Gingerbread houses are cute, but this large gingerbread lifeguard tower is pure beach

A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS: Creating a quirky confection that resembles a real-world structure? Many people do just that each December. Gingerbread houses are the most common buildings that bakers take on, but it isn't too outlandish to come across a grand hotel or even castle that is scented with cinnamon and spice. Any bit of architecture that includes a few walls and a roof seems to provide creative cooks with seasonal inspiration, it's true, but there are those locations that look to their immediate environs when the holidays are near. Take the Montage Laguna Beach, a hotel that boasts sweeping ocean views and plenty of California charm. It's a spot that's not too far above the sand, making a large-scale lifeguard tower, constructed with spicy slabs of gingerbread and a host of merry munchables, an ideal addition to the destination's handsome lobby. But how does a baker even begin to create the iconic surf-close structure out of something sweet and oven-ready?

THE HOTEL... shared some of the tasty tower's secrets. The culinary team, led by Executive Pastry Chef Lee Smith, spent 120 hours on the tower's careful construction. The jaw-dropping-est bit of trivia swirling through this adorable addition to the Montage? While a tabletop gingerbread house might require a few pounds of gingerbread to take authentic shape, the sizable lifeguard tower needed 760 pounds to reach its full playful potential. But there are other impressive numbers swirling around this sunshine-inspired structure, including the flavorful fact that the tower is festooned with 220 pounds of royal icing and 20 pounds of confectioners' sugar. Eager to admire this truly made-in-California, inspired-by-California gingerbread gem? The lifeguard tower is on view through the 2023 holidays at the luxury Laguna Beach hotel.