Final Christmas Cake of 2014

The final Christmas cake I created this year was for my own family gathering. I made a rich fruit cake, covered it in marzipan and coated it in royal icing. I used several coats spread over several weeks to produce a reasonable covering.

I made up some stringwork icing and piped these along the top edge of the cake. I turned the cake upside down and piped the top edge of the cake in the same way. I piped shell detailing around the bottom edge of the cake.

Finally I made some sugar roses, freesia and leaves and bunch these together for the centre of the cake.

Sugar Roses and Freesias

I was very pleased with how this cake came out. I think it looks beautiful but it's not particularly Christmassy. I'm sure my family won't mind though. This cake would make a beautiful anniversary or celebration cake. The piping is very fragile though so I would like to do too large cake in this design but I do like the stringwork and think it's very effective. 

Finished cake

Birdcage Cake

For one of my display cake this year I decided to make a birdcage cake. This isn't something I'd tried before but something I really wanted to give it a go. 

The birdcage is created by using 2 6" cakes stacked on top of each other with a domed cake on the top. I made these out of rich fruit cake so they would last. I covered the cakes in marzipan and then covered in blue sugarpaste. I placed this on top of 2 larger round dummies. 

For the cage effect I rolled out some modelling icing and stuck these down the sides. I also created a centre for the top of the cage. 

I made some large sugar roses and placed these into the side of the cake, in flower picks, along with some hydrageas and blossoms. I also made some sugar butterflies and stuck these on. 

Top of the cage

The final step was to place the ribbon around the cake and also placed bows on them. 

Roses

I was really pleased with this cake, I'd like to have covered the birdcage better but I will next time. I would also dowel the cakes next time to ensure there's no sinking or collapsing. 

Finished cake

I'm looking forward to showing this cake to the brides-to-be and seeing what they think. It's a cake with a bit of a difference and can be made to any colour scheme.