How to Build a Gingerbread Downton Abbey (With Martha Stewart)

Bow down, peasants: your gingerbread house just got owned. By whom? Martha Stewart, of course. The lifestyle guru has constructed elaborate gingerbread buildings in the past, but this year PBS asked her to build a gingerbread reproduction of Downton Abbey, in honor of the show's fifth season coming to PBS starting Jan. 4th, 2015. (PS: For those of you in the UK, the fifth season's Christmas special will be airing on Dec. 25th, 2014.)

The materials included 11 batches of gingerbread, 16 cups of royal icing, and several pounds of sugar to make the window. It stands 28 inches high, four feet wide, and is 11 inches deep. Overall, it took over 34 hours to bake and decorate the whole thing, not including the 3 or 4 hours of assembly.

Martha talks you through the process in the following promo video.

If you want to try your hands at making one at home, you can download the Downton Abbey Gingerbread House template, and read more details over at Martha Stewart's website. There are also quick how-to videos below, courtesy of PBS.org. (If this is your first gingerbread house, we suggest you try some simpler houses before going straight to luxurious).

Step 1: Rolling, Cutting, & Baking Dough

Step 2: Decorating the Gingerbread

Step 3: Making & Installing the Caramel Windows

Step 4: Assembling the Gingerbread

However, other people have built "Gingerbread Abbeys" before Martha Stewart and her pastry team attempted this feat. Check out this 2012 video from Curtis Jensen below, which goes for more elaborate decorations.

Which version of the Highclere Castle (the real name of Downtown Abbey) do you think is better? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.

Cover image via PBS and Mike Krautter/Martha Stewart