Hansel and Gretel's Gingerbread House Recipe

I remember that I on the one hand considered Hans and Gretel one of the scariest fairy tales that I had heard, but on the other hand, wished to find a gingerbread house one day to eat. 

My children love gingerbread, so it is often not difficult to persuade them to bake a gingerbread house with me, but they have shown extra enthusiasm for baking this after I have read them Hansel and Gretal - and baking after reading the fairy tale also someone wipes away the scariness of this fairy tale away. 

Hansel and Gretel's Gingerbread House 

Once upon a time there was two small children called Hansel and Gretel, who were the children of a poor woodcutter. When a great famine settles over the land, and the woodcutters second abusive wife, their stepmother, decide to make a plan to take the children into the woods and leave them there to fend for themselves. Hansel and Gretel have hear this plan when their stepmother discusses it with her sister. 

After the parents have gone to bed, Hansel sneaks out of the house and gathers as many white pebbles as he can, then returns to his room, reassuring Gretel that God will not forsake them.

The next day, the stepmother takes the children deep into the woods, meanwhile Hansel lays a trail of white pebbles. After the wife abandon them, the children wait for the moon to rise and then they followed the pebbles back home. They return home safely, much to their stepmother's horror. Once again provisions become scarce and the stepmother angrily take the children further into the woods and leave them there.

Hansel did not have any pebbles, but had taken a slice of bread and left a trail of bread crumbs for them to follow home. However, after they are once again abandoned, they find that the birds have eaten the crumbs and they are lost in the woods. After days of wandering, they follow a beautiful white bird to a clearing in the woods, and discover a large cottage built of gingerbread with window panes of clear sugar. Hungry and tired, the children begin to eat the rooftop of the gingerbread house, when the door opens and a "very old woman" emerges and lures the children inside, with the promise of soft beds and delicious food. They do this without knowing the fact that their hostess is a wicked witch who waylays children to cook and eat them.

The next morning, the witch locks Hansel in an iron cage in the garden and forces Gretel into becoming a slave. The witch feeds Hansel regularly to fatten him up, but Hansel cleverly offers a bone he found in the cage (presumably a bone from the witch's previous captive) and the witch feels it, thinking it to be his finger. Due to her blindness, she is fooled into thinking Hansel is still too thin to eat. After weeks of this, the witch grows impatient and decides to eat Hansel, "be he fat or lean."

She prepares the oven for Hansel, but decides she is hungry enough to eat Gretel, too. She coaxes Gretel to the open oven and prods her to lean over in front of it to see if the fire is hot enough. Gretel, sensing the witch's intent, pretends she does not understand what she means. Infuriated, the witch demonstrates, and Gretel instantly shoves the witch into the oven, slams and bolts the door shut.

Gretel frees Hansel from the cage and the pair discover a vase full of treasure and precious stones. Putting the jewels into their clothing, the children set off for home. A swan ferries them across an expanse of water and at home they find only their father; their stepmother died from unknown cause. Their father had spent all his days lamenting the loss of his children, and is delighted to see them safe and sound. With the witch's wealth, Hansel and Gretel have money to bake their father a big gingerbread house to celebrate their return.

Hansel and Gretel first collect all the ingredients, which include:

• 675 g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

• 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 tbsp ground ginger

• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground all spice

• 175 g unsalted butter

• 225 g soft light brown sugar

• 1 large, free range egg 

• 7 tbsp golden syrup

• 1 large, free range egg white

• 250 g icing sugar, sifted

• 2,5 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 

First, Hansel,  sieved the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl, then Gretel rubbed the butter into the dry ingredients until they had a texture resembling fine breadcrumbs. They then added the sugar and mixed it well.Then, Hansel and Gretel's father helped them by warming a bowl and mixing the syrup and the egg together. Afterwards, he wrapped the dough in cling film and chill it for at least 1 hour (2 would be better – overnight better still).

Hansel and Gretel meanwhile focussed on the royal icing. They got a very large mixing bowl and tipped in the icing sugar, egg white and lemon juice and beat for at least five minutes. They did add a little cold water, as the mix at first was too dry and crumbly, but they made sure to add the water very slowly. After about 5 minutes of beating they had a thick, very white meringue type mixture that holds its peak. They then stored it in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.

Then Hansel and Gretel got on to what they thought was the most fun, they cut out templates for the gingerbread house. They did two sides walls which were 16cm by 13cm, two gable end walls which were 16cm by 13cm rising to a point in the centre of 23cm, and finally two roof pieces which were 20.5cm by 15.5cm.

Their father then rolled the chilled dough out on a floured surface to a thickness of about 5mm and cut round the templates. He put the pieces onto baking sheets, lined with silicone paper and the put it back into the fridge for another hour. Meanwhile their father also made sure to preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 so they could all bake the gingerbread for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. 

As soon as it was out of the oven, they got those templates on top of the hot pieces pronto and cut round the outline to give themselves really sharp edges. Subsequently, Hansel, Gretel and their father all together put some of the royal icing into a piping bag and piped windows, roof tiles, doors or whatever their heart desired all over the outside of the house. 

Finally, Finally, Hansel, Gretel and their father all ate the gingerbread house and lived happily ever ever.