Poinsettia Fondant Cake

This year we’re hosting a Christmas party with some friends and family. I’ve been thinking of new ideas to try besides the usual holiday cookies. This week I decided to try my hand at working with fondant to make a poinsettia Christmas cake.

A few years ago, I became interested in learning how to make fondant cakes. I purchased a box of fondant hoping to surprise my mother the next day with this incredible birthday cake. Unfortunately it turned out to be a disaster. I couldn’t get the fondant to stop sticking and it didn’t look smooth on the cake. Since then I’ve been too afraid to try again but I think it was time to give it another chance. So I’ve been practicing making a poinsettia cake in preparation for our party next month. While it’s still a big learning process for me, I wanted to share with you how I made my cake and a few tips I found along the way.

Supplies:

• Modeling Tool Set
• Disposable Piping Bag
• Square Cake Tin
• Piping tip
• Cake
• Fondant
• Frosting

Prepare your cake, bake, and cool. Sprinkle powdered sugar on your working surface to help prevent the fondant from sticking. The package said to lightly cover the surface but I found that sometimes I needed a little more when it began sticking. Tip when using colored fondant: If you can see the powdered sugar, gently dab it with a damp paper napkin. Once your cake is cooled, lightly frost it to help the fondant adhere to the cake. Roll out your fondant wider than your cake. Place the fondant on top and begin smoothing it around the cake. Using a Little Venice Cake Company retractable safety knife, I cut the excess fondant.

For the poinsettia you can Google a template, draw one, or free hand your flower. Drawing is not my specialty so I was happy to find plenty online by searching Google images. I cut the poinsettia using the retractable knife then fixed any flaws with the tool below from the modeling tool set. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this step and of the red fondant strip! For the fondant strip, I used the same modeling tool because it was easier to cut quickly than with the knife.

I then stacked two poinsettia flowers on top of each other, one slightly smaller. You can place them directly onto the cake or use a small amount of buttercream frosting underneath the flower. Using a small circle piping tip, I added yellow dots in the center of the flower.

I’m really happy with the way it turned out, but after completely failing last time who wouldn’t be?

I’m certain that with a little more practice I’ll be able to make three of these festive cakes for our party.