Christmas Wreath Cake

by Melanie B.
(Conway, NC)

A friend saw a cake very similar to this Christmas wreath cake in a magazine. She brought it to me and asked if I make one for her family Christmas party. I told her sure, as I'm always up for a challenge!

The cake layers are just regular white cake mix. (Next time I would like to try red velvet.) Then I frosted it with buttercream icing.

The "holly leaves", "berries", and bow were made from red and green candy melts with white Karo syrup added to make a type of candy clay. I made the bow by rolling out the red "dough" and cutting it into strips. The "leaves" were cut from the green "dough". (Rolled out thin, of course.) For the "berries", I just used the end of a straw. To make the bow, I looped the strips of red and used just a "dab" of water to "glue" them together. To keep the loops open, I used balls of aluminum foil inside them.

Arrange the "leaves" on the cake, add a few "berries", and place the bow on with a few streamers. Last of all, I sprinkled mine with sugar crystal for an icy sparkle. You can use fondant to make the decorations on this cake. Personally, I think the candy clay tastes better. You can even add a little flavoring to it if you like.