This Genius Hack Will Keep Your Gingerbread House From Falling Apart
Remember all those hours you spent assembling gingerbread houses as a kid and everything went perfectly as planned, the whole house held together, and nobody cried? Nope, neither do we. Gingerbread houses, while fun in theory, can be a total nightmare in reality, thanks to a few factors. Maybe your baking skills aren't up to par and your gingerbread cracks before you can even begin, or the house simply won't hold together, no matter how much icing you spread on the darn thing. While the former may take some time to perfect, TikTok has a hack to help you with the latter.
According to BuzzFeed, baking enthusiast Anita (aka @tastyentertaining2020 on TikTok) shared a tip she learned from her mother in a recent post and home bakers everywhere are losing their minds. In the video, Anita can be seen dipping the edges of her gingerbread pieces in hot, melted sugar (basically homemade caramel) before joining them together. The caramel acts like an edible glue and seems to be way, way more effective than plain ol' icing.
Dry caramel hardens almost instantly on your gingerbread house
Anita, the newest viral star of the TikTok culinary world, spoke to BuzzFeed about her gingerbread assembly hack, saying, "It's how my mother did it when I was little, and it's how I have done it ever since. I was certainly aware that most people use royal icing, and I know of the frustration that comes with that." She added, "Frosting is fine in theory, but it takes time to harden. You have to prop up the house until it is done hardening, so it can't be done in one fell swoop. It also isn't structurally sound and often collapses during decorating. Burnt sugar (dry caramel) works almost instantly and is very hard. Your house will not succumb to the weight of the candy."
Do you think Anita knows she just changed the world for gingerbread house-makers everywhere? According to BuzzFeed, the TikTok has been viewed over 6 million times and has amassed over a million likes. Anita said, "I didn't expect such a positive response! I know people look for content that solves a problem, so I try to create things that add value... I am thrilled that this has appeared to help so many people." One more tip before you put your new gingerbread house knowledge to the test. Anita warns, "Please be aware of the dangers of hot sugar on your skin." Good advice. We don't need any hot sugar injuries getting in the way of selecting the right candy for our perfectly assembled gingerbread houses.