Home chef Christina Fernandes let us play make-believe as she baked a very Hansel and Gretel-esque Gingerbread House in her kitchen for us. We took careful notes so that the Cookie Man in you can bake this centrepiece all by himself

As kids, bundling up in our neighbour's trusty Fiat and ambling through posh hotels across the city, taking in their fabulous Christmas decorations, was an annual event. The waving mechanised Santa, reindeer with bobbing heads and best of all, the Gingerbread Houseu00a0-- sweet memories and goggle-eyed looks were made of this.



Now, as the season of joy is upon us, we embarked on yet another journey, this time to home chef Christina Fernandes's house in Cuffe Parade, to help us relive our Hansel-and-Gretel fantasies by baking us a Gingerbread House.

The beauty of Gingerbread is that it combines the sweetness of honey and sugar with the spice of ginger, with as much scope of embellishment as your imagination can accommodate. As Fernandes tinkered with her microwave and oven, with a music CD of Christmas carols playing in the background to set the mood, we took notes so that you too, can cook up your own little house to bring in the cheer. Go ahead, work up some magic in that cauldron of yours.

Call Christina Fernandes
On 9820928420, who can bake a house for youu00a0 (Rs 2,000 onwards).

Ingredients
Gingerbreadu00a0
>> 90g butter
>> 200g brown sugar
>> 250ml (1 cup) honey
>> 2 teaspoons (tsp) lemon zest
>> 2 eggs
>> 900g plain flour
>> 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
>> 1 pinch baking powder
>> 2 tsp grated ginger
>> 1u00a01/2 tsp cinnamon powder
>> 1 tsp spice powder
>> 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
>> Assorted lollies
>> 200g melted chocolate

Foru00a0the glaze
>> 1 tablespoon (tbsp.) caster sugar
>> 2 tbsp water
>>u00a01/2 tsp powdered gelatin