Gingerbread house

Thanks to an ex-girlfriend of my son's for this. 
Please read the whole recipie first, as it can be a bit complicated.

You can be as simple or as complex as you like with the decoration, and put windows/doors into the pastry FIRST.  Below is a very simple, but effective design, and one much more elaborate.  You can fill it with lollies, or not - its all up to you.

Gingerbread House

Rating:difficult

Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup golden syrup
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp  ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 to 4-1/2 cups plain flour.

Pre head oven to 190C.
Melt first 3 ingredients in microwave.
Stir in next 5 ingredients.
Stir in flour 1 cup at a time (you can use an electric mixer)
split dough into manageable balls, wrapping excess in cling wrap. 
If too soft, refrigerate for 20 mins.

Place dough on lightly floured board and kneed with lightly floured hands until smooth.
Place a piece of baking paper on a biscuit tray and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut your pieces on the baking paper, leaving around 1/2 inch between each one.  Cut a door if you want one.
Bake until golden and not too soft when touched - about 10-12 minutes.
Leave to cool in baking paper.
If pieces have expanded or become irregular, recut them while soft.

NOTE: cut 4 rectangles aprox 10 x 6 cm.  and 2 house ends shaped as below, 10cm high, 6cm wide.  The square at the bottom is 6x6.

Icing

2 egg whites
4 cups pure icing sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Beat egg whies until just frothy, gradually add sifted icing sugar until soft peaks form.
Stir in lemon juice.
Keep covered tightly with cling wrap to stop drying out.

Place 2 tbsp of icing int a Glad zip ock bag, pushing into the corner, cut a tiny hole and use this to pipe along the edges of the pieces and assemble.  Pipe icing onto the bottom to sit on the plate.
 Leave each section to dry for 5-10 mins.
Use any extra icing to ice the top etc, with lollies.

You may want to decorate each piece first (recommended) similar to below:

 

Fill house with lollies before you add the roof.