Preparation method

Gingerbread:

• Preheat oven 180 C
• Line 3 oven trays with grease proof paper
• Beat butter, sugar and syrup, add yolks and beat until combined
• Beat in all the dry Ingredients and use your hands to bring the dough together
• Cover with cling wrap and chill
• Roll out dough and using template cut out all the shapes required
• Using a silicon 'brick' mat to imprint the side walls of the house
• Place on a baking trays and bake for 15-20 minutes
• Halfway through baking, alternate the trays, to insure an even bake
• Cool completely on a wire rack before handling

Royal icing:

• Whisk lemon juice and egg whites, add sifted icing sugar, mix well (no lumps)

Extras, decor:

• Colour 50g of fondant green, 10g black, 10g orange and leave the rest white
• Roll out fondant on a clean surface dusted with icing sugar
• Roll green fondant to a long 5mm thick strip
• Coil it around the ice-cream cone to resemble a Christmas tree
• Using water, attach the edible pearls to the tree, to resemble ornaments
• Make a snowman with the white fondant: roll 2 medium balls and 1 small ball
• Use black fondant for eyes and fashion a carrot nose, using the orange fondant
• Fashion buttons using black fondant and attach to body of snowman
• Assemble the snow man

Assembly:

• Decorate the walls as desired with royal icing (windows, etc.), before assembling
• Colour 100g royal icing pink to decorate the roof
• Before the roof dries, add the 100's & 1000's
• Assemble the walls first then the roof, using the royal icing as cement
• Support the walls for a few minutes while the royal icing is drying
• Place the tree and snowman and then sprinkle with coconut, to resemble snow
• Stick the jelly beans along the side edges of the house, to hide the cement
• Stick the wine gums along the side of the roof, where the 2 roof panels meet
• Cut up the green sugar coated sweets and sprinkle them around the outside
• Use the button-shaped chocolate as rocks to create a pathway to the doorway