Procedure

Beat butter, sugar and syrup in a bowl until light and creamy.
Add eggs gradually, beat well after each addition.
Sift flour, bicarbonate soda, ginger cloves, cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Roll dough out on lightly floured board to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut the shapes using as previously cut paper templates representing the walls (10x20cm), roof (15x25cm) and front/back (16x20cm), chimney (four 5x4cm rectangles), windows and doors, etc.
You can also make about 25 gingerbread man and trees with what remains of the mixture.
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes then, bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Decoration and assembly
To make the icing, mix 1 egg white with 300g pure icing sugar until you have a smooth mixture which stays in place.
Use lines of the icing to glue to pieces of the house together. Hold fr a few minutes then allow to dry.
Decorate the roof with tiles made with sweets and icing.