Christmas cake decoration ideas are on the mind of most families with youngsters on the run up to the 25th, and many more besides. Getting involved with some baking and decorating is a fun festive activity whether you have children or not, and is the perfect way to add a homemade element for gatherings of friends and family alike. The tricky bit is figuring out what you’re going to decorate the cake with; you’ve followed the recipe and your cake has come out of the oven beautifully golden, but choosing the next steps is easier said than done!
As the bakers and decorators of our very own range of Christmas cakes and with a lifelong passion and love for baking, we have loads of different ideas you can copy yourself or take inspiration from, with ranging levels of difficulty to suit all ambitions. From simple icing to more complex techniques, you’re bound to find something in our 2023 Christmas cake decorating ideas to get you started!
Snowman Cake
This cake is designed to look like a friendly snowman, using simple decorations that kids can get involved with. Once your cake is out of the oven and cooled down enough to start decorating, cover your cake in white frosting. Bring your frosty friend to life with large marshmallows or icing to create eyes, orange icing for the nose, and chocolate buttons or sweets for the mouth. If you’d rather have a 3D effect, you can use a rolled ball of icing on top of your cake to make the snowman’s head and use the main cake as the body! Choose your kids favourite sweets or chocolate for extra decorations - they’ll have as much fun adding the details as you will.
Santa Cake
This is another classic option in our bank of easy Christmas cake decorating ideas, giving kids the chance to get involved in the fun. This playful design mimics Santa’s jolly face and iconic red suit, using only easily made frosting and other toppings. Firstly, cover the cake in red buttercream frosting. Pipe a strip of black buttercream for the belt and wrap it around the middle of the cake. For the buckle, use gold coloured fondant to pipe onto the belt and use your other colours to pipe the face, beard and extra details to bring Santa to life!
Frosty Blue Snowflake Cake
This is actually one of the easiest Christmas cake decoration ideas out there, but the final result is one of the most impressive. All you have to do is carefully colour your buttercream to an icy blue colour (top tip - add your food colouring slowly and gradually, it’s much harder to undo than add more!) and cover your cake. Choose a piping bag tip that you like the look of, and pipe the snowflake decorations over the cake and down the sides, creating a cascading effect. For the finishing touches, dust a little bit of edible glitter or powdered sugar over the cake.
Christmas Yule Log
Decorating a Christmas yule log is simple, festive fun for the whole family. Start by making a decadent chocolate icing, and cover the entire cake with a layer - make sure you don’t forget the ends of the cake. For a more authentic final “log” effect, don’t apply the icing entirely evenly or run a fork through to add some texture. After that, you can have as much fun as you want with additional decorations! On our Christmas Yule Log, we went for decadent chocolate bark, crimson cranberries, a sprinkle of green tea crumb and even a little bit of gold dust to complete the festive look.
Rustic Gingerbread House Cake
If you fancy yourself as creative and want to get down to the piping, this is the perfect Christmas cake decoration idea for you. The first step towards a beautiful gingerbread house cake is to bake a cake - with a house shaped cake pan if you can find one! Cover the base with brown buttercream (or leave naked for an even more authentic look) and use white royal icing to pipe details like window frames, doorways, and roof tiles. Then it’s time to decorate! Chocolate buttons, peppermints and an assortment of other sweets can be used to adorn your cake and create a final result fit for any gingerbread people. This amazing idea is perfect for family gatherings or even to use as a special Christmas gift for loved ones.
Christmas Tree Tiered Cake
If you want to - literally - take your cake to the next level, then our Christmas tree cake decorating ideas could be the perfect choice for you. This one starts with some thought about the cakes themselves, and how many you’ll need to bake. Once you’ve decided, make your cakes in tiered sizes so they can be stacked to form a tree shape - how many you choose to do depends on how big you want your tree cake to be. After a perfect bake, stack and carve the cakes slightly to help the tree shape along, and ice with green buttercream using a star tip to create a pine needle effect. Decorate with edible Christmas baubles, tiny magical star sprinkles, and a star on top. Drizzle with edible glitter for a sparkling final effect!
Edible Christmas Wreath Cake
If you’re looking for wreath-themed Christmas cake decorating ideas, you’ve come to the right place! Bake a cake and once cooled, cover it with a layer of white buttercream. Decorate with red buttercream to imitate berries, small green buttercream leaves to mimic holly and whatever colour takes your fancy for decorative bows! Sprinkle it with powdered sugar for a stunning snow effect, and you’ll end up with what looks like an edible Christmas wreath, a showstopper for any festive get-together that will get mouths watering.
