #still_life_nature #still_life_gallery #seasonalsimplicity #chasinglight #eggs #lifeandthyme #verilymoment #springtime #naturephotography
    • Have you been busy in the kitchen making any Easter themed bakes? I wish I had chance to make some more delicious breads like this Ukrainian paska bread and some more flowery hot cross buns (swipe to see them), but I have been dog sitting this weekend. I did get to enjoy a shop bought hot cross bun for good Friday yesterday though. It’s been so lovely to see all your flowery hot cross buns. I had wanted to attempt baking some other European Easter breads on the lead up to Easter, there are so many. l wanted to try
    • Elderflower season. I love their heady musky scent. I always look forward to this time of year. I went out and picked a basket of them yesterday and I have been baking with them today. I was inspired to take some quick photos of them in the basket. There are so many things that you can do make them. I will share the recipe of what I made soon. I did a video for it, but it takes me forever to edit as my computer is so slow I hope that you will have a lovely weekend. #elderflowers #basketbythedoor #edibleflowers
    • I have not baked a cake since Christmas, it seems very unlike me. I used to make lots of cakes. I thought you might miss seeing them so here’s one of my favourites I made with @her_dark_materials a while ago. I loved how pretty it was with the wild strawberries from her garden. Ros shared her photo of it again the other day and I thought I would do the same. I really fancy baking one, especially now British strawberries are coming into season. It will probably be something smaller though as it’s just the two of us. I have
    • I baked this lemon meringue topped mascarpone cheesecake at the weekend, and I have to say it was so delicious, I ate quite a few slices. It was so light and airy and the tartness of the lemon curd on the top went so well with the creamy mascarpone cheesecake layer. I can’t wait to share the recipe, but I will make it again just to check that I have the quantities and timings right. It’s a baked cheesecake, but a really easy one, baked at a low temperature. I thought I would try a different shot than usual, it
    • British Strawberries, Toile de Jouy and a funky plate I found for £2.50 in a charity shop. The beginnings of a vin santo and strawberry parfait/tiramisu number. I hope your week is going well. #strawberries #seasonalsimplicity #flatlatfood #toiledejouy #hauecuisines #foodfluffer
    • I scrolled back and realised I hadn’t shared my frankendessert from the other week. A science experiment really, A cheesecake baked inside a pavlova. I wanted to see if it was possible Turns out it is, but I need to work out a few creases. Apparently it’s world baking day, I had no idea until a moment ago. There are so many different days for things it’s hard to keep up . Though to be honest, I wasn’t actually sure what day of the week it was until a moment ago either. I thought it was Wednesday . I didn’t
    • I hope you are having a relaxing weekend. This photo from a few weeks ago sums up my Sunday mood. Lounging around eating yummy things. I spent yesterday making a new recipe video, I will share it tomorrow. It involves roasted strawberries and creme fraiche. I’m quite excited about it, it feels a bit different to my other videos. I must admit that I am enjoying learning something new. I steered clear of video for so long. I still have so much to learn but it’s nice to try new things, even if posting it here is like posting into
    • Sharing an old photo from a few years ago in Provence, because I like it. Such fond memories of that week. That floor was crying out to be photographed. I love anything lemon flavoured, it’s such a delicious fruit. It’s one of my favourite things to bake with. Citrus season is so colourful, I’m sad it’s almost coming to an end. What is your favourite citrus fruit? I have a few beautiful Sicilian lemons at the moment, I’m going to use them to remake the cheesecake to check my recipe. The last one got demolished so quickly. I hope you
    • An old shot from this time a few years ago. I’m so excited that the warm spring sunshine is back, as in the evening the light is so beautiful. It makes the most mundane of things like this amaretto biscotti dough look magical. I find that I am exhausted by the time it’s shining perfectly on the table recently though. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to create with it soon as I love harsh light. Pablo has got into the habit of waking me up at a silly time in the morning. By the evening I feel like I
    • I have been eating as much wild garlic as I can while the season lasts. It’s such a yummy addition to most of the meals I have been making. I just chop a handful up and add it in. I need to go back and visit this spot with my camera and get another photo as it’s in flower now and looks really beautiful. I usually love to make a pie with it, so that’s my next plan. The flavour gets less intense once it has flowered so you might find you need to add more. I collected a big
    • Elderflowers infusing in milk from my last recipe. I had originally planned to make a panna cotta with it, but then changed my mind and did the clafoutis. A few of you asked questions about what you can do with elderflowers so here are some suggestions. You can make a cordial or syrup, this is the most popular thing to make. It’s really easy, you will find lots of recipes for it online. The cordial can be used in so many things. It would be hard to list them all but here are a few. To flavour cakes, frostings, bakes.
    • Back in March we had a little weekend escape with @uniquehomestays We stayed at “the lost music hall” hidden in the south hams valley in Devon. Forgotten for years it had been reclaimed by nature, before being lovingly restored. The music room, complete with its very own Piano takes up the whole of the bottom floor. The house was enormous, I felt quite tiny wondering around it. The place was absolutely beautiful. Oak parquet floors and panelled walls gleam from the sun coming through the large windrows. You know I love a kitchen, what do you think of this one?
    • Leek and potato Galette experiment for dinner the other day. I wasn’t really sure how this would pan out, but it was a yummy one. It was prettier in my imagination than in real life though. It was a nutty walnut pastry (I need to work on that as my recipe is better baked in a tin as it’s really short and crumbly) with a layer of cheesy béchamel sauce. then I cooked the leeks in some sage butter, and sautéed the thinly sliced potato with some leek and garlic and arranged them on top like a flowers. then baked
    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

    Visit Twiggstudios's profile on Pinterest.

    Recent Posts

    • A weekend at The lost music hall with Unique homestays
    • Beetroot rose tart
    • Chimney cakes Kürtöskalács
    • Gingerbread choux bun wreath
    • Brown butter gingerbread and edible cookie box

    HELP

    • HOME
    • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT ME
    Get in the know.
    Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.
    As a welcome you will receive my presentation on visual storytelling
    Thank you for subscribing!

    INFO

    • E-mail Me

    twigg studios © 2023 - DESIGNED BY HERPARK STUDIO