How Do I Build a Sugar House?
Sugar houses have long been a holiday tradition among those entertaining guests or those with small children. Although they require a little more work to create than a gingerbread house, the combination of white sugar cubes and royal icing gives the house a quintessential Christmassy feel. Trimmed with peppermint sticks or other holiday candies, a sugar house can become the centerpiece for a holiday dinner, an attractive complement to a buffet or a project for school-aged children during the run-up to Christmas. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Sugar cubes
- Royal icing
- Pastry bag with fine pastry tip
- Knife
- Shredded wheat cereal
- Holiday candy
Instructions
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Prepare the foundation for your sugar house. Cut a piece of cardboard larger than the dimensions of the house you plan to make by 1 inch on all sides. Frame out the shape of the house with one row of sugar cubes. Adhere the cubes to the cardboard with a fine bead of royal icing. Apply icing between the cubes to strengthen the bond. Make sure to leave an opening in the front of the house if you intend to have a doorway.
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2
Build the brickwork. To ensure the stability of your sugar house, stagger the sugar cubes on each row. For example, position the middle of a sugar cube above an iced joint on the row below it. The effect should mirror masonry. Continue stacking sugar cubes, using icing as the "mortar" on the top and sides of each cube, until the structure of the house is complete. Leave openings for windows and doorways as desired.
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3
Build the roof support. With a rectangular house framed, add sugar cubes to two opposing walls in a pyramid form, climaxing with a single cube at the apex.
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4
Build the roof. Using cardboard, cut a base to fit over the top of your sugar house. You'll have better results if you use two pieces of cardboard and rest them together at the gable of the roof rather than folding a piece of cardboard to make it work.
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5
Attach the roof. Using plenty of royal icing, ice the top of the roof support. Smooth and level the surface of the icing with a knife so it will fit flush against the cardboard roof.
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Thatch the roof by affixing shredded wheat cereal to the roof with icing.
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Decorate your sugar house. Add candy for trim around the windows and doorways and as other decorations, once again using the royal icing as an adhesive.
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Tips & Warnings
Rectangular sugar cubes lend themselves better to masonry than square sugar cubes.
References
- Photo Credit würfelzucker image by Daniel Fuhr from Fotolia.com
