EDIBLE SHELTERS: 10 SPECTACULAR GINGERBREAD HOUSES

There are many things that come to mind when we think about beautiful shelters and food. For today, we are enjoying shelters that are as beautiful to eat as they are to behold. We’ve gathered a collection of 10 of the most beautiful gingerbread houses to share with you.

1. FAIRMONT SAN FRANCISCO GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Every year, the Fairmont San Francisco outdoes itself. The talented culinary team creates enormous magnificent gingerbread houses to grace its enormous magnificent lobby.

Standing between the beautiful tall marble pillars, the house looks palatial. This one is more than 22 feet high and 23 feet wide. It includes thousands of home-baked gingerbread bricks and more than a ton of royal icing and candy décor.

2. FAIRMONT BANFF SPRINGS RESORT

The Fairmont at Banff Springs, in Canada, gets into the extravagant gingerbread house show too. While its houses are not as big, they are plenty elaborate, with a riot of candy and color.

3. INTERCONTINENTAL MARK HOPKINS HOTEL CANDY MANSION

This sweet replica of the Mark Hopkins mansion is a fanciful joy, with its pastel colors and candy delights. It boasts 40 rooms and its own railroad.

The real Hopkins Mansion became the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art after the death of its owners, before it was destroyed in the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

4. GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT GINGERBREAD HOUSE

The life-size gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season.

Each year, Executive Pastry Chef Erich Herbitschek directs the design and construction of this life-size edible masterpiece. It is made using 1,050 lbs. of honey, 800 lbs. of flour, 600 lbs. of chocolate, 600 lbs. of powdered sugar, 180 lbs. of apricot glaze, 140 pints of egg whites, and 35 lbs. of spices.

The house takes more than two months and 840 hours of labor to produce, cut and bake the 5,089 “shingles” used to decorate the gingerbread house.

The gingerbread house is a working bake shop, selling edible treats including cookies, lollipops, gingerbread ornaments, miniature gingerbread houses, traditional Stollen bread, and more.

5. LÄNSMUSEET GÄVLEBORG PEPPARKAKPALATS

Artist/chefs at the Länsmuseet Gävleborg, a charming museum in the Swedish countryside, created the Pepparkakspalats (Gingerbread Palace), an exquisite gingerbread replica of the Winter Palace.

It stands 2.4 meters high and looks like a dream.

6. & 7. CAITLIN LEVIN GINGERBREAD MUSEUMS

We love gingerbread houses, why not gingerbread museums? Food artist Caitlin Levin and photographer Henry Hargreaves, came up with the idea and executed it for this year’s Art Basel.

With the help of Dylan’s Candy Bar, Levin replicated Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim, FR-EE’s Museo Soumaya, I.M. Pei’s Louvre pyramids, Fernando Romero’s Museo Soumaya, in  Mexico City, Herzog & de Meuron’s Tate Modern, and more. Many of Hargreaves photos were in black and white, to emphasize the architectural form without the distraction of candy colors. We’re sharing the few photos shot in full color here.

8. THE MOST PRECIOUS GINGERBREAD HOUSE EVER

This decadent confectionary shelter is adorned with 150 real AAAA grade South Sea Pearls and is crowned with a real 5 carat unheated Mozambique Ruby. It stands roughly 65 cm tall.

Created by pastry chef Georgia Green, in partnership with the British online retailer VeryFirstTo, this house is made from organic ginger, Ceylon Cinnamon, Meridan blackstrap molasses, Echire butter, Duchy organic eggs and Suma raw cane sugar, it is bound to offer a delicious bite.

If you are willing to part with about $80,000, you can order a bespoke version of this house, replicating your own humble (or not so humble) abode. More pearls can be added for an additional cost.

For every purchase, a donation of £1,000 will be made to The Prince’s Trust charity.

9. 22ND ANNUAL NATIONAL GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION

The 22nd Annual National Gingerbread House Competition was held on Nov. 19 at The Omni Grove Park Inn, in Asheville, NC.

Entries had to be completely edible and consist of at least 75% gingerbread. With over $20,000 awarded in cash and prizes, people really got their game on. This entry, entitled Desert Oasis, by the Courtland High School German Club of Spotsville, VA, took first place among teens.

10. FAUX GINGERBREAD HOUSE -- GROVE PARK INN, ASHEVILLE, NC

If you are inspired by Grove Park Inn’s Gingerbread House Competition, and if you love gingerbread houses enough to want to keep them around, long after your sweet tooth is satisfied, you can purchase gorgeous everlasting faux replicas from the Grove Park Inn’s holiday shop.

Read more about Beautiful Shelters, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact, including 10 Beautiful New Books on Beautiful Shelters and 10 Beautiful Natural Shelters Now.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Friendships in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 12.07.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

1. Photo: by dannymac15_1999. Fairmont San Francisco Gingerbread House.
2. Photo: Courtesy of the Fairmont Hotel. Gingerbread house.
3. Photo: by KidResorts. Fairmont Banff Springs Resort Gingerbread House.
4. Photo: Courtesy of Feng Shui Foodie. Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel Candy Mansion.
5. Photo: Courtesy of Gunaxin. Grand Floridian Resort Gingerbread House.
6. Photo: Courtesy of Travel Deals by Dana. Grand Floridian Resort Gingerbread House.
7. Photo: by Mats Fallqvist, Länsmuseet Gävleborg. Pepparkakspalats.
8. Photo: by  Henry Hargreaves. Caitlin Levin’s Gingerbread Replica of Fernando Romero’s Museo Soumaya, Mexico City.
9. Photo: by  Henry Hargreaves. Caitlin Levin’s Gingerbread Replica of Herzog & de Meuron’s Tate Modern, London.
10. Photo: Courtesy of VeryFirstTo. The Most Precious Gingerbread House Ever.
11. Photo: Courtesy of VeryFirstTo. The Most Precious Gingerbread House Ever Close Up.
12. Photo: Courtesy of the Omni Grove Park Inn. 22nd Annual National Gingerbread House Competition Entry.
13. Photo: by Janie Champagnie. Faux Gingerbread House in the Victorian style by Janie Champagnie.
14. Photo: by Diana. Gingerbread houses.