Nativity Cake- A Cake Decorating Video Tutorial

Hi everyone, today we are going to create a beautiful nativity cake, just in time for your Christmas gatherings. Because this cake carries such a significant meaning, I wanted to keep the design simple for any skill level, while creating a feeling of warmth and elegance.

I love painted accents for the personal touch that they bring to a design, and I think that the hand painted figures work very well in the nativity. You may even like to expand the nativity to include the wise men, animals, and other figures.

Materials

In this tutorial, our nativity cake is a basic 8 inch/6 inch stacked construction (supported with 4 bubble tea straws beneath the 6 inch tier.) We frosted the tiers with our fluffy vanilla buttercream recipe. The top tier is tinted Americolor Sky Blue with a touch of Royal Blue. Each tier was on it's own cake board cut to the size of the cake, and then onto the pedestal.

Templates-CLICK HERE FOR TEMPLATES

Xacto or Sharp Knife for cutting out figures

Coloring Gel: Americolor Sky Blue, Royal Blue, Bright White, Copper(skin tone), Chocolate Brown, Avacado Green, Lemon Yellow, Tulip Red (*Don't feel limited to my color choices!)

Gum Paste (or fondant with tylose powder kneaded into it)- I used gum paste for my figures

Royal Icing- I used for accents on my angel. You could also layer on fondant accents instead.

Floral Wire- I used 22 gauge wire-- brown for Joseph's staff, and a small piece of white for my angel. Remember that white wire can be painted brown with coloring gel/vodka "paint"

Vodka & Palette or plate for painting. If you do not want to use vodka, lemon extract (not lemon juice) is a good substitute.

Lollipop Stick or Wooden Skewer- Anchor for our angel topper

Gold Highlighter Dust- Optional. Not edible. I used to paint my angel's horn.

Gold Hologram Dust- Optional. Used on my angel's halo.

Twinkle/Pixie Dust- Optional. Used on my Christmas star.

Gold ribbon- Optional. Used as a bottom border for my top tier.

Small Paint Brushes for painting figures (these need to be reserved for your cake use) ;0)

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For figures that will become cake toppers, like my angel, allow at least 3 days to dry to be on the safe side. It's also a good idea to make more than one. (I had an extra angel or two just in case mine broke!) For cut-outs that will be partially supported in back by the cake, as with my Mary, Joseph, and manger, 1-2 days of dry time will be fine.