Christmas Cake Decorating Ideas - No Traditional Icing!
Christmas Cake Decorating Ideas - an apricot buttercream and glazed fruit and nut topping with no Marzipan or Royal Icing simple and quick for beginners and my kids love it
Servings: 1 l Christmas Cake
Ingredients
- 2 x 750g uniced rich dark fruit Christmas cakes
- Buttercream
Buttercream
- 125 g butter
- 125 g apricot jam
- 200 g icing sugar
- Fruit & Nut Crust
Fruit & Nut Crust
- ½ Cup walnuts
- ½ Cup dried apricots
- 1 ½ Cup Cranberry Nut Medley
- 0.33 Cup apricot jam
- A little water
Instructions
- Start with the buttercream.
- Beat room temperature butter until light in colour and fluffy
- Add jam and beat to combine
- Add sifted icing sugar, and beat (I find it best to do this in 2-3 parts, rather than all at once)
- Spread on one of the Christmas cakes and then layer the second cake on top.
- In a small pot hit the jam with a dash of water, you want it thin enough to be able to be spread with a pastry brush
- Brush the top of your cake with the apricot jam glaze
- Arrange the walnuts and apricots around the edge of the cake to form a frame
- Brush the apricots and walnuts with a little more apricot jam glaze
- Add the Cranberry Nut Medley to the glaze in the pot, stir to cover, then pour out onto the centre of the cake
- Voila you are done
Video
Notes
Notes
Buttercream
- Unsalted is probably the best butter to use, but to tell the truth I like my buttercream a little salty
- This recipe makes enough buttercream to fill and top the Christmas cake, if you have chosen to just use buttercream and are not going to use the fruit and nut crust
- I find a tarter apricot jam works best, you could also substitute marmalade
- I find a tarter apricot jam works best, you could also substitute marmalade
- Feel free to substitute any dried fruit and nuts, and create any pattern you like