Gingerbread Ninja

You know what time it is?

Time to start thinking about those Peeps contests that are just around the corner.

Biltmore House in gingerbread now on display at Grove Park

If you are lucky enough to be anywhere near the Grove Park Inn's National Gingerbread Competition in Asheville, NC, you will certainly be impressed with this gingerbread masterpiece from a first-time competitor, Shelley. She visualized the Biltmore House perched atop a pop-up book sitting on a table, with an old pair of spectacles lying in front. It's all gingerbread, folks ... the book, the table and the spectacles. Very intricate and detailed, and it's only 9 1/2 inches tall! See the Biltmore estate here.

 

Rita's Gingerbread Casitas

Many thanks to Rita for sharing her festive gingerbread houses. I'm always interested in new ideas and the pink park benches on both sides of the walkway caught my eye. If I'm not mistaken, they're made from those wafer-type cookies with little marshmallows as legs. 

Below, curved candy canes are decked out with yellow gumdrops to make them resemble outdoor lamp posts. Very nice, Rita!

  

 

Starting to look a little more like Christmas

The big blizzard didn't arrive in our western Chicago 'burb last night, but it was pretty, just the same. We'll be gingerbreading this weekend along with the rest of you!

 

Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati Photo Gallery | Cincinnati.Com

Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati Photo Gallery | Cincinnati.Com

Posted using ShareThis

I was in Cincinnati for Thanksgiving and on one of our excursions, we drove past Findlay Market. Now, here it is in gingerbread! Take a look at these award winners from the House of Hope gingerbread competition for some colorful, well-executed ideas.

It's a gingerbread housing boom

It's a gingerbread housing boom

Posted using ShareThis

How to Make Fondant Penguins

Sweet little penguins are not just for cakes! Visit Cakes and Kids for step-by-step, illustrated directions for making the cutest fondant penguins ever.

Edible Cake Car: Construction Techniques

Here's a clever commercial featuring a life-size car made from cake. How did they do it? See below.

Gingerbread carousel

I've got some great pics to share with you over the next week. They're from Wendy, who has some amazing gingerbread skills. I love this colorful carousel with its candy encrusted base, frolicking horses and candy cane poles. I'm thinking the roof might be the hardest part of the structure to create, but I'm not sure. We'll have to ask Wendy. 

I can't help but spot that bottle of hand sanitizer in the background! Good thinking, Wendy. Flu is all around us here in the Chicago area. At work, I'm sneezing into my elbow, punching the elevator buttons with anything but my bare fingers and dipping into the Purell bottle every half hour. So far, it's working! Take care and be well everyone. More of Wendy's pics this week.

Halloween Gingerbread House - Part 4

Well, yes, it's still Halloween at my place because I am still working on finishing this gingerbread house! Don't ask why it has taken so long ... it's a long story of forced procrastination.

So I wanted to make a couple witches resembling the size and shape of my cardstock mock-up at left. After rolling and baking some dough into this shape with less-than-wonderful results, I settled on the obvious choice for the base -- an inverted ice cream cone. I cut down the cone, baked gingerbread for the ringed area forming the base of the hat, whipped up some royal icing, tinted it black, watered it down to the consistency of paint, and I was in business. Next, I fashioned some cats and bats from black fondant and licorice. They're getting some eerie yellow eyes and then they'll be ready to stick onto the structure. More to come.