The secret is out! Mark and I finally found a home in France. It’s a beautiful 18th century farmhouse in the Dordogne region of southwest France. It takes about 3 months to close on a house in France, so I put the time to good use and built a gingerbread version of the property.

It’s currently on display at The Norway House Gingerbread Wonderland in Minneapolis. Here are a few photos with explanations about the construction just in case you’re interested…

A somewhat shady shot of the display in our front yard just before it was delivered.

The cardboard mock-up. I built the wooden base from plywood with bracing underneath to prevent racking. There is a thick layer of styrofoam so that any wobbly trees can be spiked into the foam for stability. It also gives the display more dimension and interest. I also drilled a hole under the house to fish through the LED fairy lights that will later illuminate the structure. These are the tricks of the trade, folks!

Early on in the construction. The “clay” roof tiles are made of fondant, each hand colored, then applied one by one to. I’m especially keen on the “witches hat” flared eaves of the real house. I have a huge respect for the French artisans that specialize in installing this kind of traditional roof. It has a lot of angles and takes forever to lay the “tiles”!

You can also see the rough layout of the landscaping. It all gets covered up later.

Here’s the back side. It’s not really going to be seen, but I like to know it’s there. Any minor cracks in the gingerbread are covered with piped royal icing “ivy,” just like on the real house. You can see the royal icing “poinsettias” on a tray on the right and the funny pollarded fondant trees on the side of the house. “Pollarding” is a traditional pruning technique that restricts the size and growth habit of trees, resulting in knobby, stubby branches visible in winter.

The landscaping is coming together. The “topiary trees and bushes” are formed from rice crispy treats coated in royal icing and dyed sesame seeds (which got everywhere, btw, and had to be picked up with a tweezers). The “hay bales” on the left are shredded filo dough baked in muffin cups to hold their shape. The “pond” is ready to be filled with blue isomalt sugar to cover the Swedish fish. And of course, you’ll all recognize the almond rocher “Christmas tree” from La Forêt Chocolates!

A close up of the landscaping with fondant “bocci balls”, pretzel “topiary trees”, cookie “gravel” and more hay in the barn.

Time for penguins! Each one is made from a solid chocolate egg, white chocolate on the front, black chocolate on the back (dyed with vegetable ash). I used black modeling chocolate for the head, feet, and arms (?), wings(?) or whatever penguins have. It took quite a while to model each one to match their activity and make their little hats and scarves. Can you spot the penguin with a bowl of ornaments?

Here’s some detail shots. Toasting marshmallows around the fit pit!

Sliding down the hay bales and skating on the pond…You can just see the “fish” in under the “ice.”

Playing a game of bocci, or “boules,” if you will. This is a night shot. There are tiny LED bulbs inside the outdoor lighting and the rest of the house and barn is lit from the interior.

A little more landscaping… the “rock wall” is made of toasted almonds and cocoa nibs with marshmallow fluff to glue it together. The “stairs” are shortbread with pumpkin spice sanding sugar. I feel like I can walk right up to the house!

And finally, the espaliered “pear trees” made of wire and fondant. The little pears are about the size of two peas. Dinky!

We’ll have more information as things develop over on the new business website laforetinfrance.com. In the meantime, check out some of our other adventures in France and the UK from years past!

Learn more about La Forêt in France!