Making anything by hand is satisfying, and especially so at Christmas. The decorations described are easy to make and children love to join in.
One unusual decoration for the cake is a candle modeled from red marzipan, with a flaked almond in the top,to act as a flame. On Christmas Day, give everyone a surprise by lighting the ‘candle’. And as nuts contain oil, the almond will keep alight for a few moments!
Another easy idea is a Father Christmas sack made from brown marzipan. First, mold the marzipan into a smooth ball and model into a sack shape. As sacks ‘come in all shapes and sizes’ it does not have to be too exact. Squeeze it in near the top and partly open, then have brightly colored ‘parcels’ either peeping out or piled around the base of the sack.
Or, create a wide chimney from white sugar paste, and have the legs of Father Christmas sticking out of the top. Model the chimney and brush with brown coloring. Once the color is dry (to give the impression of bricks), scrape lines outlining the bricks and show the white ‘mortar’ between. The legs are sausages with boots on, bent to whichever angle you please!
Make flat Christmas trees by rolling out green marzipan, or sugarpaste, to about 1/4 ” thick. Then cut the trees out, using either a cutter, or a cardboard template. For added attraction, mark them vertically with the back of a knife. Stick around the sides of an iced cake with small groups of holly berries (tiny pieces of red paste rolled into balls) between the trees. Another idea is to cut a tree in half from top to bottom and stick half on either side of a completed tree to make it stand up.
Model three-dimensional trees from cone-shaped pieces of green marzipan, then (beginning at the top) use sharp scissors to make small snips all around the tree, imitating layers of branches.
Snowballs are made from balls of sugarpaste. Leave to firm then brush with a film of egg white before dipping in either castor or granulated sugar.
A Snowman can also be made from sugar paste. Make two balls, one for the head and a larger one for the body. Use dark coloring for the eyes and buttons and throw a brightly colored scarf around his neck.
Christmas puddings are created from a chocolate truffle, or a ball of marzipan/sugar paste colored with brown coloring. Top the pudding with ‘custard’ made from soft royal icing, or alternatively, use sugar paste softened with water.
An easy way to make the sharp points on holly leaves is to cut out small sections from around the edge of a leaf shape, with either an icing nozzle or the tip/handle of a small spoon. Mark veins on the leaf with the back of a knife.
And if the children are helping, they will probably want all the decorations on the cake at the same time! Happy Christmas.
Pat Lock is a cake decorating expert with over 25 years experience who runs the excellent Cake Decorating Tips website. She has won awards at the prestigious international competition at Hotel Olympia, London and is also an accomplished author.
Tags: cake decorating, christmas cake