Christmas Tree Christmas Cakes

I've finished my Christmas Cakes! Woo woo! I can rest easy for another year. It's funny, although I make six cakes, I don't keep any for myself - they're all gifts. One for my colleagues, one for Tim's colleagues, one for my Mum and Dad, one for Tim's Mum and Dad, one for my Auntie and Uncle and one for my Dad's best friend. Not really sure how that happened!!

To finish these cakes is pretty easy. I use royal icing which is the traditional icing and sets hard. I used a spatula to dollop the icing onto the marzipanned cake.

I spread the icing over the top of the cake first, then the sides. Trying to spread it the icing evenly and ensuring no yellow of the marzipan is peeping through is the hardest bit.

 

I like to go for a snowstorm effect for my Christmas Cakes (because it's easiest!). I just use the flat of the spatula and tap the cake, the icing sticks an gets pulled into peaks as you pull away. See snowy?!

 

 

Then just stick your decorations onto the wet royal icing. Easy.

 

 

 

 

Icing Christmas Trees

I've made a start with the icing design for my Christmas Cakes and thought I'd share it with you. It's Christmas trees this year. Obviously.

I used flower paste for the design as it is so nice to work with, you can roll it really thin and it sets hard. The cutter and green food colouring I bought from my Imaginative Icing. Sorry about this next photo - it's food dye honestly!

 

I use the paste colours when dying flower paste as it stops the icing getting too wet and sticky and gives a much stronger colour than traditional liquid food colouring. I use the tip of a paint brush (never used for paint!) and dab a small amount onto a a third of the required flower paste. Working the dye into a smaller amount of the flower paste, then adding the remainder of the icing, helps achieve an even colour and avoids streaks. I then rolled the icing out on baking parchment dusted with icing sugar.

 

 

Then got cutting...

 

 

and cutting...

 

 

and cutting - Phew. I also cut some stars that I might use for the tops of the trees.

 

I'm letting them dry out this evening but I'll add a bit more decoration to the trees tomorrow.