During the month of December, students of the Downingtown High School West baking class participated in the annual gingerbread house competition. The topic for this year’s houses was children’s T.V. shows and movies, allowing students to select their theme from a wide variety of choices. The outcomes were successful as each group put their heads together to form themes for their houses. From Barbie to Princess and the Frog to Alice in Wonderland, the gingerbread houses were stunning.

The classroom has six kitchens, which are stocked with required ingredients and necessary appliances to successfully bake the gingerbread house structure. In each kitchen, three to four students combine their efforts to assemble and decorate the long-awaited gingerbread houses. First, the groups chose their themes based on a children’s T.V. show or movie and began deciding what extra decorations their house would require to represent their theme. After making sure every detail was drawn on paper, all hands were on deck to make the gingerbread dough for the walls and roof of the house.

After the walls and roof were baked and cooled, the making of fondant and royal icing was beginning. From decorating the walls of the house to making sculptures of animated characters, every 48 minutes of baking were full of movement. Classes consisted of communicating with kitchen-mates, hard work, and, most importantly, excitement.

Although the competition was all sorts of fun, there were also some phases that were stressful. This competition put these students to the test to see how they performed under pressure. Each kitchen was at a different stage of the process from one class to the next and had to strategically plan their next course of action to ensure the timely completion of their houses. The gingerbread house competition was an enjoyable and informative project that showed students how to appreciate hard work while having a good time.