This stunning house was baked by Te Papa’s Executive Chef, Bernd Lippmann. It’s the biggest ever made in Wellington! Check out the time-lapse video to see how it was done.
The tradition started in Germany, where witches have long used gingerbread as a building material. In 1812, the brothers Grimm broke this news when they wrote the fairytale Hansel and Gretel. This story offered useful tips about:
- nasty stepmothers
- the poor choice of crumbs as tracking material
- the clever use of a bone to prevent consumption by witch.
All this seemed perfect for an opera, and soon German opera houses were busy making replica gingerbread houses for their performances. Bakeries were quick to join the craze. Gingerbread houses are now part of Christmas menus across Europe.
What went in
Our gingerbread house contains …
- Flour 296 kilograms
- Sugar 148 kilograms
- Honey 29.6 kilograms
- Water 74 litres
- Butter 44.4 kilograms
- Baking soda 6.29 kilograms
- Ground ginger 4.44 kilograms
- Mixed spice 2.22 kilograms
- Cinnamon 2.22 kilograms
- Milk 14.8 litres
- Salt 370 grams
Baking time: about 180 hours
Make your own!
You can make your own gingerbread house by buying a kit from the Information Desk, Te Papa Kids’ Store (Level 2), or Te Papa Cafe (Level 1). This is a limited edition of only 300! All proceeds go to Wellington Children’s Hospital.
Gingerbread house from a Te Papa kitset
