This was our Christmas cake:
Chocolate mud cake with Bailey's Irish Crème, and chocolate flavoured buttercream with Bailey's in that too. Lush. And if you know me, or follow me on facebook at all (www.facebook.com/Mariescreativecakes), you will know that I love piping with buttercream at the moment. I love the different effects you can get with it, so it HAD to be used on our Christmas cake. But then how to decorate? I was a bit short on time- lots of orders still to complete, presents to wrap, Christmas Eve entertaining to organise. I needed something quick and simple.
Candy Melt Christmas trees.
And here's how to do it.....
1. On a piece of greaseproof/baking paper, draw out the size and shape of the trees you want to pipe.
2. Turn the sheet over, so the drawing is on the reverse side, but you can still see it, and make a paper piping bag. If you're not sure how to do this, the instructions are here : How to make a paper piping bag
3. Put a handful of green Candy Melts into a small bowl or teacup, and melt them in the microwave. A medium heat for about half a minute, then stir, then back in again for another half a minute and so on until they are melted. You don't want to burn them. You don't need to add anything to them either, they need to hold their shape.
Pour this into the piping bag, fold over the top to stop any escaping, and cut a small hole in the tip end to pipe out of.
4. Using your drawn outlines as a guide, pipe over the pencil lines.
5. Then completely fill in the 'trunk' part of the tree- you need this to be thick so it doesn't break when you push it into the buttercream. Then squiggle (yes that's a technical decorating term) inside the rest of the tree outline, touching the outline too, as you need it all to hold together.
6. Repeat for the rest of the tree outlines. If you have any Candy Melts left, you can add some free hand (like my smaller ones).
**top tip** If you have candy melts left over, don't throw them away. Open up the piping bag and leave it to dry in the air. Then peel it off and store it until you need it for next time.
7. Then when you have piped the buttercream on the cake, insert the candy trees into the buttercream whilst it is still soft. They are a little on the fragile side, so make a few extra as you might need them.
This technique could be used for all sorts of celebrations- hearts for Valentine's, shamrocks for St Patrick's Day, letters for names for birthdays....the list is endless. Have a go, and let me know how you got on :)
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