Gluten Free Gingerbread House

The fun of building a ginger bread house is a tradition for our family, but our son (see about) always vomited on them after taking a few bites and my wife has a gluten sensitivity.

Given that these boxed creations were designed to sit on store shelves for 5 months, it's no wonder the preservatives and chemicals set him off.

So last year I set out to find a solution that would allow us to enjoy making a gingerbread house and that could be gluten free and contain only natural ingredients.

I discovered a gingerbread house bundt pan that would allow us to use a gluten free cake mix and better yet, use our own ingredients.  I was able to get ours at Michaels on clearance for $12 in the days following Christmas.  Given that this will see many many years of use the actual cost of creating a gingerbread house will be much less than buying a kit every year.

The kids helped in a whole different way this year creating their house.

We first, carefully greased the inside of the pan and in all the crevices using a sandwich bag over our hand.  After the greasing, scatter flour throughout the inside of the pan and shake out any access.  This will allow the finished cake to fall right out when it is done.

Then, let the kids fill in the ingredients and mix.

Pour the batter (9 cups or a traditional cake mix worth of ingredients) in to the bundt pan, give a quick shake side-to-side and it's ready to go in the oven.

We found that it took a few moments longer than a traditional cake to fully bake.  We inserted a skewer stick  into the center and pulled it out.  If no cake residue remains, it's done!

Wait a few minutes and then turn over on a cooling rack and the cake should fall right out.  And it looks beautiful!

 After the cake has cooled, you may decide to cut any bumps off the bottom for a flat presentation.  We just used a nice bread knife for this task.












Next, give the kids some frosting (we made our a bit runny for icicle/snow effect) and let them place an assortment of candies on and around the house.  We used M&M's, but get as creative as you want.

We do this more for fun than presentation, but I have seen some pictured from others that are impressively decorated.  I have also seen just a simple dusting of powdered sugar over the house.  Do as much or as little as you want.

Finally, enjoy your creation!

Picture on the Nordic Ware Bundt Pan.