10 Christmas Cake Designs to Deck Out Your Dessert Table

When you're decking the halls and putting out a spread, don't forget the cake. As both a decoration and a tasty dessert, these Christmas cake designs do double duty for all your festive holiday gatherings.

To make these cakes, you'll need some basic frosting recipes, a good rolled fondant recipe, and possibly some crispy rice treats. 

1. Form a cone shape out of crispy rice treats around a wooden food-safe dowel and cover it with a thin layer of green fondant.
2. Cut out branches in various sizes using green fondant or gum paste with a petal cutter set. Attach the cutouts to the cake with royal icing adhesive, working carefully from the bottom to the top.
3. Allow the tree to set and then carefully insert it into a decorated cake using the dowel to anchor it.

You can add additional tree decorations, like ornaments, stars, and gifts, once the tree is in place to add some extra Christmas pizzazz.

1. Bake a heavy cake in the number of layers desired.
2. Add your preferred filling between layers (frosting, fruit, cream, ganache), and cut it into a cone shape.
3. Cover with ganache. 
4. Working from the bottom to the top, place candy disks in rows that slightly overlap one another.

Keep additional ganache and a food-safe paintbrush handy so you can add more ganache as an adhesive when you need it.

1. Fill a decorating bag with light green buttercream and fit with a large star tip.
2. Carefully make a row around the outside edge of the top of the cake. Work your way in with each row, ensuring your stars are the same size. Four or five rows wide should be sufficient.
3. While the buttercream sets, roll green and red fondant.
4. Cut out holly leaves and berries and set aside.
5. Cut strips from the red fondant to form the bow and then another long strip to wrap the bottom of the cake.
6. Attach the bow, holly, and leaves with dabs of additional buttercream icing.
7. Attach the ribbon border at the bottom with a thin layer of buttercream icing.

1. Use round cookie cutters to cut out polka dots for the cake and the ribbon center.
2. Cut a thin line of green fondant to twist and use as the border at the bottom of the cake.
3. Cut strips of red fondant for the ribbon. Press the ends together and allow the fondant to dry overnight for the bow before you add it to the cake.
4. Attach everything to the cake with royal icing adhesive.

1. Cover your cake in white fondant.
2. Roll out red and yellow fondant and cut out stars using various sizes of fondant cutters.
3. Attach them to the cake with royal icing adhesive.
4. For a little extra glow, add some gold edible glitter or luster dust to the yellow stars.

• Scarf: Roll red fondant and cut thin strips, making fringe at the ends.
• Face and buttons:  Roll black fondant and cut out small circles for the buttons, mouth, and eyes.
• Nose: Roll orange fondant into the shape of a carrot.
• Hat: Form the hat shape with the black fondant. Cut small flowers out of the red fondant and set aside in a small flower former. Using a small star tip and buttercream frosting, add a yellow or orange center to the flowers once they have set. Roll green fondant and cut it into small, thin strips.

Use pretzel rods for the snowman's arms and create a border out of buttercream at the bottom of the cakes.

1. Frost with cream cheese frosting or thick buttercream icing.
2. Cut and roll fondant to create the drum stitching at the top and bottom of the cake. Press into the cake top and sides before the icing sets.
3. Break candy canes or sticks into pieces and place them in v-shapes around the sides of the cake.
4. Add candied cherries to the top.
5. If desired, add some candy-striped spoons or peppermint rods to represent the drumsticks.

1. Use a round-ball baking pan to make the basic shape.
2. Cover in fondant or buttercream in the color of your choice.
3. Create a stripe with buttercream frosting through the middle with a medium to large-sized round decorator tip and a pastry bag with vertical stripes — you can make horizontal stripes as borders to keep your endpoints even.

Add additional decorations as desired, like cornelli lace. Shape the ornament hook out of dark gray or black fondant and add to the cake once it has been decorated.