This unusual but very effective cake is easy to make using the following step by step instructions. I used a 6″ fruit cake and Patchwork Cutters to make the decorations.

Later I will show an 8″ cake with this design which incorporates all the items from the “Shepherds” set.

You will need:

6″ rouund fruit cake
8″ round cake board
8″ cake box
500 grams Marzipan
500 grams Atlantic blue Fondant (sugar paste) – Available from a Piece of Cake Thame
Apricot jam
Icing sugar (for dusting)
“Shepherds” Patchwork cutters
Small amount of Mexican Paste
Food colouring in various colours
Edible Adhesive (Gum Arabic) or a small amount of Royal Icing

Making the Decorations

Roll out the Mexican Paste thinly and cut out the following:

• Shepherd (kneeling)
• Extra head dress for shepherd
• 2 x Sheep (right facing)
• 2 x Tufts of grass
• 2 x Palm Trees (I separated the palms to make smaller ones)
• 1 x large star
• 12 x small stars

Leave to dry for 24 hours and then paint a black nose and lines on the sheep’s legs to give definition.

Paint the shepherds cloak with any bright colour you wish and also his head dress and the extra head dress (both the same colour). Do not paint adjoing colours at the same session as they will bleed, leave 24 hours between each colour. When the cloak is dry, using a slightly darker colour paint into the creases for a more realistic look. Finally paint the hands and face flesh colour, the eye blue, the shoes black or brown and the cord round the head dresses and cloak a contrasting colour.

Paint the stars a bright yellow and the palm trees green with brown trunks. Store in a cool dry place.

To Decorate

Take the 6″ cake and place it upside down on the cake board. Spread a thin layer of apricot jam over the surface of the cake. Roll out the marzipan and use to cover the cake (see covering a cake with marzipan) and leave to dry for at least 2 days.

Using brandy, brush the surface of the marzipan, then using the Atlantic Blue Fondant (sugar paste) cover the cake (see covering a cake with Fondant). Do not worry if there are white icing marks on it at this point.

When the cake is covered and smoothed out, take the shepherd and sheep cutters and lay them in position on the cake and gently press to create an imprint of the shapes.

Using a marking tool or the handle of a spoon, mark in the hills in the background.

When all the shapes have been marked, take a piece of kitchen roll and moisten with cool boiled water. Then gently wipe over the entire surface of the cake to bring out the deep blue. Do not worry if you can see the lines where you have wiped as these will disappear when it dries.

Using the pre-made decorations and a little edible glue or royal icing, “glue” the shepherd and sheep in position using the indents on the cake. Place the extra head dress on the shepherd to give a 3D effect, place the large star high in the sky and a smaller one a bit lower. Place the 2 tufts of grass by the feet of the sheep and the palm trees on the hillside.

Using the left over trimings of the atlantic blue icing, cut out several rows of buildings. Moisten the bottom edge of the cake and place the buildings onto the cake. These will be very soft and break easily and it is easier to split the buildings and place in smaller sections at a time. Gently press onto the cake without flatenning the buildings.

Leave for 24 hours and then using a blue petal dust and a soft brush, gently dust the buildings to make them stand out.

Finally stick the remaining small stars in an irregular pattern onto the side of the cake.

Pack into the display box to create a lovely gift or just as a treat to yourself and your family.

Patchwork Cutters are a relatively new and popular idea. They come in various designs and can be used as an impression directly onto the cake or plaque and then coloured or more than one set of shapes can be cut in different colours to build up a 3D effect.

They are easy to use after very little practice and can create a very impressive design.

I recently purchased two different Patchwork cutters and tried them out. The following are my first attempts.

The first is a Snowman with two children.

I tried two different ways of using this cutter:

For the first attempt, I simply cut the shape out of Mexican paste and after letting it dry for 24 hours, painted it with food colouring. It does take a few days to complete as each colour has to dry before starting the next to prevent ‘bleeding’.

Finally I brushed a little cold water over the ‘fur trims on the children’s coats’ and sprinkled on some granulated sugar. The finished design is thin and quite delecate and could be used directly on the cake with perhaps a ball of icing behind it to lift it up at an angle, or placed onto a plaque to make it stand out more.

For the second attempt, I cut out a round plaque from fondant (sugar paste), pressed a pattern round the edges and then pressed the patchwork cutter into the fondant to leave an impression. I then left it to dry.

When it was dry I spayed it blue using Colour Mist food colouring spray. This gives a lovely even covering of colour very quickly.

Then using coloured Sugar Paste (I used a box of Dr Oetker (made by Super Cook) ready to roll coloured icing), I cut out another snowman design from each of the colours, red, black, white and green. I mixed a little red sugar paste into some white to give a flesh colour for the faces. (I cut the face and hair out of the flesh colour and painted the hair brown afterwards). After cutting them out, I separated the various parts i.e. black hat and shoes and red coats and placed them onto the corresponding sections on the blue plaque. A little cold water brushed onto the plaque will ensure the pieces stick.

This is rather fiddly, but gives more of a 3D effect and can be completed in one session. When all the pieces were in piece I left it to dry before adding red stripes to the scarf, brown hair, blue eyes, red lips and rosy cheeks on the chidren and black eyes and mouth and an orange nose for the snowman. Finally I brushed a little cold water on the fur trims of the children’s coats and sprinkled with granulated sugar.

This finished decoration is much thicker than the one made from mexican paste and can be placed directly onto the cake which will require very little extra work to give a very attractive cake.

Next I used the “Shepherds” Patchwork Cutters

This is a set consisting of buildings, palm trees, Shepherds, sheep and stars and can be used indivdually or to build up a picture.

Firstly I cut out one of each shape and then I cut a second shape of each of the head-dresses.

Again I coloured each piece using a mixture of food colouring and petal dust (powdered food colouring) mixed with a little cornflour . For the lambs I only coloured in the eyes and a few lines to give the legs definition. I also painted a few lines onto the shepherds gowns to give an impression of folds.

Finally after all the pieces had been coloured, I placed the separate head-dresses on top of the first with a little edible glue to create a 3D effect.

The characters are now ready to be placed onto the cake. I will be showing how to do this and also the finished article shortly.

Mexican Paste is a soft fondant type paste ideal for cutting out shapes and modelling. It is better than fondant or flower paste in that it does not stretch or lose it’s shape when transferring the cut out shapes to the drying board. This makes it excellent for making plaques and also for using with patchwork cutters.

It is very easy to make as it is basically icing with Gum Tragacanth. Patchwork powder is commercially available, but it is so easy and much cheaper to make your own.

Recipe

8 oz (226 grams) Sifted Icing Sugar
3 x 5ml teaspoons Gum Tragacanth
6 x 5ml teaspoons Cold Water

To Make

Stir the gum Tragacanth into the sifted icing sugar and add the cold water. Stir well until most of the icing sugar is incorporated. At this point it is best to just get your hands in and keep kneading until you have one lump of icing. Once you have reached this point, keep kneading until you have a smooth ball of Mexican Paste. It does take a little time and may seem impossible to incorporate all the dry icing sugar, but do not despair and do not be tempted to add more water as it will eventually become smooth.

Wrap the Mexican paste up in cling film and seal in an air tight bag for 24 hours.

To Use

Lighly oil a clean surface and take the Mexican paste (which will have become very firm) and knead until soft again. Cut a piece off and reseal the remaining. Roll out the paste on the oiled surface until it is very thin.

At this point you can use any shape cutter you wish to create the required shapes. Oil the cutters before use as this makes it easier to release the shape and also creates a smoother edge. Place the cut out shapes onto a clean board to dry.

Once dry they can be coloured either by spraying, painting with food colour or dusting with petal dust mixed with a little cornflour.