Building a gingerbread house is a great, festive and creative holiday tradition that people of all ages love. There’s something magical about turning simple pieces of gingerbread cookies into a sugary masterpiece with candy shingles, gumdrop pathways and fun little frosting icicles. It’s a fun way to let your imagination run wild—craft a cozy cabin, engineer a candy-coated skyscraper or anything in between.
But let’s be honest: it’s not all gumdrops and lollipops. Sometimes, the walls of your gingerbread house refuse to stick together no matter how much frosting glue you use, and suddenly you’re dealing with a gingerbread disaster. Your hands end up coated in frosting, and your perfectly placed candy decorations start sliding all around. Plus, gingerbread houses are often more about aesthetics than eating.
That’s why when we saw this genius idea from content creator @audreygebhardt we stopped in our tracks. She showed us how to build the best gingerbread house— Italian-style!
Related: Martha Stewart’s Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies Are the Perfect Holiday Cookie
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Gingerbread Is Out; Tiramisu Is In
Tiramisu is a classic Italian dessert that balances rich flavors and light textures. This no-bake dessert is made of layers of ladyfingers (soft sponge biscuits) soaked in espresso and then layered with a creamy filling made of mascarpone cheese, sugar and whipped eggs or heavy cream. The top is generously dusted with cocoa powder.
Tiramisu’s charm lies in its combination of textures—the softness of the ladyfingers, the creaminess of the mascarpone filling, and the delicate dusting of cocoa. Its flavor profile is equally delightful, with the boldness of coffee, the richness of mascarpone, and just a hint of sweetness.
It’s a favorite dessert for gatherings and holidays because it feels luxurious but is surprisingly easy to prepare. Whether served in elegant slices or layered in individual glasses, tiramisu is a timeless dessert that always delivers a delicious pick-me-up for any occasion. (The name “tiramisu” translates to “pick me up” in Italian.)
But what does this have to do with gingerbread houses? “Gingerbread houses are out, Tiramisu cabins are in this Christmas,” Audrey wrote in the caption of her Instagram post. We’re listening, Audrey.
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This Tiramisu Cabin Is Too Cute
Tiramisu might not be the first thing you think of when building a gingerbread house, but it adds a whimsical, creative twist to the tradition. The creamy mascarpone filling (or the chai cream Audrey fills her cabin with) is rich and sticky, making it a fun alternative to royal icing for holding gingerbread pieces together. It’s less firm but its filling adds a decadent flavor to your house-building experience. Imagine licking that off your fingers—yum!
The espresso-soaked ladyfingers used to make tiramisu look like logs, so stacking them (similar to Lincoln Logs) and holding them in place with the mascarpone makes a great log cabin shape, and it’s a sturdier structure than a gingerbread house because there’s something in the middle, so the pieces aren’t held together with the icing alone.
Audrey topped her tiramisu cabin with powdered sugar, giving it a snow-covered look, but you could also add gumdrops, peppermints and more to decorate it. Because it’s a cabin, we think a few trees (perhaps made from inverted sugar cones coated in green frosting) in the yard would be a nice touch.
What’s even better? After you build your cabin you let it set up in the fridge for at least an hour (and up to 2 days), then you can dig in. Demo never tasted so good!
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