GINGERBREAD GIANTS
The gingerbread artist
London-based baker Emily Garland (@gingerbreadmaid) has built a thriving business from her gingerbread creations. Since 2010, she’s made dozens of them for Christmas, weddings and clients. Our favourites? A Back to the Future- inspired DeLorean, a working helter skelter for gobstoppers (below), an alpaca piñata, and a gingerbread model of Harvey Nichols in London.
The family tradition
Robert Creighton’s family has taken the tradition of building a gingerbread house to insane new heights. Now documented by Robert on Instagram
(@confectionery_chronicles),
the journey started in 1984 with a simple gingerbread house that grew, over the years, into castles metres high, a candy factory, a rocket ship, and even an elephant. Robert says this year’s creation is still under construction. “Last year, the Gummy Bears embarked upon a journey. We’re trying to figure out where they are going …”
The Kickstarter campaign
“When I was a little girl my friend’s mum created my Christmas magic by making whole christmas landscapes with gingerbread creations – houses, churches, cars, trains, boats, trees,” says Swedish businesswoman Madeleine Mac Donald. After 40 years of cutting gingerbread houses the old way, she designed MakeBitz: a flexible cutter system of 80 pieces, which fit together in numerous ways to create the gingerbread constructions of your dreams. The project is currently live on Kickstarter.
BUILD YOUR
OWN Inspired?
Make your own with Woolies’
Easy to Bake gingerbread house kit (R139.99).
It comes complete with a ginger biscuit mix, piping bag, royal icing and rainbow sprinkles. All you need is butter, golden syrup, and your creative vision!
“WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, MY FRIEND’S MUM CREATED MY CHRISTMAS MAGIC BY MAKING WHOLE CHRISTMAS LANDSCAPES WITH GINGERBREAD HOUSES, CHURCHES, TRAINS…”
– MADELEINE MAC DONALD