Royal Icing Christmas Bow Cake

You will need: 6” x 5” cake, 10” cake board, Turntable, Offset spatula, Palette knife, Paintbrush, Metal side scraper, Metal Royal Icing Ruler, Mini star cutter, Mini bell cutter, Rolling Pin, Knife, Icing sugar, Smoother, Strip cutter, 3mm circle cutter

Knead 250g Poppy Red Icing on a clean, dry surface until smooth and pliable. Lightly dust surface with icing sugar and pin out to 3mm thick. Brush cake board with water and cover.

Prepare the rest of the Icing by kneading 1tsp Tylo Powder into each. Prepare the Royal Icing by mixing with some water and letting down to a soft dropping consistency.

Attach the cake to the cake board by securing with Royal Icing and place onto a turntable. Paddle the Royal Icing all the way around the sides of the cake using the offset spatula, knocking out any air bubbles. Scrape over using the metal scraper to neaten and take off any excess from the top. Leave to set.

Paddle the Royal Icing onto the top of the cake, knocking out any air bubbles. Run the Royal Icing Ruler over the top from back to front to neaten. Take off any excess from the sides. Leave to set.

Repeat this process and build up to 3-4 coats of Royal Icing. 🌟 Top Tip: Any imperfections in the Royal Icing when coating can be fixed with a sharp knife. Let the Royal Icing set completely then use the knife to gently scrape them away.

To create the loops of the bow, pin out each colour of Icing and cut out strips 1” thick and 5” long using a strip cutter. Fold the strips over a small rolling pin or something similar dusted with icing sugar and leave to set.

To create the tails, cut out strips 1” thick and 5” long. Cut a V shape into one end and lay the strip over two small rolling pins or something similar dusted with icing sugar and leave to set.

Using the Icing colours of your choice, cut out mini star and bell shapes and one 3mm circle.

To create the mini candy canes, roll the White and Poppy Red Icing into long, thin sausages and twist together. Cut into 1” lengths and bend over the tip.

To create the mini bow decoration, roll the Icing colour of your choice into a very thin sausage and cut into 2” lengths. Take one end and loop over into a bow shape, attach with a little water in the centre.

Roll Poppy Red into a long sausage and cut into differing lengths at least 6” long. Starting from the centre of the cake, drape over the edge attaching with water. Repeat until you have 12 “strings” equally spaced apart. Attach the decoration of your choice to the end of the string with water.

Place the Icing circle onto the top of the cake in the centre, build the bow on top of it starting with a layer of loops sitting flat around the outside edge of the circle then work your way inwards. Play around with the positioning and direction of the loops, inserting the tails into any gaps.