Why should cookies during the festive season receive all the attention? Christmas is also an excellent opportunity to experiment with new cake-decorating methods. These creative suggestions will wow your holiday parties and give your dessert table festive cheer.
A freshly made Christmas cake decorating idea is the best way to kick off holiday preparations officially. These Christmas cake decoration ideas will steal the show this holiday season, whether you’re a dab hand with icing seeking a more complicated design or after something classic.
Best Christmas Cake Decorating Ideas
Special Dry Fruits Cake
Ingredients
- 175g (6 oz) raisins
- 350g (12 oz) glace cherries
- 500g (1lb 2oz) currants
- 350g (12oz) sultanas
- 150ml (¼ pint) sherry
- Finely grated zest of 3 oranges
- 250g (9oz) butter, softened
- 250g (9oz) light muscovado sugar
- Four eggs
- 1 tbsp black treacle
- 75g (3oz) blanched almonds
- 70g flour
- 170g plain flour
- 2 tsp all-mixed spice
For Decoration:
- 4tbsp apricot jam
- Icing sugar
- 680g almond paste
- Package of royal icing mix to cover 23cm/9in cake
Preparation
- Add the sherry, orange zest, and all of the dried fruit to a container. Three days of soaking should be given, stirring daily. Cover with a cover. A double layer of greaseproof paper should be used to line a round 23 cm (9 in a) deep pan. Set the oven to 140°C, 120°F.
- Butter, sugar, eggs, treacle, and almonds are weighed out and well beaten in a very large basin. Mix the spices, flour, and other ingredients until well combined. Add the fruit that has been soaked. Spread the mixture evenly after spooning it into the prepared cake pan.
- When this prepared cake like the firm to the touch and looks golden brown, bake it in the center of the oven for 4 hours. Cover with foil if the cake is the perfect shade of red after two hours. The middle of the cake should test clean when a skewer is inserted. In the tin, let the cake cool.
- After cooling, prick the cake several times with a fine stick and add a little additional sherry. The cake should be kept in a cool place for up to three months while being periodically fed with extra sherry. To store, wrap the totally cooled cake in two layers of greaseproof paper and then in foil. When storing, leave the liner paper in place because it keeps the cake moist.
- The apricot jam should be warmed in a small pot or for a little period in the microwave when it’s time to garnish the cake. The sides can be covered if you roll the almond paste into a thin circle larger than your cake. As an alternative, some people like a thicker almond paste disc to be placed on top of the cake; in this case, roll the disc to a diameter of about 23 cm.
- Apply heated jam all over the cake, then cover it with almond paste, smoothing it flush with the cake with a cake smoother. Apply royal icing to the cake using a little palette knife. To produce peaks or create a fully smooth texture, flick the icing with the palette knife.
- An alternative method is to push the back of a spoon against the icing and pull away from the cake to produce texture. After allowing to dry, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and add the cake topper or other Christmas cake decorating ideas of your choice.
Santa Christmas Cake
Ingredients
- 20cm round basic Christmas cake
- 8 tbsp apricot glaze or sieved apricot jam
- 750g (1½lb) white marzipan
- 1kg packet of white sugar paste
- 250g (8oz) green sugarpaste
- 250-350g (8-12oz) red sugarpaste
- 100g (3½oz) flesh-colored sugar paste
- Knob of Trex or White Flora
- 150g (5oz) black sugarpaste
Preparation
- Using marzipan and sugar paste, cover your Christmas cake decorating ideas.
- To roll out the green sugar paste, lightly knead it to make it softer. Then, sprinkle little icing sugar on the surface. The green sugar paste should be lifted over the water-moistened cake drum’s top. Use a side scraper or icing smoother to polish the area smoothly after pressing it firmly on the board and trimming off any extra sugar paste from the area. The cake covered in white should be placed on top of a small amount of apricot jam in the middle of the board.
- You should first sketch a face, which you can use as a pattern later. Next, sketch the outline of the cake pan you used.
- To create a long strip slightly wider than the top of the cake, roll out the red sugar paste after softening it by kneading it. One edge should be cut to create a straight line. A cake side should be water brushed. Only with a clean edge side against the cake drum, wrap up the red sugar paste and unroll it before wrapping it around the cake.
- Using a smoother or side scraper, smooth the red sugar paste and trim any extra with a knife from the top edge.
- Cut out the cap by rolling out additional red sugar paste. After applying water to the piece’s back, affix it to the wall.
- Some flesh-colored sugar paste should be rolled out, cut into a face, and then adhered to with water. The brim of the hat was cut out of white sugar paste that had been rolled out. Cut the mustache and cap bobbles with a round cutter, and then allow them to dry flat.
- If the black sugar paste is too stiff to fit through the sugarcraft gun, add more Trex or White Flora. Rolling out the sugar paste manually if a sugarcraft gun is not available. If using a gun, squeeze the sugar paste into place. If brushing water over the cake, place it in the desired areas for the black lines. Apply gentle pressure. Place the bobble on the hat when it is dry.
- Build the eyes out of two rolled-up balls, then attach them in place. Next, make the mouth out of a curved form. For the nose, roll out a little oval of sugar paste in a flesh color and put it in place. Around the cake’s base, pipe a band of black sugar paste. Use double-sided sticky tape to attach the ribbon to the cake drum’s edge.
Polar Bear Christmas Cake
This is the best Christmas cake decorating idea for all cake lovers.
Ingredients
- 850g (13⁄4lb) mixed dried fruit
- 75g (21⁄2oz) candied peel
- 100g (31⁄2oz) glace cherries
- 4tbsp brandy or rum
- 250g (9oz) unsalted butter
- 250g (9oz) soft brown sugar
- Four eggs, beaten
- 250g (9oz) plain flour
- 1tsp grated nutmeg
- 1tsp mixed spice
- 45g (11⁄2oz)almonds
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Zest 1 large orange
- 2tbsp black treacle
For the Royal Icing and Decoration:
- 2tbsp apricot jam
- 500g pack marzipan, rolled out to 5mm (1⁄4in) thickness
- 45g (11⁄2oz) egg whites
- 300g (10oz) icing sugar
- 250g pack Fox’s Glacier Mints
- Blue food coloring
- 20cm (8in a) cake tin
- A polar bear toy or decoration (or make one from fondant icing)
Preparation
- The day before baking, combine the brandy or rum with the glacé cherries, candied peel, and mixed fruit in a bowl. Cover and let stand overnight to let the ingredients absorb the alcohol. Warming them up together in a pan is an option if you’re in a hurry.
- The oven to 140C/Gas 1 the next day. The butter and sugar should be thoroughly combined and pale in color in a large basin. After incorporating, gradually add the eggs. Add a pinch of salt while you sift the flour and spices. Add the seasoned flour mixture by folding. Include the fruit that has been soaked together with the almonds, zests, and treacle. Combine completely after mixing.
- Place the batter in the ready cake pan and bake it for 4 hours and 30 minutes in the oven. Put a sheet of foil on top if the top is too brown. Use a skewer to check that it is cooked; it should come out clean of any undercooked batter. Allow the prepared cake to cool in the pan.
- Remove from the tin once it has cooled, peel off the lining, and poke a few tiny holes evenly spaced throughout the base with a skewer. More alcohol should be poured into the cake. Always gently wrap the cake in parchment paper again and store it in an airtight container.
- The cake’s top and sides can be decorated by spreading heated jam on them. With the use of your hands, spread the marzipan over the cake.
- With the bowl of an electric mixer covered with a tea towel and the paddle attachment set to the lowest speed, combine the egg whites and icing sugar for five minutes.
- Peeling the icing away from the cake creates a texture by spreading it over the marzipan using the back of a spoon or a palette knife. The melted mints will be poured into the well you make at the top to make the ice.
- Oven temperature set to 160°C/Gas 3. In an oven-safe bowl, place the mints and heat for 15 minutes or until melted but still sticky. After taking it out of the oven, toss in two drops of blue food coloring. A small amount of the mixture should be placed in the cake’s well, and the remainder should be placed in the middle of a sizable baking sheet lined with parchment paper. For an additional 5 minutes, re-heat the tray to allow the mixture to spread. After allowing it cool and harden, take up the object and drop it from a short distance to shatter it.
- Place your polar bear on top of the cake after placing the shards correctly.
Conclusion
This incredible Christmas cake decorating idea is our favorite holiday design theme. This simple Christmas cake design employs peaks of royal icing to seem like snow drifts, which is easier than it sounds because sloppy is more realistic.
