Gingerbread Ninja

Cakes by Jan Offers Start-to-Finish Gingerbread Instructions, Plus a Hard Candy Recipe

I've been thinking a lot about this year's community gingerbread contest. Good thing, because Jessica and I received our invitations and entry forms in the mail yesterday. With the deadline bearing down, I've been pondering how I can integrate some sort of stunning glass or ice structure into this year's entry. I've got to say I'm inspired by that intriguing, glistening Fortress of Solitude. 

My Grandma Wills and I used to make rock candy on her stove way, way, way back in the 1950s and '60s. Just when I decided that rock candy or hard candy would be a great ingredient, lo and behold I found a recipe. And there's also an entire set of good, solid instructions at Cakes by Jan, in Bangor, Maine. Look about half-way down the page for Jan's hard candy recipe. She has an entire page on making hard candy here. I'm using it for a set of windows and for some as-yet-undetermined sculptural element.

For further inspiration ... below is a prime example of a beautiful gingerbread window treatment. This house may be lit electrically, but I'm going to light up the inside of mine with battery-operated tea lights. 

Photo via flickr, copyright 2007 by J. Phillipson (flickr member jphillipson). Photo licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

ChristmasVille, South Carolina 2008 Gingerbread House Contest

What do award-winning gingerbread bakers look like? Here's a fine-looking group below. This year's ChristmasVille gingerbread house entry form can be downloaded here. Contest entries will be displayed in the Gettys Center on Main Street, downtown Rock Hill, from December 4 through December 7. Fire up your ovens and get ready to compete!

Below is one of the 2007 entries, an Elf Schoolhouse with a candy cane slide at right. Looks like the school marm and kids are made from marzipan or fondant.

I've spent some time in Charleston, SC (beautiful town, great carriage ride!), but have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Rock Hill. ChristmasVille looks like a big undertaking with a magnificent art fair, a house tour, gnome sculpting, miniature golf tournament, Festival of Trees wine tasting, Jingle Bell Jazz, and of course, the Gingerbread House Contest. So many activities are planned that my fingers are too tired to type them all. I want to go! 

Award Winning Gingerbread

The Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread Competition is just around the corner. No doubt bakers and gingerbread artists are toiling away right now in their kitchens making all sorts of intricate pieces. It's always amazing to see all the new ideas year after year in this highly competitive event. 

At left is the 2007 First Place winner in the adult division. Crafted by Billie Mochow of Burns, TN, this gingerbread snow globe is spectacular. I've tried molding gingerbread into round, curved shapes and it isn't easy. Every inch of this piece is precise and perfect, from the tiny houses in the globe to the trees at its base. 

Read all about this year's National Gingerbread Competition and get ready for a great holiday season. The economy is in the doldrums, but a gingerbread project doesn't have to be expensive. Just use the stuff around your house and gather the whole family together to help. It'll be one of those memories that money can't buy. 

Photo courtesy of the Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread Competition via romanticasheville.com.

Advice from an Award-Winning Gingerbread Maker

American Profile's feature piece on Deni Cole (circa 2002) includes a wealth of ideas and advice for building wonderful, award-winning gingerbread. Try using rye flour for color and texture. Cut the dough with a pizza wheel. Create stained glass windows with red Lifesavers and yellow Hall's cough drops. Drip cinnamon oil down an inside wall for extra scent.

Deni Cole has won first, second and third prizes over the years in the National Gingerbread Competition at the Grove Park Inn in Ashville, NC. Her houses have been featured on Good Morning, America, as well as in Southern Living magazine. They are spectacular! Be sure to visit her website, which is packed with photos.

Conner Prairie Gingerbread Competition 2008

Heat up your ovens. The spectacular Gingerbread Village Competition is about to get underway at Conner Prairie in Fishers, Indiana. Oh yeah, I'm a Hoosier. And I've been to Conner Prairie on many occasions. It's a great place to go back in time, learn about history and have fun with the family. Did I mention the time my sister, Erin, and I nearly got tossed from the place? No, I'll spare you the details. 

The contest is open to professionals, culinary students, scout groups, and non-professional groups and individuals. Competition is usually fierce. View last year's winners on flickr and notice all the fine fondant people, the delicate green dragon and little kiddies tucked under their quilts. Visions of sugarplums, indeed.  Download the entry form and hurry! Deadline is October 17.

The Science of Gingerbread: Discovery Science Center's Gingerbread Competition

Folks around Santa Ana, California get their curiosity going at the Discovery Science Center, which is instantly recognizable from the freeway by its unique architectural feature: The Cube, a 10-story square structure sitting on one of its points. I wonder if a cube will show up at this year's annual Science of Gingerbread competition? 

This Zamboni ice resurfacing machine is one of my favorites from last year's contest, where it grabbed the Most Original Award. 

Almost all gingerbread contests include originality as a major criteria for judging. Picking an out-of-the-ordinary theme or structure for your contest entry is a good start. Executing it in a meticulous and creative manner will propel you to the top of the competition. Download the Science of Gingerbread entry form here. (Photo courtesy Discovery Science Center.)

Modern Gingerbread Revisited

Atomic gingerbread is everywhere. Remember our recent discussion featuring last year's mid-century modern houses? Here's a Richard Neutra-inspired interpretation, below.

Love it! Besides its modern minimalist design, this house has some impressive windows. The sugar slab "glass" surrounding the front door is especially nice and shows off well with back lighting. I especially like the subtle color variations in the windows. See more photos here.  

There's even an interior view. Check out the Eames fondant lounge chair and the cool clock. Is that a Jackson Pollock on the wall?

Photos via flickr, copyright 2007 by Alisha H. (flickr member abh75). Alisha sure has some mad skills with gingerbread, sugar art and fondant. Photos licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Gingerbread Treehugger

Originality. Gingerbread contest judges demand it. Last December, the winner of a contest in our area created a gingerbread gas station and it blew away the competition. Your house doesn't need gobs of candy, snow or even a holiday theme. Scroll through this blog and you'll see a gingerbread beach scene, gingerbread babies and fondant pigs. To win a contest, first come up with an original idea. Then execute on that idea in a clever, unique way and you'll have a good shot at winning.

Gingerbread Treehouse via flickr, copyright 2007 by Noricum. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

PPG Gingerbread House & Train Display

PPG Place has been described as a majestic, six-building complex on a three city block site in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh. The Gingerbread House & Train Display runs November 21 through January 7, Wintergarden and Two PPG Place. You can find entry details and a link to the 2007 winners gallery here. Proceeds from the sale of the houses will benefit the Children's Hospital Free Care Fund.

Augusta Museum Holiday Gingerbread Village Competition

Replicas of historic buildings in the Central Savannah River area will soon be on display at the Augusta Museum in Augusta, Georgia. You can put your skills to good use in this ambitious competition, open to amateurs and professionals. Village structures will be purchased through silent auction at the end of the event, with proceeds benefiting the programs of the museum. For an entry form and list of historic buildings in the area, visit the museum's website. The Holiday Gingerbread Villlage will be on display November 10-30.