Pastry gestures
Christmas cake decoration: three simple and edible ideas
Decorate your Christmas cake with three accessible gestures: flat chips for a cream, sugar icing for biscuits or cake, and a cocoa stencil for a clear top. Each option has its own quantities; choose the one that suits your dessert.
Start with a cold cake on his plate. Keep decorations low, without peaks or hidden supports. The quantities are suitable for eight parts or twenty small cookies. Leave part of the surface visible for easy cutting.
Choose a technique and prepare your ingredients
The options are independent: does not stack the three sets by default. Each quantity corresponds to the support indicated.
Option A - flat chocolate chips
- 80 g dark baking chocolate
- 10 g of crushed hazelnuts, optional
Option B - white icing without raw egg
- 100 g of icing sugar
- 15 g of water at room temperature
- Up to 5 g of additional water, only if needed
Option C - Cocoa Stencil
- 5 g unsweetened cocoa
- A cake 18 to 20 cm above clear, cold and non-condensing
The equipment
- Kitchen scales
- Two small dry bowls
- Casserole for bain-marie
- Soft Spatula
- Baking Paper
- Small spoon
- Paper piping bag or cone
- Small strainer
- Washable food stencil or shape cut from clean baking paper
Gestures, step by step
Choose a decor adapted to the surface
On a cream taken, choose the pieces of chocolate. On cold shortbread, use sugar icing. On a clear and dry surface, prefer the stencil. Allow about 30 minutes of preparation and up to 30 minutes of taking or drying for an option.
Melt 80 g of chocolate
Chop the 80 g of chocolate in a dry bowl. Simmer 2 cm of water in a saucepan, then lower the heat. Place the bowl on it without contact with water. When a few pieces remain, remove the bowl and finish the cast iron by mixing. Wipe her underside.
Spread a thin and low plate
Place a sheet of baking paper on a flat baking tray. Pour the chocolate in the middle and spread it with the spatula on about 20 x 15 cm, in a layer close to 2 mm. If you choose hazelnuts, spread the 10 g on top and squeeze them very lightly. Let it take about 30 minutes in a cool room.
Break and then put the chips
When the chocolate peels off without a wet trace, lift the paper and break pieces of 3 to 5 cm. Place six to eight shards flat or slightly sloping on the cream taken. Reserve the remaining pieces to accompany the parts.
Mix the icing with sugar
Pour the 100 g of icing sugar into another bowl. First add the 15 g of water and mix with the spoon while crushing the small clusters. The icing should fall back into thick tape. If it remains too compact, add the extra water in small drops; stop as soon as it spreads out slowly without becoming transparent.
Draw a simple pattern on a cookie
Fill a small cornet with two spoonfuls of icing, then cut an opening of about 2 mm. Try a line on baking paper. On cold cookies, draw a zigzag, three dots or a thick initial. Let dry flat for at least 30 minutes before moving the cookies; wait longer before stacking them.
Prepare the stencil and cocoa
Choose a star, a wide flash or a simple strip of baking paper. The stand must be clean and ink-free. Place it gently on the cold top of the cake, without pushing it down. Pour the 5 g of cocoa into a small colander; this amount is enough to powder slightly, without forming a thick and bitter layer.
Powder and lift without slipping
Hold the strainer a few inches from the cake and pat it lightly to place a regular veil. Grab the stencil at two ends and raise it vertically. Do not slide it: the contour would become blurred. Makes this finish shortly before serving, as the cocoa gradually absorbs moisture from the cream.
Keep the decor
Keep the chips in a dry box, cool and away from the oven. Store the biscuits according to their recipe. After decoration, respects the preservation of the cream cake in the refrigerator.
The benchmarks for success
Two techniques are enough
Combines a stencil and a few splinters, or a white icing and an initial. Keep the decor low and easy to cut.
Prepare without slowing down the meal
Prepare decorated chips and cookies the day before. Place them on a creamy dessert on the day of service. Make the stencil at the last moment.
Variable brightness is normal
Simply melted chocolate can be matte. For brilliant and brittle chocolates to offer, follow the recipe for tempering moldings.
Questions Before You Start
Can I replace the water with lemon juice in the icing?
Yes, in the same quantity at the beginning. Add it gradually to keep a thick icing. The sour taste is suitable for shortbread and citrus cakes.
Why does the cocoa pattern disappear?
A wet surface absorbs the powder. Let the cake cool, avoid condensation and make the stencil just before serving.
Should I use raw egg white?
Nope. The proposed icing uses only icing sugar and water. It is suitable for simple strokes, without looking for the solidity of a professional royal ice decor.