christmas tree

Nothing could be prettier or more festive than this delicious Sparkling Christmas Slush Drink! It is a super impressive drink to serve for dinner parties, holiday parties, bridal showers, or anything else you can dream up!

Sparkling Christmas Slush Drink

water

sugar

100% cranberry juice*

lemonade

orange juice

lemon (optional)

colored sugar (optional)

liters Cherry 7Up (Three 2 liter bottles)

cranberries (to garnish)

orange (to garnish)

In a large pot, combine 4 cups water with the sugar. Heat over high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely.

Remove from heat and add the cranberry juice, frozen lemonade (don't make it into juice, just add it frozen), and the orange juice.

Stir until the lemonade is dissolved.

Pour the juice into two 9x13 inch casserole dishes or cake pans. Or any wide shallow dish will do.

Cover and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours or up to 1 week.

Meanwhile, sugar the rims of the glasses. Pour colored sugar into a small bowl or a plate. (Any color would be fun, but I love to do red sugar. Plain white sugar would be pretty, or yellow. Green would be festive for Christmas!)

Rub the rim of the glasses with the lemon slice. Dip the glass into the sugar, then set aside to let dry. It's great if you can do this an hour or so before serving, but it's not necessary. You can even do it the night before your party to save time.

When ready to serve, use a fork to break up chunks of the slush and add to each glass.

Pour Cherry 7Up in each glass.

Garnish with fresh cranberries and an orange slice, if desired.

Deck out a Christmas tree with juice-filled ornaments that holiday party guests can use to make their own mimosas.

Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar

juice,

750-mL bottles dry sparkling wine,

orange liqueur

garnishes like berries, fruits and herbs

Fill ornaments with 2-4 types of juice. Keep...

Fill ornaments with 2-4 types of juice. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Place ornaments on the tree.

Serve with garnishes, chilled champagne and orange liqueur.

To make a mimosa, add 2 ounces juice...

To make a mimosa, add 2 ounces juice and 1 ounce of orange liqueur to a champagne flute. Top with champagne.

Today’s tutorial post includes detailed step-by-step photos to teach you everything you need to know to create your own cake decorated with a piped buttercream Christmas tree, sprinkle lights and ornaments, and topped with a star.

Buttercream Christmas Tree Cake Tutorial

recipe Chocolate Cake

Perfect American Buttercream

Sugar Pearls, Sprinkles and Nonpareils ((variety of shapes and Christmas colors))

Gold and/or Silver Sparkling Sugar

Star Anise

Gel Food Coloring (“forest green”, “electric green”, “turquoise”, “leaf green”, and “super black”)

Prepare the chocolate cake batter as instructed, and bake in four 6-inch cake pans.

After baking your cake, cool the cake layers completely before assembling and frosting your cake.

If you&#39;re making the 4-layer cake option, it can be helpful to wrap the cake layers individually in plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator, then stack and fill the chilled cake layers.

Bake and Cool the Cake

Make 5x the recipe for Perfect American Buttercream.  For a white buttercream, use half butter and half vegetable shortening.

You can make the buttercream in advance, and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze it for up to 3-6 months.  Let the buttercream come to room temperature, and if necessary, re-whip it for several minutes with your mixer.

Make the Buttercream

Once you’ve baked and cooled your cake layers, and made your buttercream, you can get started on the decorating.  Stack and fill your cake layers with buttercream, then frost your cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream.

Chill your crumb-coated cake for 30 minutes, then frost all over with a final coat of buttercream, saving the extra buttercream for the tree.  You can smooth out the buttercream on the sides of the cake, or leave it swirly, whatever you like.

Once your cake is frosted, chill it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes before piping your Christmas tree.

Fill and Frost the Cake

I highly recommend making yourself a template to use as a guide when you start piping on the buttercream for the tree.  You’ll find the whole decorating process so much easier if you know exactly where to put your piping tip before you begin.

To make a template, simply measure the height of your cake, then cut a piece of wax paper that same height.  Now cut the wax paper in the shape of a triangle, to resemble the general shape of your Christmas tree.  Hold the paper against the cake, and use a toothpick or sharp knife to lightly scratch the outline onto your buttercream.

Lastly, scratch horizontal lines across the triangle to divide the tree into 3 or 4 sections.  Since my cake is tall, I knew that I wanted 4 sections of branches.  If you’re decorating a shorter 3-layer cake, you may only want 3 sections, or you can do 4 shorter sections.  It’s totally up to you, depending on how you want your tree to look.

Return the cake to the refrigerator until you’re ready to start the decorating.

Make a Cake Decorating Template

For the star, spread a small amount of buttercream (about a tablespoon) onto a piece of wax paper. The buttercream should be about 1/4 inch thick or slightly thinner. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar, and press it gently into the buttercream. Freeze the buttercream on the wax paper for about 10-15 minutes, until firm.

Use a mini star cutter (about 1 inch wide) to cut a star from the frozen buttercream. If you don’t have a star cutter, you can just use a knife to cut a star shape. Keep the star in the freezer until you’re ready to place it on your cake.

When your tree is done, you can carefully lift the frozen star off the wax paper with a small offset spatula, and press it onto your cake.

In the end, I decided not to use my buttercream star, and I used a star anise instead.  Either option looks really pretty on top of the cake.

Make a Buttercream Star

It can be a little tricky to get a deep, woodsy green color with food coloring, but the key is to use several different colors until you’re happy with the shade.  There are so many shades of green gel food coloring available, but I’ll just explain how I achieved this shade with the colors I have on hand.  All of my gel colors are the AmeriColor brand.

With my bowl of extra buttercream, I started by adding a few drops of Forest Green.  You would think from the name that it would make a deep green buttercream, but it doesn’t.  Then I added a few drops of Super Black to darken it a little.  Be careful with the black, as too much can make your frosting gray.  From there, I added a touch of Electric Green and a small dab of Turquoise and Leaf Green.  Then I just kept adding a bit more of each as needed until I was pleased with the shade of green.  If you search online, there are many articles that can guide you on how to combine food colors to get the specific shade you’re after.  I think that gel food coloring is very hard to measure, since some are thicker and some are thinner, so a “drop” to me might be something different to you.

Remember that you can always add more color, but you can’t take it out if you add too much.

Also note that buttercream darkens as it sits.  So if you think it isn’t dark enough, let it sit (covered) for 30 minutes if you have the time to spare, then come back and check the color.

Color the Buttercream Green

To pipe the Christmas tree, fit a piping bag with tip #1M, and fill with buttercream.

If you need to, practice your piping first on a piece of wax paper.  Then you can scrape the buttercream back into the bowl and use it again.  There are only two styles you need to master for today’s cake.

First, practice piping a “shell”.  A shell involves first pushing the piping tip forward slightly, and then pulling it back in the opposite direction.  This will create a rounded look for the bottom of the branches.  You’ll be piping this shape in a vertical line, from the bottom of the cake, upwards.

Then, practice the “swoops” shown in the next image.  This is sort of like a shell, but with a little swoop off to the side, before piping upwards.  I used this shape for the outer branches on my cake, to give it a prettier shape.

Start at the bottom of the cake, and pipe a vertical shell in the center, from the bottom edge, up to the first horizontal line on your template.

Then pipe 1-2 more shells on either side of the middle one, to start filling in your template.  To finish the bottom row, pipe a swoopy shell on each side.  On the left of your Christmas tree, swoop from the left towards the right.  On the right side of your tree, swoop from the right towards the left.

Now pipe the branches on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sections, always working your way from the middle to the edge.  The top branch of the tree should be the last branch you pipe.

4-Layer Cake Option.  Note that on my cake, which is a 7-inch tall, 4-layer cake, I have 4 sections of branches.  The bottom section has 7 piped branches, the next has 5 branches, the next has 4 branches, and the top has 2 branches.

3-Layer Cake Option.  For a shorter 3-layer cake, you may only need 3 sections of branches, or you could also do 4 shorter sections.  This will mean that you’ll be piping fewer branches.  Your bottom section might only have 5 branches, the middle section might only have 3-4 branches, and the top section will have 2 branches.

Pipe the Buttercream Christmas Tree

Before the buttercream crusts over, decorate the Christmas tree with sugar pearls and sprinkle “ornaments”.

I like to start by tossing some gold or silver sparkling sugar at the tree.  There’s no real technique here – I just toss it and see where it lands.  Then I’ll do the same with some nonpareils in red, green and white.

Next, you can use your fingers or a pair of tweezers to individually place medium and large sugar pearls.  I even had some edible gold leaf on hand that I’ve been saving for a special project, and this seemed like the perfect cake to use it on.

Lastly, place your star on top.

Decorate With Sprinkles

Please share a photo with me on Instagram so I can see it! :)

Love this tutorial! I had never tried to do any kind of cake decorating and by following your guide, it came out beautifully! Thank you for the easy steps!

A photo tutorial for decorating a holiday themed sheet cake using a combination of piping tips and palette knives.  Using all buttercream, this cake is decorated with a fireplace, stockings, wreath, garland and Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree Sheet Cake

recipe Vanilla Sheet Cake

recipe Chocolate Buttercream

Vanilla Buttercream

Assorted Christmas Sprinkles

White Sparkling Sugar

Black Sanding Sugar

Prepare the recipe for Vanilla Sheet Cake or Chocolate Sheet Cake as instructed.  Cool completely.

Turn the cake out onto a baking sheet or large serving platter.

Cake

Prepare 1/2 the recipe for Chocolate Buttercream as instructed.

Frost the cake all over with the chocolate buttercream, smoothing out the top the best you can.  Make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the chocolate buttercream to use for decorating.

Refrigerate the cake for several hours, until the chocolate buttercream is firm and cold.

Chocolate Buttercream

Prepare 2x the recipe for Perfect American Vanilla Buttercream as instructed.  Use half butter / half shortening for a whiter color.

Use the Super Red gel food coloring to color 1/2 cup of the vanilla buttercream a deep red.

Use the Super Black, Forest Green, Electric Green, Turquoise, and Leaf Green gel food coloring to color 1 1/4 cups of the vanilla buttercream a deep green.  I start with a small drop of each color, then continue to add more of each until achieving the shade of green I want.

Leave the rest of the vanilla buttercream white.

Fit a piping bag with a coupler and one of the small round tips, like #3 or #4.  Fill with chocolate buttercream.

In the lower left corner of the cake, pipe the outline for the fireplace, then fill in the outline.  Lightly dab a small amount of the red and white buttercream on top of the brown, then use a palette knife to smooth it out.

Drag a toothpick through the buttercream to create the brick pattern.

Add a few drops of Super Black gel food coloring to a small amount of the chocolate buttercream.  Fit a piping bag with a coupler and one of the small round tips, like #3 or #4.  Fill with the black buttercream.

Pipe the mantle above the bricks, and fill in the center of the fireplace.  Use a palette knife to smooth out the black buttercream.

Add a few drops of Electric Yellow gel food coloring to a small amount of the red buttercream, to make it more orange.  Use a palette knife to paint some orange flames in the center of the fireplace.

Use a palette knife to paint some chocolate brown logs over the flames.

Sprinkle a little black sanding sugar around the logs to resemble coals and ashes.

Decorating the Fireplace

Fit a piping bag with a coupler and a small round tip, and fill with the red buttercream.

Pipe the outline of the stockings, then fill in the stockings and smooth the buttercream with a palette knife.

Fit a piping bag with a coupler and a small round tip, and fill with white buttercream.  Pipe some fluffy swirls on the top edge of the stockings, then pipe a small loop for them to hang on the mantle.

Decorating the Stockings

Fit a piping bag with a coupler and a small star tip, such as #18, and fill with green buttercream.  Pipe a wreath above the fireplace.

If you have long gold sprinkle rods, you can use them to make candles sitting on the mantle.  Use a palette knife to paint a small orange flame above each candle.

Pipe some garland on the mantle, then decorate the wreath and garland with sprinkle ornaments.

Decorating the Wreath and Garland

Using a palette knife, paint branches for the Christmas tree, starting at the bottom and working your way up.  This was trickier than I thought it would be, and I&#39;d suggest practicing first on a piece of wax paper before you paint on your cake.

Decorate the tree with sprinkle ornaments.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Pipe some more green garland at the top edge of the cake, and decorate it with sprinkle ornaments.

Add a few presents around the fireplace or Christmas tree.

Use tip #12 to pipe some white buttercream around the base of the tree to resemble snow or a fluffy blanket.

Add some sparkling sugar and top the tree with the star anise.

Finishing Touches

What a beautiful, creative idea!  Your tutorial is excellent... I love how you explain, then put the pictures below for reference.  Makes it so much easier.  It's inspired me to try it!

This is the most beautiful Christmas cake I have ever seen! I am going to a family Christmas brunch and am going to attempt to make this. My sister said, make it, but don’t eat it. It’s too beautiful to eat! LOL! Thank you for sharing and Merry Christmas!

Oh goodness, gracious me. I just chanced upon your blog. This Christmas holiday decorating is SO NEXT LEVEL. WOW!!! So beautiful. I cannot believe the amount of talent you have. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Sure to impress your family and friends as a centerpiece of your party or buffet!  You can customize to your taste, using cheese, meat, olives, cherry tomatoes, or any antipasto item that you can skewer with a toothpick.

O Christmas Appetizer Tree

Styrofoam cone (wrapped in plastic wrap)

collard leaves

floral pins

toothpicks

jar Spanish olives

Kalamata/black pitted olives (from the olive bar at the grocery store)

Cheddar Cheese cubes (about 1 lb.)

Colby Jack Cheese cubes (about 1 lb.)

cherry tomatoes

Rosemary sprigs

Star cocktail pick

Start with a floral styrofoam cone,  The styrofoam cones come in assorted sizes so you can scale this appetizer tree up or down to suit your crowd. Mine was 4 7/8 inches x 17 7/8 inches. The cones are also available in green, but the green was out of stock when I went to buy my cone.

Wrap your styrofoam cone in plastic wrap so the styrofoam doesn’t come in contact with your food.

To camouflage the cone, wrap it in collard leaves, so the white of the styrofoam didn’t show once the tree is assembled.

Remove the large stems from the collards before wrapping them around the cone, overlapping and attaching them with floral pins.

Once wrapped, start with the cherry tomatoes as red ornaments, and place them on the tree with toothpicks spacing them evenly on the tree.

Add your other ‘edibles’ with a toothpick. You can place them in rows if you like or in a more random fashion. I tucked sprigs of rosemary in between some of the spaces for some fragrant Christmas greenery.

Top 5 christmas tree recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas tree recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Sparkling Christmas Slush Drink

Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar

Buttercream Christmas Tree Cake Tut...

Christmas Tree Sheet Cake

O Christmas Appetizer Tree

Top 5 christmas tree recipes from across the web

The most viewed christmas tree recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Sparkling Christmas Slush Drink

Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar

Buttercream Christmas Tree Cake Tut...

Christmas Tree Sheet Cake

O Christmas Appetizer Tree

The most viewed christmas tree recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine