GingercakeHouse Decorating

I always loved the idea of making a gingerbread house as a Christmas tradition. I have done it a few times and in an effort to start some grand traditions with Miller, we were doing it this year. I went back and forth about buying a kit, just using a small milk carton and graham crackers or making a cake. I ended up finding a cake pan shaped like a cottage that I had received for Christmas two years ago and decided that would be the way to go.

I made a spiced cake and was so excited. Since it was the first  time I was using that recipe, I didn't know what to expect. When I put it in the pan, it only came up 2/3 of the way but I figured it would rise. Nope! And it did not cook evenly so even though part of it was done, the center was still gooey. This is what ended up happening when I took it out of the pan. As a girl who prides herself as a proficient baker, I was disappointed, but grateful that we were just going to be covering it with candy anyways.

We decorated some sugar cones to act as trees for the house's landscape. Miller decorated one, and ate another. 

All of this decorating has caused a few extra baths lately. 

The end product. Not perfect but it is cute. 

We used it as the centerpiece for our party the next day. 

Lessons were learned and we will revisit this next year.