Nisha is the owner of Sweet Delights Cakery in West Bloomfield, Michigan and has been decorating cakes for over ten years. She makes custom cakes for any occasion and specialises in sculpted and wedding cakes. Nisha won the grand prize at the 2014 Michigan ICES Sugar Art showcase; her work has been published in the ACD and Cake Masters Magazine and was also featured in the Detroit Free Press for new bakers in the Metro Detroit area. She offers a variety of classes for all ages in the West Bloomfield, Michigan area and also offers a series of tutorials on her website.
Equipment Required
White fondant
• Red, Green, Black, Brown gum paste
• Sugar Dress Lace Mix
• Large lace mat
• Everclear or lemon extract
• Edible glue
• Vegetable shortening
• Desiccated coconut
• Piping gel
• Dusting pouch
• Black, Egg Yellow, Ivory, Avocado, White,
Red, Brown and Moss Green gel colours
• Charcoal Black, Apple Green, Spruce
Green, Daffodil, Forget-Me-Not, Mango
and Gold petal dust colours
• Glaze spray
• 24 and 26 gauge floral wire
• Round nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• Rolling pin
• Gum paste rolling board
• Foam pad
• Leaf veiner
• Holly leaf cutter
• 1” Styrofoam balls
• Green and brown floral tape
• Brushes
• Ball tool
• Veining tool
• Five star serrated tool
• Shaping tool
• Sugar shapers, pointed chisel and mini
bone chisel
• Tweezers
• Scalpel or X- Acto knife
• #3 and #10 tips
• Bubble straws
• 8” wooden base
• 5/16”x24” metal rod
• 8 5/16” screws
• 8 5/16” washes
Step 1
Bake 3 layers of cake for each tier (5”,6” and 7” rounds). Stack and fill the cakes and then refregerte it for few hours before carving. Finished height should be approx 4”.
Step 2
Cut out 4” 5” and 6” cake boards for each tier. Tier 1 – 4” and 5” cake board Tier 2 – 5” and 6” cake board Tier 3 – 6” and 7” cake board Place the 4” cake board on top centre of the iced 5” cake tier.
Step 3
Using the top and bottom boards as a cutting guide, cut around the side of the cake to create a cone shape.
Step 4
Apply buttercream on the cake and refrigerate it for few hours until the buttercream is firm to the touch.
Step 5
Cover the tier with fondant
Step 6
Using Rice Krispies Treats, make a 5” high x 3” diameter cone and cover it with fondant.
Step 7
To make the knots on the birch, take a 1” ball of fondant, flatten it and place it on the fondant covered tier. Use a #10 tip and make an indentation on the centre of the fondant.
Step 8
Using a bone chisel mini sugar shaper, score circular lines around the centre circle.
Step 9
Make more elongated lines.
Step 10
Using tweezers, pinch on the fondant and repeat all the way around the cake.
Step 11
To detail the top of the tier, use a veining tool and score a line around the top ¼“ from the edge.
Step 12
Using the pointed chisel sugar shaper, make indentations all around the scored line.
Step 13
Using a knife tool, draw lines on the top of the cake from the outer edge to the centre.
Step 14
Mix Charcoal Black petal dust with Everclear or lemon extract and paint the knots.
Step 15
Use White gel colour to highlight the black knots.
Step 16
Mix Ivory gel colour with Everclear to make a light colour wash and apply it to the side of the tier, leaving some exposed white fondant.
Step 17
Place the cake on a turning table and mix the Ivory gel colour with Everclear to make a darker colour than you made above. Using a wide brush, apply the paint to the top of the tier while turning the turntable.
Step 18
Using the edge of the brush, apply paint on the outer edge of the top tier.
Step 19
Take the White gel colour and mix it with Everclear to make a white colour mix and apply it over the Ivory layer you painted above.
Step 20
Follow the steps on the product to make the lace mix and apply a coat of the mix to the back side of the mat. Bake it in the oven according to the product description. Take it out of the oven, let it cool for a while and peel off the sheet to be used to decorate the outer bark.
Step 21
To create the inner bark texture, use the Ivory wash made in Step 16 and apply it to the cake lace. Apply a White layer over the Ivory layer. Finally, mix Charcoal Black petal dust with Everclear and use a smaller brush to apply light lines over the cake lace.
Step 22
Using a wet paper towel, apply some water to the back of the cake lace and place it around the cake. When placing the cake lace, stretch it so there will be less wrinkles on the cake.
Step 23
Using a scalpel tool, cut around the areas where there is a knot.
Step 24
Trim off the excess cake lace at the top and bottom edges.
Step 25
Using tweezers, add more texture by pinching the cake lace to create lines around the cake.
Step 26
Using a finer brush, draw lines around the cake using Ivory colour and Charcoal Black. Mix the colours separately with Everclear.
Step 27
Using a scalpel tool, gently peel off some areas of the cake lace to create a peeled bark texture.
Step 28
Using the veining tool, make a heart shaped indentation on the bark.
Step 29
Use Ivory gel colour and a finer brush to draw over the heart shaped indentation and the wording.
Step 30
Using a dry brush, dust Charcoal Black petal dust lightly around both edges of the heart shaped line.
Step 31
To make the moss, you will need desiccated coconut. To hydrate the coconut, use a little bit of hot water and add some Avacado colour and Egg Yellow gel to get the desired green colour. Add a little drop of White gel colour to the mixture and lightly mix it so there are spots of white on the moss.
Step 32
Apply some pipping gel to a few areas around the knots.
Step 33
Using tweezers, place the green desiccated coconut (moss) around the knots. Repeat the above step to create the bark texture on the remaining tiers, including the top tier (Rice Krispies Treats cone).
Step 34
To assemble the cake, you will need the 8” wooden base, 5/16”x24” metal rod, 8 5/16” screws and 8 5/16” washes.
Step 35
Attach the metal rod to the base by using a screw and a washer at the top and bottom of the base.
Step 36
Insert a bubble straw to the centre of the cake before placing the cake through the metal rod.
Step 37
Using fondant, make a 1” high ¼” thick rectangle strip to cover the metal rod and the screw.
Step 38
Cover the fondant strip with the sugar lace that you made in Step 20.
Step 39
Continue assembling the rest of the tiers.
Step 40
Cut out the holly leaves from the green gum paste.
Step 41
Use a 26 gauge wire to thread the holly leaves using edible glue.
Step 42
Use a leaf veiner to vein the holly leaves.
Step 43
Using a foam and a balling tool, thin out the edges of the leaf and let them dry on an apple tray overnight.
Step 44
Use Apple Green petal dust to dust the centre vein of the holly leaf.
Step 45
Apply Spruce Green petal dust from the edge of the petal towards the centre of the leaf.
Step 46
To give the leaf a shine, spray a glaze over the leaves.
Step 47
Colour the edges of the leaf using Americolor Bright White soft gel food colour (optional).
Step 48
To make the pine needles, cut the 26 gauge wire to 2” lengths. Use the Green gum paste to make a ¼” ball and insert it ⅔ of the way into wire. Using your thumb and index finger, roll the gum paste around the wire until you reach the top. Finally, slightly bend the pine needle.
Step 49
Take one of the pine needles and attach it to a 24 gauge wire using brown floral tape. Take five more needles and attach them around the centre pine needle. Move ⅛” down and attach another set of five needles.
Step 50
Step 51
Apply some Forget-Me-Not petal dust to the pine needles.
Step 52
Use the Red gum paste to make a ¼” ball (a berry) and then insert a 26 gauge wire into the ball by applying some edible glue to the wire.
Step 53
Using a five star serrated tool, make an indentation on top of the berry and let them dry overnight.
Step 54
Using a Charcoal Black petal dust, colour the top of the berry.
Step 55
To make the berry sprigs, attach one of the berries to the 24 gauge wire by using a brown floral wire. Attach two more berries on either side of the wire to make the centre cluster of the berry sprig.
Step 56
Make two more clusters and attach them as shown in the picture.
Step 57
Finally, spray the berries using a glaze spray to give it a shine.
Step 58
Take a 1” Styrofoam ball and attach it to a 24 gauge wire using hot glue. Apply vegetable shortening to the ball. Take the ¾” round black gum paste and cover the ball with it.
Step 59
Using the veining tool, score lines on the ball going only half way down.
Step 60
Use a #3 round icing tip and make a circle indentation at the end of the four lines.
Step 61
Mix Gold petal dust with Everclear to make a gold paint.
Step 62
Leaving the veining exposed in black, paint the four sections of the ball using the gold paint. Let the balls/jingle bells dry overnight.
Step 63
Take a ½” ball of gum paste and attach it to a 24 gauge wire.
Step 64
Using 24 gauge wire and ½” round ball of brown gum paste, make a cone shape that is 1” in length.
Step 65
Cut the gum paste into three parts and leave a centre.
Step 66
Using scissors, cut the centre into two parts.
Step 67
Trim the edges off each petal.
Step 68
Take the shaping tool and a foam pad and cup the five petals.
Step 69
Let the centre of the pinecone dry overnight.
Step 70
Roll out the gum paste to ⅛” thick and cut out a rectangle shape that is 2”x1”. On one side, cut it into five “V” shaped zig zags.
Step 71
Take the shaping tool and a foam pad and cup the petals.
Step 72
Using edible glue, attach the centre of the pinecone to the petals you made above.
Step 73
Let it dry overnight.
Step 74
To make the individual pinecone petals, take a ¼“ round ball of gum paste and make a teardrop shape that is approx 1” in length. Take a 26 gauge wire, make a small hook on one end and insert it into the gum paste teardrop.
Step 75
Place the petal on a foam pad and using the veining tool, make a indentation on the tip of the teardrop which will flatten the end.
Step 76
Turn the petal and cup it by running the veining tool from the tip of the petal to the bottom.
Step 77
Make 10-12 of these petals for each pinecone (make extras in case some break) and let them dry overnight.
Step 78
To assemble the pinecones, you will need the 24 gauge wire, brown floral tape and pinecone base and petals
Step 79
To assemble the petals, take a 24 guage wire and attach it to the pinecone base using brown floral tape.
Step 80
To form the third layer of petals, take 5-6 petals and attach them around the pinecone. Stagger the petals around the base.
Step 81
To form the fourth layer, start it ¼” below the third layer and follow the previous step.
Step 82
Dust the petals with Chocolate petal dust and apply Charcoal Black petal dust into the centre stem of the pinecone.
Step 83
Finally, take Americolor White gel colour and apply it to the tip of each petal.
Step 84
Attach a wire to the berry sprig that will be used to attach the garland to the cake.
Step 85
To make the garland, attach the pinecone, holly leaves, pine branches and the jingle bell to the berry sprig to the length needed for the first tier.
Step 86
When attaching the garland, use a bubble straw when inserting each end of the garland wire to the cake.
Step 87
Continue making more sections of the garland and attach them to the rest of the tiers.
Step 88
Your cake is finished!