Tutorial ... simple decorating part 2

So to follow up on my little tutorial on how to cover your Christmas cake , I thought I would try and share a couple of ideas for decorating your cake. As I said before you can either cover in fondant or rough ice in royal icing to get that snow effect.

1. The snowflake

You can buy these fab little cutters which normal come in a set of three different size. I got mine on ebay really cheaply but they can be bought in lots of place.

Snowflake cutters

Roll out your fondant making sure you keep it moving or it will stick. You can dust your work top with powdered sugar or I prefer corn starch as its not so sticky. I don't like it to thin and don't have your fondant too thick as you will not get a clean cut. Press your cutter down and give it a little shift to make sure its cut out ok. You can cut out all different sizes and then you will be ready to put them on your cake. You just need a little water and a paint brush. Do not put too much water on the back as it will make your fondant too wet. Then just stick on as you like. You can even buy food safe glitter if you want more glitz. I made little cakes last year as gifts and they went down very well. 

Little white on white Christmas cakes

Same idea but white on red

Very easy and simple and so quick but they look good.

2. Singing choir boy

This was an idea from a friend ages ago but I thought it was way beyond me. However, having gave it a go it really was fun to make. This one is a bit more work but if you are up for that lets get on !

Ok so we start with the boy's neck ruffle. Its very easy to make from either fondant or I used a product called flower paste or gum paste. Once again you can buy from e bay or you can buy it from cake decorating stores. This sets hard so holds its shape very well, it tastes ok too. If its to hard to get then just use fondant but your ruffle may not hold its form as good.

This is the one I  use but there
are lots around.

So get your self a little ball of the paste or fondant and roll it around until its smooth. It doesn't take long and the smooth you get it the easier it will be to roll out.

Then roll out flat and use a small round cutter to cut out two circles . You then can use a tooth pick or a small paint brush for the next step. Put your tooth pick on the edge or your circle and roll, don't press too hard but keep rolling all around the edge. This will give you a nice frill effect.

Do this on both circles then taking a tiny amount of water stick them together and set to one side. If you want
your two layers to lift up a little try putting tiny bits of foam in between the two layers . You can also just pinch the top layer to make folds.

Now we can make our little choir boy. So you will need fondant again but in red this time. You can use the gum paste if you want but fondant will do. You can buy ready coloured  or colour yourself. I would say its easier with red or black to buy ready made as they are hard colours to make.

Take a small about  Id say a bit about the size of an apple but you can decided how big., and roll till smooth and into a ball. Same as the neck frills. Once its into a ball you can roll a bit at the top to form a pear shape. Make the top flat but don't worry too much. Damp the top and lift your ruffle on. Push down a little in the middle to make a dip.

Make a small ball of fondant for his head. You can make a mouth with the end of your paint brush so it looks like his mouth is open and singing. Damp the top and put the head on.

You can add hair by cutting a little strip and cut into it will scissors. Use a little water and stick it on. Make little bits rolled to add more hair on top .You can add a tiny ball for his nose and little balls for his ears.

When your fondant is dry you can use a food colour pen to just dot in eyes to finish his face off.

So moving onto to his arms. Make two little balls of white. If you use tiny scissors make a little cut then pat the edges so it looks like a thumb, make two.

Then roll out two red sausages not too big. Cut the end so its neat and using water stick the hand onto the arm.

Push down a tiny bit can to make it a little flatter. Wet the back and stick onto the body of your boy. Bent them in so they almost meet.

The song book was just a little bit of fondant which I pinched to make the fold and then brush with tiny amount of water and add into his hands.
This is my finished one.

 I think it would look great to make three and then do the snow effect icing and stand them on top. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you love the cute little boy. Please say if you need anything else explained and I would love to see what you make.