It’s time for another Charleston-themed gingerbread house!
While the Rainbow Row gingerbread house from a couple years ago would be impossible to beat, I wanted to go with something that was also a very iconic image. Which leads me to… a pink door Charleston gingerbread house!
Backstory
First thing’s first—yes, this is based on an actual house in Charleston. In fact, if you Google “pink door house in Charleston” there will be about a million photos of it that pop up, as it’s one of the most photographed houses in Charleston. And while this gingerbread house is based on the pink door house, it’s technically a little different (the real house is quite a bit larger!), mainly because I ran out of molasses (whoops) and this size was all I had the capacity to bake.
Details
I’ll start by saying that there were SO MANY more details I wanted to add to this gingerbread house, but unfortunately I just didn’t have enough time (I always forget how long these actually take!). To create the actual sides of the house, I drew up some templates that I could use to help me hand cut out the gingerbread pieces (shoutout to all the architects out there because that job is HARD). Then had to make about a million batches of gingerbread dough to make enough for the four walls, roof, patios and brick wall.
Piping all the “siding” on the house was so fun. Piping those brick lines was a different story. I love how the brick pattern turned out, but I definitely had a claw hand for a couple of days afterward from holding the piping bag for so long! Then the final detail—I added was some greenery to all the windows and around the pink door.
–xo, Julie
Overview
Something amazing happened! Do you remember when one of my cakes was featured in Entertain & Celebrate’s Summer issue for a 4th of July party setup? Well the same magazine—Entertain & Celebrate—was so kind to do a full feature on For Heaven Bakes, and in their Christmas issue of all issues! And as added excitement, they included my recipe for my favorite holiday cake—gingerbread cake with lemon cream cheese frosting! You can order a copy of the magazine here.
The Party Setup
For the article, I put together a Christmas party spread that was centered around what else—a cake! A blue and white vase cake filled with sugar flowers to be exact. While the cake was easy for me, I called in the experts to help me design the tablescape and all the little party elements.
If you remember my friend Lydia Menzies (of Lydia Menzies Celebrates), the 4th of July E&C article was actually a feature on her business, and if you’ve seen any of her work you know that she has an eye for party design unlike anyone else!
Lydia and I chatted about different party themes, and after I told her I wanted the centerpiece to be the blue and white vase cake, we came up with “A Charming Charleston Christmas” which allowed us to incorporate blue and white (my favorite!), as well as little coastal nods to the lowcountry mixed throughout the scene. You can read Lydia’s writeup of the party setup here!
The Cake(s)
While the blue and white vase cake was the centerpiece, I knew this party needed another dessert—so I added two more! At each place setting I included a sugar cookie decorated with one of the famous Charleston pink doors, with blue and white planters on either side of the doors. And to top it off, I made my absolute favorite Christmas cake recipe—gingerbread cake with lemon cream cheese frosting! If you pickup a hard copy of the magazine, you’ll find my top secret recipe included in the article!
The Details
The details, the details! This party setup has some of the most adorable details included! Lydia thought of everything—down to the luxe blue velvet ribbons tied around the oranges spread throughout, and the monogramed oyster shell place markers. One of my favorite aspects of the party actually didn’t make it into the magazine, but I’m including photos of it in the gallery below—it’s a full coffee/tea/espresso bar, complete with a rattan coffee thermos (to tie into the lowcountry vibes), blue and white china teacups, and an antique coffee pot.
And the bar setup is also SO Pinterest-worthy! It includes the most adorable blue and white fringe cocktail napkins from The Preppy Stitch, as well as blue and white ginger jar drink stirrers from Giddy Paperie. And don’t forget the super cute blue and white bead/pink tassel earrings (I’m wearing in the photo) from Tiny Tassel!
The photography really makes this party stand out. And of course the photos are beautiful, because they were all taken by the amazing Abby Murphy Photo! If you’ve seen any of my cake photos, there’s a 99% chance that Abby took them. She’s so incredible!
A Special Thank You To The Collaborators: Lydia Menzies Celebrates, The Preppy Stitch, Tiny Tassel, Giddy Paperie.
Alright guys, it’s that glorious time of year where everyone and their mother comes up with a gift guide for everything under the sun. We’re definitely not reinventing the wheel over here, but I really wanted to compile a list of gifts that any baker would love no matter what their skill level. So everything on here works for the once a year hobby bakers all the way to the pros. And the best part? All of these are things you will use year-round and not just during the holiday season.
Straight-Sided Cake Pans
Photo from Amazon
True story: I didn’t even know they made cake pans that didn’t flare outwards on the sides until I was in my 20s. I wouldn’t understand why every time I baked a cake, it looked nothing like the picture-perfect layers I saw in cookbooks. The reason? Straight-sided cake pans! Even if you only bake one cake a year, I cannot emphasis enough how much you need a straight-sided cake pan. My favorites are from Fat Daddios and William Sonoma. And just an FYI—most standard cake recipes are written for 8” or 9” round cakes—those are your staple sizes that you will use again and again!
Stainless Steel Handle Spatulas
Photo from Williams Sonoma
I have an entire drawer full of spatulas, but only recently did I make the switch to the stainless steel handle (as opposed to wood). “Why do they even make ones with wooden handles?” is going to be all you’ll say after you invest in a set of these, because unlike the wooden handles, the metal ones are easily put into the dishwasher. Spatulas are another kitchen staple that you will genuinely use all the time— in baking AND in cooking. And because you can never have too many, they always make the best gift for anyone!
Offset Spatulas
Photo from Williams Sonoma
If you don’t have one of these and have frosted a cake before, you’ll wonder how you ever frosted a cake without one once you try them. Here’s my favorite set.
Kitchen Scale
Photo from Williams Sonoma
Do you measure ingredients by weight or volume? Most recipes nowadays are written with both, and I have to tell you, measuring by weight is a game-changer. Because you and I would fill 1 cup of flour differently, but if we’re going by weight, it’ll be the same every single time. And once you start baking by weight, you’ll never not need a kitchen scale. Better baking all around!
Silpat
Photo from Williams Sonoma
Look, if you can trust anyone to develop something for better pastry baking, it would be the French. And they knocked it out of the park with Silpats. Reusable? Check. Less mess? Check. Better bake? Check. Plus they come in an array of sizes, so even if your gift recipient has one, they can always use another size!
Kana Parchment
Photo from Amazon.com
I only recently discovered Kana parchment, and their tagline says it all—“Goods made Better.” Right, how can parchment paper be better? Well, theirs just is. For starters, it comes in precut sizes depending on the pan you’re using (I use the 9” round and 12 ¼” x 16 ¼” most often), and they also offer options with easy lift-out tabs on the sides, so you can get those cake layers out of the pans more efficiently.
Pastry Mat
Photo from Williams Sonoma
No lie, whenever I start on a new sculpted cake, the first thing I get out is this mat. And then it proceeds to stay on my counter for the next 2-3 days, depending on how long the cake takes. It’s just the best for rolling out modeling chocolate or fondant, but also has built-in rulers and cake round rulers that are so necessary for measuring out modeling chocolate or fondant before you cover a cake with them. And the crazy thing is, this mat is actually meant for pastry and pie dough! But I say all of that to say that it is so versatile that you will have a use for it in your kitchen for any and all kinds of baking.
Glass Bowls
Photo from Williams Sonoma
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: how ever many prep bowls you think you need for baking, you’ll always end up needing more. I’ve had this set from Williams Sonoma for close to 10 years and I use them almost every single day. There’s nothing worse than having 100 dirty dishes after baking, and not being able to put your bowls in the dishwasher (looking at you, plastic bowls). And unlike metal prep bowls, these are also microwave safe for all the chocolate and butter you’ll be melting for your recipes.
Bowl Scrapers
Photo from Amazon
If you’ve ever thought “I wish there was an easier way to get all this batter out of the mixing bowl,” then this is the best $4 you’ll ever spend. And bonus—these plastic bowl scrapers are also great for frosting the sides of cakes! I have a drawer full of them and still feel like I don’t have enough—any baker can always use more!
Classic Cake Stand
Photo from Anthropologie
Because one can never have too many beautiful cake stands. This white and gold one is my current favorite.
French Pie Plate
Photo from Williams Sonoma
Back to the French again on this one. What can I say? They just make amazing, top-quality cookware and bakeware. This Emile Henry pie plate was the first where I noticed a huge difference in how perfectly the crust would bake from using it. BONUS GIFT IDEA: bake a pie from the new The Book on Pie cookbook in one of these pie plates and give both as a gift!
Bundt Pan (Heritage) or Bundtlette Pan
Photo from Williams Sonoma
My favorite—the Heritage bundt pan or this adorable bundtlette pan! Better yet, give your favorite bundt pan along with the new The Bundt Collection cookbook for the ultimate gift!
Cookbooks
I love to give and get books as gifts, but I especially love cookbooks. I feel like they’re something that most people keep for a very long time, and in a lot of cases, end up passing down to their children. While 2020 was a mixed bag, it was actually an AMAZING year of cookbook releases. Checkout the blog on my top 10 favorites from the year—any of which would make the perfect gift!
Cake-Scented Candle
What! How did this get on here?! I’m just saying, if you don’t want to bake anything, or want to give the gift of baking but because of COVID you aren’t able to bake someone a holiday treat, the next best thing is a cake-scented candle of one of my favorite holiday cakes. These limited-edition candles were created in partnership with Charleston Candle Co., and if you’re in the Charleston area, then you know how amazing their candles always are!
I’ll make today’s blog post short and sweet—my cakes were in this month’s HGTV Magazine!!
Let me back up—back in 2018, I made these super cute mini present cakes and gingerbread snowflake cookies for a shoot for Liz Martin (you might know her as Charleston Weekender!), as her house was being featured in Skirt Magazine. Fast forward to today and I was flipping through HGTV Magazine’s December 2020 issue, only to find out that her styled bar cart for the shoot (which happened to also include my mini present cakes and gingerbread snowflake cookies!) was featured in an article about ideas for holiday bar carts. So crazy!!
While only one photo from the original shoot was included in HGTV Magazine, I’m including a few others so you can see them—it really was such an awesome setup!
Photos by: Abby Murphy Photo
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