I love detailed gingerbread houses so much. And the truth is, I’ve never made one before, so this year I decided I’d put my skills to the test. While dreaming up ideas, I landed on a mid-century Palm Springs house decorated for the holidays, but then after I drew up my “blueprints,” I realized that it had been done before. (Curses! Always, always Google your ideas before you get started.) So I veered from my Palm Springs scene and landed on another iconic, highly photographed, hipster-approved idea: the Marfa Prada. Have a look-see and enjoy!
Haven’t seen the real one? Here’s one of about a bazillion on Instagram.
Ingredients:
Tools:
I chose to buy pre-made gingerbread pieces to make my life easier, but you can make your own if you want to add that step. I got these specific pieces at Trader Joe’s.
View this post on InstagramThe extent of my Black Friday shopping. #optoutside
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- pre-made gingerbread (or use your fave recipe)
- crushed Oreos
- raw sugar
- green cotton candy
- pretzel sticks
- white, black and gray fondant
- royal icing
- cardboard
- X-ACTO knife
- popsicle sticks
- PRADA printout
- rolling pin
Start by rolling out some white fondant to about a 1/4-inch thickness.
You’ll need five pieces of gingerbread — four sides and a roof. Trim your pieces so that you can make the building. Next, place your gingerbread on top of the fondant and cut it out to size using an X-ACTO knife. Add a drop of water to the surface of the fondant, spread it around and stick it to the gingerbread.
Okay, so this gingerbread house is 90-percent edible, but I used cardboard for the awnings (the gingerbread was just a bit too heavy!). Cut out two awnings that have a small fold in the end. Cover your awnings with fondant.
For the windows and door, I decided to use gray fondant, but you could also use melted butterscotch to make it look like there are some lights on inside. Cut out the windows and the door, testing and trimming until you get the right size. Then adhere them with water.
Next up: the PRADA signs. These are a BEAST. I printed tiny letters, then outlined them with the X-ACTO on top of the fondant. When I pulled the paper away, I could see the outline and then I cut them out. The problem is that the fondant is sticky and malleable like clay, so it doesn’t keep its shape. Here’s what I recommend: edible paper. Seriously, USE THIS INSTEAD. Moving on.
Cut your popsicle sticks so that they will support the awning. Leave about a 1/4-1/2 inch sticking out, which you can poke into the building. Apply them to the cardboard with icing, then connect them over the windows. For more support, you can add a toothpick underneath at an angle.
The final step is to construct the building! Do so with icing and extra fondant. Try to smooth it out the best you can so that it looks flush all the way around. Mine wasn’t perfect, but I like its imperfections :)
Add an Oreo road and some raw sugar for the sand that surrounds the building.
Pretzel sticks held up with fondant and covered in sugar work perfectly for the fence, and green cotton candy serves as the bushes!
If you do get the edible paper, purchase black as well, and you can write out PRADA on the awnings too.
For a more festive look, add some fondant string lights on the front of the building!
