The Gingerbread Express Has Arrived at The Royal Park Hotel
The Royal Park was filled with families and guests invited to enjoy cookies, holiday treats, hot chocolate and warm apple cider during the ultimate unveiling of the Gingerbread Express this morning. An edible creation, the Gingerbread Train certainly was a beautiful and fun site to see. The Gingerbread Express is eight feet tall and resembles an old-fashioned steam-powered locomotive complete with chocolate nuts, bolts, and rivets. The black-tinted gingerbread accented with fondant looks like the steel found on vintage trains and, chocolate cocoa-butter painted gingerbread bricks adorn the wooden cart that houses Santa’s Toys.
The edible locomotive is on display in the middle of the Royal Park Hotel lobby and is surrounded by Christmas trees, presents and decorations and is loaded with a bag filled with toys and holiday surprises.
Who’s in charge of such a creation? Royal Park Hotel executive pastry chef Mark Slessor and his team of creative bakers that’s who. It took two months and a long list of yummy ingredients to make this fun conversation starter.
Ingredients used to create the giant gingerbread locomotive include:
200 pounds of gingerbread mix
40 pounds of shortening
50 pounds of sugar
200 pounds of fondant
144 eggs
200 ounces of food coloring
50 pounds of candy
“This partnership marks the ninth consecutive year the Royal Park Hotel has chosen to support the philanthropic efforts of the Salvation Army of Metro Detroit”, said Major Russ Sjögren, General Secretary and Metro Detroit area commander for the Salvation Army Eastern Division.
Also at the Royal Park, visitors will have the opportunity to purchase a paper mitten from the “mitten” tree for $10 or $25 that will support Northern Oakland Counties in need. The David. Elliott Memorial Foundation will match every paper mitten ornament purchased times two!
The Gingerbread Express is available for viewing now through January 2018. The Royal Park Hotel is located at 600 East University Drive, Rochester, MI 48307. No need to make a reservation. This is a free event.
www.RoyalParkHotel.net
