Have you tried to create a lattice fence panel for your gingerbread house, only to have it crack or break apart before you can even place it on your gingerbread display?
The following process helps to create a lattice panel that is easy to create, and easily mobile to place on your gingerbread display.
This process is similar to my process for making Wrought Iron Fencing, except this process uses cooked pasta that has been shaped, dried, and then Royal Icing applied.
This tip has a smooth edge and an edge that creates grooves in the frosting. I laid my frosting smooth edge up.
#2 - You will need flat pasta, such as Fettuccini pasta.
Since my pasta was longer than I'd like the panels to be, I broke each piece of pasta in half before cooking.
Cook the pasta for 4-5 minutes in boiling water. Just soft enough so the pasta is bendable but still has some structure.
When the pasta has cooked long enough to just soft and bendable, drain the pasta but do not rinse. You want the pasta to be sticky. To keep the pasta from drying out too much while shaping/building your lattice panel, keep some of the pasta water in the saucepan with the pasta.
#3 - Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
I accidentally grabbed wax paper instead of parchment paper. It's better to use parchment paper since this will go into the oven (I had to carefully transfer my lattice panels to parchment paper after being built).
#4 - Shape your lattice fence panel
Just like you are making a lattice top pie crust, begin to weave your pasta into the desired basket weave. The pasta is sticky and easily sticks together to hold the lattice panel together.
I placed a piece of pasta as the top and bottom horizontal edge, and then cut the excess pasta with a kitchen knife, creating a nice rectangle diamond lattice panel.
Make the gaps as big or small as desired. Make more panels that you will need!
#5 - Try different designs
I also made a lattice panel on a box shape, instead of on the diagonal with the same steps above - weave the pasta like a lattice and then placed pasta on the edges for guides, and then cut the excess pasta with a knife to create a clean rectangle shape.
#6 - Bake the pasta (to re-dry it).
Place another piece of parchment paper on top of your lattice panels, and then place another cookie sheet on top of your pasta. Sandwiching your pasta lattice pieces in between two pieces of parchment paper and two cookie sheets.
This will help keep your pasta from curling on the ends.
Bake the pasta for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
#7 - Remove baked pasta and let cool.
Once the pasta has cooled, you should be able to carefully pick-up the entire lattice piece. If still too soft, return to the oven for a few more minutes.
#8 - Apply Royal Icing to the cooled pasta lattice panels.
Place the pasta lattice panels on wax or parchment paper and a hard surface, such as cookie sheet (this allows the ability to easily move your work in order to dry somewhere safe).
Apply the Royal Icing to the dried pasta lattice panel, following your basket weave.
#9 - Let Royal Icing dry.
At this point since there is structure (dried pasta) under the Royal Icing, you can literally pick up the lattice panel, even before the Royal Icing is dried! (the picture below I had just applied Royal Icing, which is still completely wet).
Let the Royal Icing dry completely then flip over and apply Royal Icing to the other side of the lattice panel if desired.
#10 - Place the fully dried lattice panel on your gingerbread display.
You should now be able to easily pick up the lattice panel and place as desired on your gingerbread panel.
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