Christmas trees are a significant component of many holiday celebrations. Not only can they add an air of festivity and charm, but also they can make for very eye-catching displays.
Crumble cake into a large bowl and combine it with frosting by hand (or food processor). Form the mixture into 1″ balls and chill before rolling them up and inserting lollipop sticks.
Decorations
Add some shimmer to your cake or cupcakes this year by crafting DIY ornaments using homemade cake! These DIY Christmas ornaments are easy to create and will look lovely hanging on a tree or displayed in your kitchen; just be sure to keep them out of reach from kids and pets!
Prepare cake mix and frosting according to package directions, adding food color if desired. Create one 1/4-inch balls from these ingredients and arrange them on a cookie sheet; freeze for 15 minutes. Sculpt ornament caps by creating 20 pea-size fondant balls and scoring their sides vertically before attaching each cake ball with melted candy coating (optional).
Decorating a single cake ball with a face can be done using black icing to pipe details such as eyes, mouth, and nose. A roll of black gumdrops can serve as the hat; adhere it to a coated cake ball using additional melted candy coating before attaching it with additional nonpareils as ribbon.
After dipping half of the cake balls in green candy and the other half in red candy, tap off excess; return to cookie sheet; allow to set. Spoon melted white candy into a resealable plastic bag, cut a tiny corner off, and pipe patterns onto cake balls and cereal pieces (for an ornament hook). Press an upright cereal piece upright in the center for ornament security.
Frosting
Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes are an irresistibly festive seasonal treat! Perfect as standalone snacks or added to any dessert table for the holidays. Each cake-shaped treat contains creamy creme filling topped with white frosting, green sprinkles, and red frosting stripes – and is individually wrapped so that you can indulge without guilt!
For creating a cake ball Christmas tree, you will require a styrofoam cake base and Wilton’s large piping tip #17. Firstly, cover your 8-inch foam core cake board in fancy foil as the tree will become heavy with cake pops; you need to ensure its stability before beginning to decorate it!
Next, crumble the cooled cake into a bowl and combine it with the frosting using either your hands or hand mixer – make sure all components have been evenly mixed! After this has been completed, chill the mixture for approximately 2 hours (you could also speed this process by placing it in the freezer) before rolling it into 1″ balls with an inserting stick on a wax-lined baking sheet until ready for assembly.
Once the cake balls are assembled, dip them in melted chocolate with a spoon or rubber spatula before adding some decorative sanding sugar for decoration – best done while the chocolate is still wet!
If you want to add stars, do so prior to applying sanding sugar; this will allow it to adhere more securely. Once dry, apply some melted candy coating around the edges of each cake pop for texturization, and use a toothpick dipped in melted candy coating for an even more decorative effect.
Sanding sugar is entirely optional but very attractive. Once dry, add an optional drizzle of red cooking decorating icing.
Cones
Decorating a cake ball Christmas tree presents many options for decoration. There are various methods of creating festive effects, from using different shades of frosting and decorative sprinkles to using mini candy lights as strings of lights or adding a star at its summit.
Step one of constructing your tree requires creating its base. A foam core cake board or Wilton fancy foil should provide enough support to withstand its weight; once complete, place your solid foundation in the refrigerator to remain chilled until ready to assemble your masterpiece.
While the base cools, make the cake balls for dipping. Remove the frozen cake mix from the freezer and slice off a tiny sliver from each cake ball so they will retain their natural shape when dipped into vanilla candy coating. Dip each one carefully into it, then carefully place on ice cream cones with their cone facing up so candy coating doesn’t drip down onto their sides.
If your icing is too stiff, add powdered sugar. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment for easier cleanup later, scoop some icing with a spoon into a bag, pipe out an outline on the cone’s base with more icing, add one small cake ball on top, spread additional icing over the top of this, and decorate as desired with nonpareils!
Once the icing has been set, decorate your tree to reflect your theme of choice. Use green candy sprinkles for a tree motif or red nonpareils for the ribbon. Additionally, add an extra dab of icing at the tip of the cone so it looks like a star.
Make this delightful project with kids for your party, and it will indeed become the hit of the evening! Not to mention, it tastes incredible and makes an ideal centerpiece on any dessert table this holiday season.
Balls
Making cake balls for a Christmas tree is easy and will delight both kids and adults. Combine crumbled cake pieces with frosting, shape into 1-inch balls using either your hands or a cookie scoop, chill in the refrigerator/freezer for two hours to speed up this process, insert lollipop sticks into each of them and dip them in candy melts before letting any excess chocolate drip off before placing back onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet with decorative sprinkles for additional decoration if desired.
Once finished, create the frosting by either making it smooth or swirling. With smooth icing, pipe decorative patterns on cake balls using any tip you desire, or sprinkle some luster dust in colors of your choosing over ornaments to add some glisten and shimmer!
For a start, use a small spoon to scoop out a portion of yellow icing and arrange it on top of a green cake ball. For the trunk, place four chocolate-coated cake balls in an inverted triangle tree-shape on a plate or serving platter and the remaining cake balls along any short sides as you please (this can serve as the trunk); you could also decorate this as desired with Twizzlers Pull ‘N’ Peel candy and M&Ms to complete the scene!
If you prefer making more traditional cake balls, tint the icing with food color and roll pea-size balls to form ornament caps for each cake ball. Once complete, use a dab of icing to secure them onto each sphere before shaping them into balls. For added dimension, add nonpareils or other colorful sprinkles into the icing before shaping your balls.
Use melted candy coating instead of dipping cake balls when coating them with cake balls. Pour the melted coating into a piping bag fitted with a ribbon tip; cut off one corner and drizzle each cake ball. You may add decorative accents such as red gumdrop slivers for garnish.
