"Rena Awada, a food blogger and founder of Healthy Fitness Meals, pointed out that one of the most common reasons gingerbread houses collapse is the use of icing that is too soft or warm. Awada cautioned that "royal icing is used as the glue" for your house. If you don't create icing with the perfect consistency, it won't harden properly into the glue-like material you need."
"When the icing is too soft or warm when you apply it, it will just melt and run down the sides rather than hardening properly. Thick royal icing is the key to creating a solid foundation for your gingerbread home. Think of it like the mortar that holds brick or stone walls together: you want to achieve the best royal icing consistency to support the weight of your gingerbread walls and roof."
Gingerbread houses often collapse because royal icing that is too soft, warm, or runny fails to harden into a glue-like material. Royal icing functions as the glue or mortar that holds walls and roof together and must be thick enough to support structural weight. Proper royal icing is made from egg whites or meringue powder and powdered sugar with water adjusted to achieve the correct consistency. The icing must be prepared correctly and allowed to fully harden prior to building and decorating. Warm or soft icing will melt and run down sides instead of setting, compromising stability.
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