Five magical Christmas cake decoration ideas by Lily Vanilli

Before you start creating this festive showstopper, you’ll need an iced cake, piping bags and nozzles, and the decorating ingredients such as swiss meringue buttercream and caramel (Lily shows you how to make them below).

Many supermarkets and small bakeries sell plain iced cakes now, so they’re easy to get hold of, while nozzles and piping bags can be found in the bakery section of supermarkets or at Lakeland and online. With practice you’ll soon be creating your own glorious festive masterpiece – and if you’re new to this art, don’t skip our Top Tips For Beginners, below. Good luck – and enjoy yourself!

Meet cake decorating expert Lily

Since opening her bakery in 2010, Lily has been delighting with her jaw-droppingly beautiful cakes and pastries. She’s the author of three cookbooks, creates edible works of art for brands and has even opened a second bakery in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her Instagram account and website are a treasure trove of information for budding bakers everywhere.

How to make swiss meringue buttercream

Use this to pipe the wreaths and trees
Makes about 500g – enough to decorate a large cake
Hands-on time 30 min
Specialist kit Thermometer

Put 150g caster sugar, 140g egg whites (about 5 egg whites) and a small pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl. Set it over a pan of barely simmering water, then cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reads 72°C on a thermometer. Pour the mix into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk at a medium speed until thick, glossy and cooled to room temperature (about 15 minutes). With the motor still running, add 300g chopped and softened unsalted butter. The mixture may split – keep going and it will come back together. Once it’s combined, whisk at a high speed for 2 minutes, then at the lowest speed for 1 minute to remove air bubbles. It’s now ready to be divided and coloured with different food colourings, flavoured with different extracts, then put in a piping bag and used. It can be frozen, then defrosted overnight in the fridge. Beat it again to restore its texture.

Which piping nozzle should I use?

Piping nozzles come in a mind-boggling number of shapes and sizes – and there are entire sites and social media accounts dedicated to breaking down what each one does. It’s a rabbit hole to fall into – thankfully, they’re all numbered, and Lily suggests the numbered nozzle she uses for each of the following techniques.

Technique 1: Piped wreath border

You’ll need… Piping bag with small star nozzle (number 18); swiss meringue buttercream with green food colouring; sugar pearls; gold edible glitter.

“I create swags by wiggling the nozzle slightly up and down and sweeping from side to side with a dip in the middle. To get even lengths, score the cake on top in divisions of your choice to guide you (I’ve used 6). For the baubles, I put sugar pearls in a small bowl with gold edible glitter and just gave them a shake. They can then be carefully applied at the top of the swags or wherever, with small tweezers or your fingers.”

Technique 2: Holly leaf wreath border

You’ll need… Piping bag with small leaf tip (number 352); swiss meringue buttercream with green food colouring; piping bag with a small round tip (number 2); swiss meringue buttercream with red food colouring.

“Starting at the top edge of the cake, pipe a green icing leaf by squeezing the piping bag gently in one spot for a second, then pulling away. Be sure to stop squeezing as you pull away and you will create a cute little leaf! Pipe these next to each other in a curving swag shape, overlapping slightly, to create a little holly wreath effect – each leaf doesn’t have to be perfect as the overall design will still look great. For the berries, just pipe clusters of tiny red icing dots into place and give the bag the tiniest flick to finish off each one.”

Did you know? Swags and garlands are the names given to the way icing is applied to the side of a cake – a little like bunting hanging on a wall or the billowing shape of tied-up curtain.

Technique 3: Piped Christmas trees

You’ll need… Piping bag with shell piping tip (number 6B); swiss meringue buttercream with green food colouring (see recipe, p73); sugar pearls or other decorations.

“With your piping bag pointing directly down onto the surface of the cake, pipe a flat star, then a smaller one on top, then a third and so on, to create a little tree. Top with sugar pearls as baubles or decorate as you wish.”

How to make caramel drip for cakes

Makes 550g
Hands-on time 45 min
Heat 100g caster sugar in a pan over a medium heat, swirling rather than stirring, until it melts then turns a light amber colour. Add another 100g caster sugar and repeat the process until you’ve added 300g sugar in total. Once it’s all amber, gradually pour in 250g warmed double cream, stirring between additions (be careful – it will sputter), and 15g sea salt flakes. Once combined, cool completely, then transfer to a squeezy bottle. Chill until needed. (You’ll have leftovers. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days and use over ice cream or any pudding you like.)

Technique 4: Caramel drip with salted caramel popcorn

You’ll need… Squeezy bottle; cake turntable; caramel (see above); salted caramel popcorn

“Once your caramel is in the bottle, the key here is getting the consistency just right. If it has been kept in the fridge, you may need to give it a few 10-second blasts in the microwave to make it liquid enough to drip down the cake – always give it a test before applying it to the cake. You don’t want it so runny that it just spills and pools down the sides, however – if this happens, leave it in the fridge for a little while to firm up.

When it comes to applying the caramel to the cake, you’re not squeezing it down the sides – you’re adding it to the top of the cake and just nudging it so it naturally drips down. Hover the nozzle of your squeezy bottle just above the icing on the top edge of your cake, then gently squeeze some out. Slowly turn the cake around on the turntable, nudging the caramel with the end of the nozzle so it falls over the side every inch or so. Continue like this until you’ve gone all around the cake, then trace another ring of caramel around the top right, next to the first ring of caramel you’ve just piped – this evens things out and neatens the finish. The popcorn can then be positioned on the top of the cake.”

Technique 5: Coconut snow

You’ll need… Desiccated coconut; edible white glitter
“This one is easy – I just stirred some white edible glitter into desiccated coconut and sprinkled it over the cake to create a snow scene.”

Lily’s top cake decorating tips for beginners

• You can re-use icing, so practise piping onto a plate or clean work surface, then scraping it back into the piping bag until you’re ready to move onto decorating an actual cake.
• Good piping is about confidence – when you’ve piped the shape you’re after, a quick flick of the wrist to pull the nozzle away when you stop squeezing will ‘cut’ the icing, so you can move onto the next shape.
• If you want to pipe a single batch of icing with several different nozzles, put the icing in a piping bag, snip the tip off, then put another piping bag over the top of it with the nozzle in place. This means you can take off the outermost bag and swap the nozzle, but keep the icing in the original bag.
• It’s much easier to decorate an iced cake that’s chilled, as your icing will set quicker on a cold surface.

Prefer to make your own cake to decorate? Browse our best Christmas cake recipes.