A life-sized, Coco-inspired gingerbread house sits in Casino Del Sol‘s lobby this year. Aside from the wooden frame foundation of the house, everything is edible.
“We picked Coco because majority of the bake shop loves Disney, it’s a fairly new movie and this is close to their hearts — most of them are Hispanic,” Skelton said.
Drawing inspiration from the movie, Coco was the perfect opportunity to play with color and detail. This is the first year — in the three years since Skelton has been with Casino Del Sol — that the house’s interior has been decorated.
“If you look in there, [there are] some different Mexican pastries synonymous with Dia De Los Muertos,” Skelton said.
The gingerbread house incorporates various mediums of gingerbread — from the gingerbread men, door, bricks, roof, tiles, and sugar skulls. Brightly-colored concha pastries and De La Rosa Mazapan Candy line the rooftop and Obleas Wafers and Chiclets accent the sugar windows. The house’s stucco texture is royal icing, dusted with cinnamon, and Miguel and his guitar are made from Rice Krispies Treats covered in fondant.
With over 60 hours to make the roof, another 60 hours to make tiles, bricks and gingerbread men, about 30 hours to make Miguel and his guitar, and over 120 hours to decorate the house, a team of nine pastry chefs and bakers —led by executive pastry chef, Gina Skelton — brought this dream to life.
Casino Del Sol is located at 5655 W. Valencia Rd. For more information, visit casinodelsol.com.
