Interview with Nikki Wills
Photographs courtesy of Tikkido.com
Photographs courtesy of Tikkido.com
Baker and cookbook author Nikki Wills discusses her esteem of constructing gingerbread homes and reminisces about her expertise on Food Network’s Vacation Gingerbread Showdown.
How did you commence baking gingerbread homes?
My mom began making them when I turn into as soon as an toddler the utilization of a broadcast recipe by current White Dwelling executive chef Hans Raffert. It makes delectable, hardy gingerbread that’s supreme for constructing all types of gingerbread creations. Spherical Thanksgiving yearly when I turn into as soon as growing up, my mom and I would commence making gingerbread homes for ourselves and our friends and household, including my classmates and my dad’s fellow engineers on the Air Power Institute of Skills; she would salvage me wait unless Christmas to eat mine. I even contain many fond memories of these times.
When did you first bake gingerbread to your have?
I began to fail to see gingerbread whereas studying for my first-semester finals at Vassar College. I asked the college if I would per chance maybe additionally employ the mixer within the dining hall and turn into as soon as steered that the pastry kitchen wasn’t passe on Sundays. I turn into as soon as granted the flee of the total facility, including the vast mixers and skilled ovens. Using my mom’s recipe, I made a gingerbread dwelling that my friends and I decorated; I also proficient each and each of my professors their have dwelling.
What are your guidelines for making gingerbread homes?
The dough should be thick and sturdy, and you shouldn’t bustle thru mixing it. It also helps to contain a correct mixer. I esteem my 13.5-liter skilled one—I’m in a position to put together a triple batch of dough in it.
When assembling a gingerbread dwelling, it’s functional to position the partitions up first, pipe your icing to stable them, and allow them to air-dry in a single day so that they’ll be extra sturdy; you might maybe per chance then effect your roof on the next day. Royal icing is a must contain for constructing gingerbread homes due to because it hardens, it glues every thing together. Royal icing is mostly made with raw egg whites, but you furthermore mght can change powdered egg whites, meringue powder, or aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas.
You moved from the US to St. Albans, England, a few years ago. What inspired you to salvage gingerbread likenesses of the pubs there?
The pubs are aesthetic and reduction as household-friendly community living rooms, so I wished to honor them in gingerbread create. Plus, I relish having an give an explanation for gingerbread venture to work on moreover to my standard baking at some stage within the holiday season. For Christmas 2023, I made a gingerbread dwelling of the Robin Hood Pub. It turn into as soon as later served on the pub at some stage in a mountainous gingerbread celebration, which I if truth be told appreciated—particularly since I didn’t must eat all that gingerbread myself. [Laughs]
What turn into as soon because it love competing on Food Network’s Vacation Gingerbread Showdown?
Terrific, particularly due to my mom turn into as soon as my baking partner. We competed against two varied competitors in nine total rounds—we received the tasting grief but in the end lost. We both had a blast, even supposing the competitors’s chaos and time constraints were difficult. I continually relish myself when making gingerbread homes. It’s arduous to contain a irascible time whereas making a vast cookie dwelling and adorning it with loopy amounts of candy.
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