ChristChurch Cathedral has been reconstructed, albeit in gingerbread.

Oamaru-based Americans James Boussy and James Glucksman spent more than 100 hours crafting a scale gingerbread model of the iconic cathedral, as it was before the February 22 earthquake.

The pair, who own Pen-y-bryn Lodge, plan to charge visitors $10 to view the creation. The proceeds will go to the Christchurch Mayoral Earthquake Relief Fund.

Mr Glucksman said he was ''devastated'' when he learned the cathedral would need to be partially demolished because of severe quake damage.

''It seemed absolutely fitting that for our second Christmas celebration in New Zealand we would create something that paid homage to the original building while also fundraising to help Christchurch rise up and get back on its feet.''

Standing 50cm high, the cathedral contains 2.2kg of flour, 560g of margarine and 500g of brown sugar.

It also packs a hefty punch with 73,659 kilojoules.  

The creation is entirely edible, consisting of gingerbread, royal icing and caramel.

However, Mr Glucksman said it had been baked to a point "beyond palatability".

The pair, who relocated to Oamaru two years ago, have been making gingerbread creations since 1997 as a centrepiece for Christmas celebrations.

Travelling around the world for their careers, they have made gingerbread replicas of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral, Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral, Beijing's Lama Temple, and other notable landmarks.