How To Make A Super Easy Christmas Tree Cake Topper

Nov 20

Nov 20 How To Make A Super Easy Christmas Tree Cake Topper

A super easy Christmas Tree cake that saved my butt this week. I had the worst case of cake block, no matter what I tried I just couldn’t come up with anything for this post. I Pinterested, I Googled, I Instagrammed and still I had bupkis. Finally, this morning, I stood at my kitchen counter with my kit out until something came to me. And thankfully it did! Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree how lovely are your branches? Well, more non-existent in this case but still, you cannae beat a tree!

I’ve decided this is the start of Christmas, I eased you in with winter spices last week but today, I’m just going for it. Lock, stock and barrel. This way, you can pick and choose, prepare and practice in advance of the big day, you’re welcome! You also get to eat the trial runs and everyone needs a little more insulation in this frosty, winter climate.

In other big news… I got made Cut Out And Keep’s cooking superstar this week! How fricking cool is that?! They’re featuring a new recipe every day, a little run down of my top makes if you will. You can see it here, pretty cool huh?

What You'll Need

3 cakes (you can find my recipe here)

½ batch of marshmallow frosting (recipe here)

½ can condensed milk

½ cup butter

2 cups icing sugar

200g green fondant

50g yellow/gold fondant

50g red fondant

1 barbeque skewer

Splash of vodka

Green food colouring

Edible silver shimmer (optional)

Method

Bake three cakes in 6-inch, round, cake pans. If you don’t have this size of pan, a larger one will work too, it’ll just be less tall. When cool, slice in half to make two layers, wrap in cling film and place in the freezer.

Empty half a can of condensed milk into a microwave safe bowl, cover with cling film and pierce several holes in the top. Microwave at half power for 5-10 minutes. Every 1-2 minutes, remove from the microwave and whisk. Keep watch to make sure it never boils and be super CAREFUL, never touch it with bare hands because its boiling hot. And, when removing the film to whisk, watch out for the scalding hot steam. When it turns to a lovely rich caramel colour, it’s ready. Since we’re only using ½ a can for the cake, if you turn the other half into caramel too, it makes the best ice cream sauce and lasts in the fridge for about 1 month if stored in a sterile, airtight container. Leave the caramel to cool.

Snip 2 inches off the end of a barbeque skewer and run it under a cold tap. Turn a colander upside down and dust with icing sugar. Shake any excess water off the skewer and place into the middle hole in the colander. Cover the skewer with half the green fondant, shaping into a cone. Leave 1cm at the top of the skewer clear. Brush the cone with a little water.

Make several little, green sausages and wrap them around the cone until it’s completely covered. Gently press in as you attach them, careful not to lose the shape.

With a small piece of yellow fondant make a star and score the front like this. Spray with shimmer and leave to dry.

Using the top of a piping nozzle, cut out red and yellow circles. Score these with stars, spray with shimmer and leave to dry.

Mix green food colouring with a tiny drop of vodka and use to paint onto the tree. Focus on the creases between each sausage to give the tree a little depth.

Using the remaining yellow and red fondant, roll up little balls for tree baubles and attach to the tree with a little water.

Remove the cakes from the freezer and unwrap. By now, the caramel should be cool. Transfer it to a large bowl with ½ cup of butter and 2 cups of icing sugar, Whisk these together until fluffy and smooth. Use a dab of frosting to stick the first sponge to a cake plate or board. Layer the others on top with a generous spread of frosting between. When all the layers are stacked, apply a thin layer of frosting all-round the cake to pick up the crumbs. When coated, place the cake in the fridge.

After 30 minutes, remove from the fridge and cover generously with marshmallow frosting. Smooth the sides and use the back of a spoon to create snow peaks on top.