The Icing Alternative You Need For Polished, Pristine Gingerbread Houses

If you're looking for a cleaner finish to the Christmas Gingerbread houses you want to display during the holiday season, it is time to borrow decorating tricks from the professionals. While the rest of us are using thick globs of royal icing to seal corners and hold gingerbread pieces in place, culinary artists are reaching for items like Confectionery Arts International Professional Strength Tylose Powder. If you haven't heard of this powder before, you're not alone. However, those in the know — and who are building intricately-designed gingerbread homes — are masters of the edible stuff. It can be used to make Tylose glue, which will bind smaller embellishments together and can be a more reliable option than piping gel or corn syrup.

To make Tylose glue, combine the powder and warm water and refrigerate them for several hours. Then mix them again before placing the glue onto decorative pieces you want to hold in place. One recommended ratio is 2 cups of water for 1 tablespoon of Tylose. However, cake- and dessert-decorating artisans may tinker with the texture of the glue by adding more or less water or including more powder to the mix.

Once dried, Tylose glue is clear and thin, leaving only your designs and edible creations to be witnessed. Without having to worry about details falling off your carefully-made works of art, you can focus on making extra flourishes like stained glass windows and crafting magical scenes with many gingerbread pieces glued together.

If you would prefer to have the clean aesthetic of white piping holding up the angled slabs of your gingerbread roof, you can use Tylose glue to place tiny decorations onto your house, instead. Tylose powder can also be added to fondant to help you create characters or architectural details for immaculate gingerbread scenes. Using Tylose powder in a fondant recipe will offer a more malleable texture that dries more quickly than fondant made without the stuff. Start by adding one teaspoon of Tylose powder to a pound of a simple shortcut fondant recipe, then make adjustments according to the desired feel of the material.

If you can't be bothered to mix up any kind of glue, you can also buy pre-made Wilton Dab-N-Hold Edible Adhesive and bypass the need to eyeball powdery, watery substances. Once you've familiarized yourself with these kinds of culinary decorative tools, you can reach for them when making figurines to top cakes and cupcakes. Even gingerbread house kits you pick up from the store can be elevated with the trick, and you can sidestep the need to bake gingerbread pieces from scratch to focus on the overall aesthetic impression of your professional-looking project.