Gingerbread house with royal icing and caramel windows

For royal icing, put three or four egg whites in a bowl with a pinch of salt; beat to break up the solid parts.

Add confectioners' sugar, a couple of cups, by consistency, until a thick icing that holds peaks; it dries very hard and acts as glue.

Reserve some icing for decoration; put the rest in a piping bag.

Dab royal icing on the base board and glue the walls to it, starting with two sides.

The night before: roll the gingerbread into slabs about 3/8 inch thick, score along a paper stencil, bake, retrace the score lines while hot for clean edges, and let it dry overnight until brittle.

Make thin flat caramel window panes from a thin layer of sugar; let them cool fully before attaching, since moisture in the icing makes caramel slide.

For the door, thin some reserved icing to a pourable consistency; outline with thicker icing and flood inside with the thinner icing, then cover with red cinnamon sugar. Let the outline dry first, and pipe with the tip held slightly above the surface.

Break the scored gingerbread along the score marks.

Pipe icing on the roof panels row by row from the bottom and press on Cinnamon Toast Crunch shingles.

Dab hot caramel into the corners of each window panel to attach it.

Shave the roof edge at an angle so it lies flush; attach the roof panels with plenty of icing, supporting them as they dry.

Add licorice window boxes, wafer shutters and coconut snow.

Colour marzipan with green food colouring and shape small wreaths for the windows; flood the base with icing and add coconut snow, icicles of royal icing, a pretzel wood pile, sprinkle walkway and a star anise in the porthole window.