Not A Creature Was Stirring Festival of Trees Edmonton 2019

Not A Creature Was Stirring Festival of Trees Edmonton 2019

Not a Creature Was Stirring was my second gingerbread build for the Festival of Trees in Edmonton.

The Festival of Trees is celebrating their 35th year this year and I am grateful to be able to be a part of it. The passion put into these festivals to kick off the Christmas season is evident the moment you step into the building. This will be my second time participating in the Festival of Trees in Edmonton.

The Christmas Congregation was my first ever build for the Edmonton Festival.

Not A Creature Was Stirring gingerbread house from Nutmeg Disrupted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Night Before Christmas

The theme for this year’s festival is The Night Before Christmas. Some years I try and stay within the theme, other years I just freestyle. I designed my build to stick with the theme and titled my entry Not a Creature Was Stirring. I had vision of mice messing with reindeer snacks that were set out for later that night.

getting ready for Santas visit on Nutmeg Disrupted

The house was a simple design. The original colour was intended to be burgundy. After unsuccessfully being able to achieve the tone I was wanting and the fondant getting softer after each addition of colour, it went into the bin. A quick google search confirmed my suspicions, burgundy is the most difficult colour to create. My next choice was blue. With the black of the roof, fireplace and window boxes I knew the blue would really pop.

Not a Creature Was Stirring gingerbread house on Nutmeg Disrupted

I experimented with a new recipe this season to create cool gelatin glass for my windows.  With a simple recipe of water, gelatin and colouring you can create a very thin sheet of gelatin with extreme flexibility like fine paper or go with a thicker sheet that gets very rigid. You can experiment with the thickness depending on the planned application for the finished gelatin sheets. The possibilities of what I want to create with this is endless and I look forward to playing with it more.

various thickness of gelatin sheets on Nutmeg Disrupted

Gelatin Sheets

Not A Creature Was Stirring Festival of Trees Edmonton 2019
 
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: Gelatin sheets
Cuisine: Gingerbead design
Ingredients
  • water
  • gelatin
  • gel colouring
  • food scale
Instructions
  1. Using a food scale measure out 7 grams of gelatin.
  2. For every 7 grams you need 3 tablespoons of water.
  3. Add the food colouring until the colour you are looking for is achieved.
  4. In a small saucepan simmer the gelatin and water until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
  5. Pour the liquid on to a silpat mat or a plastic lined cookie sheet.
  6. Tilt the pan until desired thickness is achieved.
  7. The mixture dries quickly so you do have to work fast.
  8. Allow to dry overnight.
  9. The thickness will determine that flexibility of the dried sheets.

 

I love the glow that comes from the windows, it looks especially beautiful at night.

In total I made 5 batches of gingerbread, 3 batches of fondant and 6 batches of royal icing. The windows were a lot of trial and error. I ended up making 6 batches until I had the right consistency for the windows.

beautiful windows on Not A Creature Was Stirring Gingerbread House on Nutmeg Disrupted

The number of ingredients looks like this:

  • 42 cups of icing sugar
  • 25 cups of flour
  • 34 eggs
  • 5 cups of Crosby’s Molasses
  • 5 cups of granulated sugar
  • 42 grams of gelatin
  • 9 different colours
  • 4 types of sprinkles
  • 6 ounces of kirsch
  • 30 ounces of marshmallows

 

This house is valued at $700.00. I am so incredibly proud of the money I have been able to raise for charities over the years of building this sweet structures. I look forward to what the next 10 years of gingerbread builds look like.

 

 

Published by Redawna

Garden & Food Writer/Educator/Photographer. NFT artist. Management Professional. Community Builder. Entrepreneurial spirit.

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