What's Christmas baking without a gingerbread house?This year, I have returned to my seaside roots by making a gingerbread house in the shape of a lighthouse. This lighthouse is a cookie replica of the lighthouse in Port Medway, Nova Scotia, just down the shoreline a ways from where I grew up.
After applying all the icing and decorations, I thought I would continue on with the coastal theme by scattering a few handfuls of candy rocks around the foot of the lighthouse. (I got my rocks at a bulk store in Halifax called the Bulk Barn but you should be able to find them at any candy store or cake decorating shop.)
Then I sculpted these happy, little lobsters out of marzipan.
Here's how to make them:
You'll need a small tube of marzipan. They usually sell it in the baking section of the grocery store, but this time of year, it can also be found near the Christmas fruit cakes in the baked goods section.
Rub a small amount of vegetable oil into your hands and cut off a 5 cm (2-inch) ball of marzipan. Knead a small amount of red food colouring paste into the marzipan until it is an evenly toned, bright red. If your hands get sticky, wash and dry them well and rub some more oil into your palms.
Break off a small amount of marzipan, and make a lobster body by rolling a ball of marzipan into a small sausage shape. Taper one end.
Make claws by rolling two more smaller balls of marzipan into two more sausage shapes. Taper one end of each. Flatten the fat end between your fingers and use the tip of a paring knife or toothpick to make a little groove in the “claw.” Repeat with the other claw.
Press claws into position on either side of the lobster body.
Use the tip of your finger to flatten the tip of the lobster tail. Use a toothpick or tip of a paring knife to make little fan marks in the tail tip. Use the back of the knife blade to make several parallel grooves along the back of the lobster body.
Roll two very small pieces of red marzipan into long, skinny antennae. Press onto the lobster’s head.
Now take two very tiny bits of untinted white marzipan and roll into two tiny white balls for eyes. Press into place. Melt a small amount of dark chocolate and use the tip of a toothpick to dot a little black speck onto each white eye. Use the tip of a teaspoon to press a little grin onto his mouth.
Place marzipan lobster on a well-oiled plate or sheet of parchment paper while you make two or three more. Make extra. These tasty little guys have a tendency to mysteriously crawl away.
Let your imagination be your guide. You can shape marzipan into just about anything: little crabs, whales, lobster traps, even rowboats.
By the way, the recipe for the gingerbread house itself is fairly straightforward, sturdy and, of course, delicious. I'll post the recipe soon, but in the meantime (just in case you want to get baking right away, and why wouldn't you?) you can find my recipe and the printable pattern pieces in my column in The Chronicle Herald today.
