The Somerville Theatre: A Gingerbread Homage

This gingerbread creation is dedicated to something we missed in 2020 - attending live shows! Our fantastical homage to the Somerville Theatre is an edible abstraction of the Hobbs Building in Davis Square, Somerville, MA. Three sides show portions of the main façade, which includes the theatre entrance, office space, and Mr. Crêpe Café. The back opens up into a vision of the main stage, which typically sees 15,000 patrons attend the December production. Tucked away under the stage is a room of carved cookies that represents the former location of the Museum of Bad Art. Next to that is the battery and switch access for the internal lights. The lights wind through the center of the structure, lighting the windows, the stage, and the iconic Somerville Theatre sign.

This was designed, baked, and then decorated by Aoife Troxel, who moved to Somerville on her birthday almost two years ago. After researching the theatre and completing some scale drawings, design began with measuring the largest cookie sheet she owned to find an appropriate scale. This mammoth ginger-beast contains over 16 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of butter, 5 pounds of molasses, 2.5 pounds of brown sugar, and half a pound of spices. It is iced with 20 egg whites and over 20 cups of powdered sugar. Mmm!