How are you decorating your Christmas cake?

[ChristmasCountdown]

I'm making a Christmas cake for the first time this year and looking for decoration ideas (that are fairly simple). Any suggestions?

[happygolucky0]

one of the above cakes that was posted it says up to a week before. Will be watching as would like to know myself. I have a hectic week at work from the 19th being able to do it before would be handy!

[DoubleMum]

If you are marzipanning (which seems to have somehow turned into a verb) you can certainly do that now, it needs time to dry out before you ice anyway. I'm going to ice mine at the end of the week, it will be fine as long as you've let the marzipan dry out.

[ChristmasCountdown]

Thank you - I didn't realise you had to let the marzipan dry before putting the icing on. How long does that take?

[DoubleMum]

Should be OK after a few days - you'll be able to feel the difference in the marzipan as it will harden a bit.

[INeedThatForkOff]

My mum cuts a large circle out of the icing, then places several tealights on it, filling the remaining space with silver balls. A wide, festive ribbon around the bottom hides any botches.

Though since last year it's more of a kid-friendly affair - snowy royal icing topped with a gingerbread house and Father Christmas and a snowman made from fondant.

[moonbells]

I half did this one

My snowflake was flat not up as it's got to travel 140 miles and I did a trail of stars over the edge, but the snowballs round the bottom were fun. Used some fondant with a bit of boiling water to make a thickish glue, and stuck them on. No need to Royal ice the bottom join for once! Nice and simple, and the first time I can honestly say I've wanted to balls up my cake.

[LolaLadybird]

I am curious as to why you need to let the marzipan dry out? I've never done this before (fondant icing goes straight on after the marzipan) and its always been fine.

[ChristmasCountdown]

I've just looked at my marzipan and realised I don't have enough and it does say to leave for 24-48 hours. It says that you should boil and sieve the apricot jam before you put it on - is this really necessary?

[DoubleMum]

The yellow from the marzipan can bleed through, but this perhaps happens more to royal icing. I'm just used to doing it so I do it for fondant too, maybe I don't need to!

[HappyAsEyeAm]

I marzipan and then ice, and I put a decorating set from Lakeland on teh top. I think they're selling it this year too. Its a stile, robin and a winter scene. I know that sounds really naff, but honestly, its lovely.

[rhondajean]

We don't like marzipan or royal icing so I cover mines in buttercream, smooth the sides, and turn the top into an icy scene. I usually put snowmen etc into it but this year, I'd like to try putting some blue buttercream in for a pool and using penguins instead.

One year I did royal icing and just used silver balls mind you.

I also like that sugar glitter, you can sprinkle it on your buttercream and it looks like frost.

[fiftyval]

red icing with white snowflakes. saw this idea in a specialist cake shop last year and liked the Scandinavian feel.

[FlyOverTheMistletoe]

anyone tried the ikea marzipan ? If so is it any good ?

[NoHaudinMaWheest]

I cover with fondant icing and then make a snow scene with well scrubbed Playmobil figures. I (or the DCs) just make a snowman and snowballs from fondant icing which are easy. Sometimes we make a pond with a bit of baking foil and put some Playmobil ducks on it.

[Zwitterion]

Has anyone had any success making a frozen pond/lake?

I was thinking slightly blue glacé icing poured into a dip made in the royal icing. Would this work?

Thanks in advance

[janeyjampot]

I made a frozen pond last year by colouring some fondant icing a very pale blue and rolling it very thin. I just put it on top of my fondant icing top, smoothed the edges so it was level, and sieved some icing sugar over the top.

[ChristmasCountdown]

What about the blue wash mentioned by Startail above for the lake?

[ItsIcyOutsideIThinkINeedThorin]

Glace icing would work for a pond but what I've done in the past is to ice the whole cake in white fondant then cut out a pond shape (cut through the marzipan too). Then colour some fondant blue and roll it out thinner than the white icing. Cut out the blue icing in the pond shape (you can use the cut-off white fondant as a template) and then put the blue fondant into the hole - because the blue fondant is thinner, and you've not got marzipan on that bit, it will appear sunken.

Every year I say I'm going to find time to make this wonderful cake but I never do.

[mawbroon]

Ha ha, I remember the year my mum tried to add some blue to the icing to give it a "whiter than white" look, but she put too much in! Blue christmas cake anyone?

I am attempting royal icing for the first time and if it looks shit then I will get the kidsto cut out shapes from red and green icing to put on top!

[Zwitterion]

Great ideas here, thank you.

[weevilswobble]

I feel soooo inspired! You girls are Goddesses i tell you!

[4forkssake]

Here's a good way of making a pond. It's a bit of a faff (& minty!) but really effective.

www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/food/recipes/penguins-and-polar-bear-cake

[PigeonPie]

I've just bought snowflake cutters from the wonderful cook shop in Banbury. My cake will have snowflakes in blue and, possibly, silver this year; I've decided to go for plain and simple this year and at the current rate of production of Christmas things (ie the cards aren't even made let alone written) I might have got it done by Christmas Eve!

[DoubleMum]

ItsIcyOutside I love that cake and aspire to make it too. One day.

[Zwitterion]

4Forks that is brilliant. Thank you.