From Good Housekeeping
Fun to make and easy to adapt. Make sure to use royal icing sugar as it
sets firmer and is easier to pipe than regular icing sugar.This years' Christmas Cake decoration brings the wow-factor. The bright green trees are so easy to make and all together, create a magical forest topping for your Christmas cake. Don't forget to allow time for trees to set overnight!
Makes:
20
Prep Time:
1
hour
0
mins
Total Time:
1
hour
0
mins
Ingredients
- 20cm fruit cake
- 2 -3tbsp apricot glaze
- 750 g pack royal icing sugar
- 500 g natural or golden marzipan
To decorate
About 300g royal icing sugar
Paste/gel food colouring, in forest shades, we used spruce green, teal and holly green
white lollipop sticks
Silver dragees and sugar snowflake sprinkles
To finish (optional)
Silver taper candles
Edible silver glitter spray, we used Cake Decor
You will also need
Fine piping nozzles, plain and starred
Directions
- Put cake on a stand or board and spread top and sides with apricot glaze. Sift a little of the royal icing sugar on to a work surface and roll out marzipan until large enough to cover cake. Lay on to cake and smooth down with your hands, easing out any creases. Trim excess. Allow to air dry for at least 2hr, ideally overnight.
- Next make tree decorations. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. In a large bowl, beat 300g (11oz) royal icing sugar and 4tbsp cold water with a handheld electric whisk until very thick but just pipeable (adjust as needed with more royal icing sugar or water). Divide into small bowls (number depending on how many colours you want) and dye each bowl a different shade of green.
- Place a lollipop stick on a lined sheet. Scrape your first icing into a piping bag fitted with a fine plain or star nozzle. Working on to the lollipop stick and starting at the top, pipe down in increasing conjoined horizontal lines to make a triangular-shaped tree. Decorate while wet with dragees and sugar sprinkles, if using. Repeat with remaining icing and different shades, varying the nozzles and sizes of the trees, if you like. Allow to dry at room temperature to set hard, about 24hr.
- Once trees have set hard, make up the remaining 750g pack royal icing according to pack instructions. Spread over marzipan-covered cake, keeping it fairly peaky.
- While still wet, carefully peel set trees off sheets and and press into the top of the cake, trimming the sticks first if you want to create different heights. Next press in taper candles, if using. Allow icing to set.
- To finish, dust trees and cake with glitter spray, if you like.
