Looking for simple Christmas cake decoration ideas to decorate your own Christmas cake? Here is an easy design you can make your for Christmas party (Christmas table or holiday table) or simply as a gift.
Unlike traditional Christmas cake decorations that use with royal icing, this is a fondant decorated cake, and all the decorations on the cake are edible.
This easy Christmas cake idea incorporates all my favorite Christmas decorations and Christmas color – a lovely wreath with holly leaves and berries as the cake toppers and pretty maroon baubles decorated in gold against white background. And they are all perfectly edible decoration.
Overall, this was not a very hard design to assemble. In fact, this was a fun Christmas cake to put together in a fairly short period of time.
This is a detailed step-by-step guide and hope you find it useful for your Christmas cake decorating projects!
Table of contents
What you need for the cake
Raw Materials for the cake
- Cake – this was a 6 inch round cake measuring 6 inches high. I used my butter pound cake recipe for the cake, baked it in 3 layers in 3 separate cake pans. You can also use my chocolate cake recipe, or any of your favorite type of cake recipes including classic fruit cake and gingerbread cake for more festive flavours.
- Buttercream – I used buttercream (made using butter and icing sugar) to fill the cake layers as well as to crumb coat the cake. You can also cover the cake with a layer of marzipan before covering it with fondant.
- Fondant or sugar paste – The entire cake was covered in this icing and all the decorations on the cake were also of fondant. I used Satin Ice in white, chocolate, red, black, and green.
- Lemon extract – I mixed the gold edible dust with lemon extract to achieve a smooth paintable gold paste.
- Edible gold dust – I used this to paint the stars and stripes on the baubles.
- Gold dragees – these were store-bought, and I purchased them from a local cake decorating supplies shop.
- Fondant glue & Shortening – these were the glues for the project.
Decorating Tools
- Fondant extruder tool – I used this tool to decorate the Christmas baubles on the cake. There were 2 different disc patterns used, one a small circle disc and the other a small flat oblong shape.
- Sugarcraft knife – this was a general cutting tool in the project.
- Round cutter set – I used a medium-sized cutter for the baubles.
- Holly leaf plunger cutter – I used a set consisting of 3 different sizes of leaves. For this project, I used the medium-sized leaves.
- Snowflake cutter – this was also part of a set of 3 plunger snowflakes cutters and I used the medium-sized one for this project.
- Square plunger cutter – I used this for the top portion of the baubles.
Baking and Covering the Cake with Fondant
- In decorating the cake, I started by preparing the cake first. Once baked and completely cooled down to room temperature, I leveled the layers, sandwiched them with buttercream and covered them with a thin coat of buttercream. And then I covered the stacked cake with smooth fondant icing.
Making the Wreath
- Next, I made the wreath frame. To make this, pinched out tiny pieces of chocolate fondant and rolled them into thin strips.
- And then I gathered all the strips together and gently twisted them.
- I applied a coat of shortening on the edges of the cake top and placed the twisted strips on top of the cake. And I repeated the process until I achieved a complete wreath that was about the same size as the cake diameter.
- In joining the Christmas wreath pieces together, I adjusted the ends so that they look as natural as possible.
- Where it was too thin, I rolled out additional chocolate strips and attached them to the wreath especially at the joints.
How to Make the Baubles
The gold stripes
- To make the gold stripes, I used my extruder tool and piped out the lines. I used 2 different shapes, one a flat wide strip and the other, small plain thin round strip.
- The small plain thin round strips were also to be used as the ropes from which the baubles hang around the cake, so I made sure I piped some of these strips long enough to fit as the ropes. For the rest, I piped the strips in random lengths making sure their lengths were at least as long as the diameter of the baubles.
- Next, I straightened all the strips properly before leaving them aside to set. Once set, I painted them gold.
The edible gold snowflakes
- Next, I prepared the gold snowflakes. These were cut out of white fondant using my snowflakes plunger cutter. You can also use snowflake cookie cutters if you do not have the plunger cutters. I made a couple of these, including some extras to give allowance for any breakages.
- And then I painted them gold and left them aside for the paint to dry. You can also add some edible glitter to the snowflakes if you like.
The strings
- While waiting for the strips to set, I measured and marked my cake at regular intervals to position the strings. Firstly, I measured the circumference of the cake. And then I divided and marked it into equal intervals, making sure the intervals were neither too short nor too long, but just nice once the baubles themselves were added on to the cake.
- As for the length, since some were short and some were long, I marked these on the cake as well.
- And then I applied a thin coat of glue at the back of my thin fondant strips and carefully attached them to the cake.
- I cut off excesses using my sugar craft knife.
Making the bbaubles
- Once the gold strings were in place, I made the baubles. I wanted to achieve a deep red tone for these and since the closest color to a deep red hue I had was red fondant, I mixed a little black fondant to it to achieve the color I wanted.
- And then I rolled it thin and cut out the baubles. I cut all of them at the same time and kept them covered as I worked on each of them.
- Next, I dusted the round maroon cutouts with pearl luster dust. This gave the maroon a pretty luster shine.
- I then attached the gold snowflakes to half of the cut outs. I used shortening to hold the flakes in place. And then, using the opposite end of one of my cake decorating brushes, I marked tiny little dents around the edges.
Adding the gold dragees
- I filled the dents with gold dragees, one dragee into each hole. To hold the beads securely in place, I applied a light coat of fondant glue into each dent before placing a gold dragee into each of them.
- I left these aside and went on to decorate the remaining maroon circles with the second design, i.e., the gold geometrical lines. I started with the wider strips, followed by 2 thin strips on either side. After that, I attached these to the circles with glue. And I used my sugar craft knife to cut the excess strips off them.
Attaching the baubles to the cake
- Once the baubles were done, I cut out small pieces of square maroon cutouts, and using the same round cutter I used to cut my baubles, I cut off a portion of the squares. These were to become the tiny top portion of each of the maroon circles. And I dusted these with pearl luster dust.
- Once done, I attached these small pieces to the cake, one piece at the end of each fondant strip.
- That was followed by the snowflakes baubles at the end of each long strip and the geometrical lined ones at the end of the short strips.
The Holly Leaves and Berries
Making the leaves
- After that, I went ahead to complete the wreath on the cake by adding holly leaves to it. For the leaves, I used Satin Ice green fondant and added a tiny bit of black to it to give the leaves a darker hue of green.
- And then I rolled the fondant thin and cut out holly leaves using my medium-sized plunger cutter.
- Once the leaves were all cut, I arranged them onto the cake. I started with the leaves on the outer edge of the wreath. And I applied a layer of shortening to the back of each leaf before putting them on the cake.
- Once the outer layer of leaves was done, I did the inner layer. These also had a thin coat of shortening at the back to hold them in place.
Making the holly berries
- And to complete the wreath, I added tiny holly berries made out of red fondant to it. To make sure the berries don’t go rolling all over the cake top, I applied glue to each of them so that they were held in place securely.
- Once the wreath on the cake top was complete, I repeated the brown wreath at the base of the cake. And finally, to finish off the deco, I added 2 holly leaves and 3 holly berries to it in one section of the wreath.
Like this simple Christmas cake decorating idea? Here are my other posts you might want to check out
- Easy Christmas Cupcakes (Recipe + Tutorial)
- Christmas Reindeer Cupcakes
- Mini Christmas Cheesecake - Perfect Festive Treats
- Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
- Snowflakes Cookies
- Christmas Tree Cupcakes
- Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Cherry Coconut Cookies
- Light Fruit Cake Recipe - Favourite Christmas Cake Recipe
- Strawberry Jam Cookies
Recipe (Printable)
Here is the full printable version of my easy Christmas cake recipe and decorating guide:
Easy Christmas Cake (Recipe + Tutorial)
Christmas cake decorating tutorial - Learn how to make a lovely wreath cake design with edible fondant holly leaves, berries and baubles.
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Yield: 1 Six inches round cake
Equipment
- Fondant extruder tool
- Sugarcraft knife
- Round cutter set
- Holly leaf plunger cutter
- Snowflakes plunger cutter
- Square plunger cutter
Ingredients
Cake
- 420 g self-raising flour
- 420 g castor sugar
- 420 g butter at room temperature
- 7 eggs at room temperature
- 105 ml milk
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence
Frosting and Decoration
- Buttercream
- Fondant
- CMC powder
- Shortening and fondant glue
- Lemon extract
- Edible gold dust
- Pearl luster dust
- Gold Dragees
Instructions
Baking the cakes
- Preheat oven to 170 °Celsius.
- Beat butter and sugar till soft and creamy for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.
- Finally, add in vanilla essence and combine well. Pour batter into 3 well greased and floured cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed. The cakes are done when a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any wet batter.
- Remove cakes from oven and let them cool completely before icing and decorating.
Assembling the Christmas cake
- Once the cakes are baked and have completely cooled down, level and sandwich them with buttercream before covering them with fondant.
Making the fondant wreath
- Pinch out tiny pieces of chocolate fondant and roll them into thin strips. Gathered all the strips together and gently twist them.
- Apply a coat of shortening on the edges of the cake top and place the twisted strips on top. Repeat the process until you achieve a complete wreath that is about the same size as the cake diameter.
- In joining the Christmas wreath pieces together, adjust the ends so that they look as natural as possible.
- Where it is too thin, roll out additional chocolate strips and attach them to the wreath especially at the joints.
The gold strips on the fondant baubles
- Use the extruder tool and pipe out white strips of fondant. Make 2 different shapes, one a flat wide strip and the other, small plain thin round strip.
- The small plain thin round strips are also to be used as the ropes from which the baubles hang around the cake, so make sure to pipe some of these strips long enough to fit as the ropes. For the rest, pipe the strips in random lengths making sure their lengths were at least as long as the diameter of the baubles.
- Next, straighten all the strips properly before leaving them aside to set. Once set, paint them gold. To make the gold paint, mix a few drops of lemon extract into some edible gold dust. The consistency should be like a paste and not to liquid.
The edible gold snowflakes
- Roll some white fondant thin and use the snowflakes plunger cutter to cut out the snowflakes. Make extras to give allowances for breakages. Paint them gold and leave them aside to dry.
The fondant bauble strings
- Measure and mark your cake at regular intervals to position the strings. Firstly, measure the circumference of the cake. And then divide and mark it into equal intervals, making sure the intervals were neither too narrow nor too wide, just nice to evenly space the baubles on the cake.
- As for the length, since some are short and some were long, mark these on the cake as well.
- And then apply a thin coat of glue at the back of the thin fondant strips and carefully attach them to the cake.
- Cut off any excess using the sugar craft knife.
Making the fondant baubles
- Once the gold strings are in place, make the baubles. If you are using red fondant, mix a little black fondant to achieve the maroon color. Roll the fondant thin and cut out the baubles.
- Dust each of the round maroon cutouts with pearl luster dust. This will give them a pretty luster shine.
- Attach the gold snowflakes to half of the baubles. Use shortening to hold the flakes in place. And then, using the opposite end of one of a thin cake decorating brush or a skewer, mark tiny little dents around the edges.
Adding the gold dragees
- Fill the dents with gold dragees, one dragee into each hole. To hold the beads securely in place, apply a light coat of fondant glue into each dent before placing a gold dragee into each of them.
- Leave these aside and decorate the remaining maroon circles with the second design, i.e., the gold geometrical lines. Start with the wider strips, followed by 2 thin strips on either side. After that, attach these to the circles with glue. Use the sugar craft knife to cut the excess strips off them.
Attaching the baubles to the cake
- Once the baubles are done, cut out small pieces of square maroon cutouts, and using the same round cutter used to cut the baubles, cut off a portion of the squares. These are to become the tiny top portion of each of the maroon circles. Dust these with pearl luster dust.
- Once done, attach these small pieces to the cake, one piece at the end of each fondant strip, followed by the snowflakes baubles at the end of each long strip and the geometrical lined ones at the end of the short strips.
Making the holly leaves
- Roll some green fondant thin and cut out holly leaves using the medium-sized plunger cutter.
- Once the leaves are all cut, arrange them onto the cake. Start with the leaves on the outer edge of the wreath. And apply a layer of shortening to the back of each leaf before putting them on the cake.
- Once the outer layer of leaves is done, do the inner layer. Apply a thin coat of shortening at the back of each leaf to hold them in place.
Making the holly berries
- To complete the wreath, add tiny holly berries made out of red fondant to it. To make sure the berries don’t go rolling all over the cake top, apply glue to each of them so that they are held in place securely.
- Once the wreath on the cake top is complete, repeat the brown wreath at the base of the cake. And finally, to finish off the deco, add 2 holly leaves and 3 holly berries to it.
Nutrition
Calories: 6666kcal | Carbohydrates: 731.9g | Protein: 96.3g | Fat: 381.7g | Saturated Fat: 228.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 100.8g | Trans Fat: 13.9g | Cholesterol: 2061.8mg | Sodium: 5060.5mg | Potassium: 1125mg | Fiber: 10.1g | Sugar: 427.7g | Vitamin A: 12342.8IU | Calcium: 651.5mg | Iron: 9.8mg
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And that’s that. My easy Christmas cake idea with comprehensive guide for decorating.
Hope you enjoyed this great recipe and simple cake tutorial. Happy Decorating and Merry Christmas! 🙂
Tanya R Williams
Beautiful cake. Can't wait to try it. Thank you very much for such detailed directions.
Priya
Thank you Tanya 🙂