Gingerbread House Baking and Construction Featured at Ritz-Carlton, Westchester
Continuing a seasonal tradition, the Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, has constructed a gingerbread replica of another historic Westchester mansion, Kykuit, home of the Rockefeller family for many generations.
The 240-pound gingerbread construction is on display in the Ritz-Carlton hotel lobby in White Plains. Last year the baking staff of the Ritz-Carlton fashioned a gingerbread version of the Sunnyside mansion in Irvington.
Under the direction of head baker Samantha Cohen, the gingerbread house took four days and 150 man-hours to construct. The recipe includes 40 pounds of powdered sugar, 15 pounds of granulated sugar, 10 pounds of brown sugar, 2 pounds of molasses, 35 pounds of flour, 8 pounds of butter, multiple dozens of eggs and egg whites, 2 pounds of cream of tartar, 5 ounces of baking powder, 2 ounces each of ginger and cinnamon, 1 ounce of clove and nutmeg and a half-cup of lemon juice. Plus there are 13 different types of candy used as decoration.
The gingerbread mansion will remain on display in the Ritz-Carlton lobby through the holiday season.
For those interested in lending their hand to gingerbread baking, the Ritz-Carlton is offering a gingerbread decorating work shop on Saturday Dec. 15, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the hotel.
After donning chef’s hats and aprons, children ages 3 to 8 will decorate gingerbread people and children over 8 will decorate a gingerbread house. The Ritz-Carlton’s pastry team will supervise the workshop. Refreshments will be served. The cost for the Gingerbread Decorating Workshop is $42 per person.
