Christmas cake decorating ideas: simple designs and toppers
From snowy royal icing peaks to a glazed fruit and nut top, here are Christmas cake designs anyone can manage, with marzipan and icing quantities by cake size and a timetable for Christmas 2026.
A traditional British Christmas cake is a fruit cake under a layer of marzipan and white icing, so most of the decorating happens on the top: snowy peaks, cut-out stars, a ribbon round the side and a few toppers. Below are designs from the simplest to the most involved, marzipan and icing quantities by cake size, a timetable for Christmas 2026, and the checks that keep decorations safe to eat.
Simple Christmas cake designs for a fruit cake
Four designs to start from, for a marzipan and icing cake or a plain fruit cake. The first needs no smooth finish, which makes it the most forgiving.
Snow scene with royal icing peaks
Spread royal icing thickly over the marzipan with a palette knife, then press the flat of the knife into the icing and lift it sharply to pull up peaks. Leave a smoother patch in the middle for the figures: a fir tree or two, a snowman, a robin or a small house. A ribbon round the side hides the uneven line where the icing meets the cake.
Glazed fruit and nut topping
This needs no marzipan or icing. Brush the top with warm, sieved apricot jam, press on whole nuts and glacé fruit in rings or rows, then brush more glaze over them so they shine. Nigella Lawson’s website advises putting the glaze on just before decorating, after the cake has finished being fed with brandy, because the jam is what holds the fruit and nuts in place.
Smooth icing with cut-out stars or snowflakes
Cover the cake in ready-to-roll icing, roll out the off-cuts and stamp out stars, holly leaves or snowflakes with cutters. Delicious magazine’s method sticks them on with a little water and nests smaller shapes inside larger ones. Edible lustre dust or edible glitter adds shine.
Stencilled snowflake
On a marzipan-only top or a chocolate cake, lay a paper snowflake flat on the surface, sift icing sugar over it and lift it straight up. Our guide to making paper snowflakes gives the folds for a six-pointed one; cut it from baking parchment so it lies flat on the cake.
More quick finishes
- A satin ribbon round the side, fixed to itself with a small piece of double-sided tape.
- Ice cream cones covered in spikes of royal icing and dusted with icing sugar, which stand up as snowy trees.
- Gingerbread biscuits pushed upright into soft royal icing before it sets.
- Clementines brushed with egg white, dusted with sugar and left to set, then piled on top.
- A few real baubles for the photo, taken off before the cake is cut.
Christmas cake ideas for sponge and chocolate cakes
- Reindeer: brown or chocolate buttercream, chocolate antlers and a round chocolate button for the nose.
- Piped Christmas trees: a star nozzle and buttercream in two or three shades of green, finished with sprinkles.
- Candy cane crunch: crushed red and white candy canes pressed onto white buttercream.
- Snowy finish: white chocolate shaved over white icing.
A gingerbread house makes a centrepiece for the same table. Our guide on how to make a gingerbread house covers the icing that holds the walls up, and our gingerbread house kits are the quicker route.
How much marzipan and icing does a Christmas cake need?
Doves Farm’s chart uses the same weight of marzipan and of ready-to-roll icing for each cake size, with warm apricot jam brushed on first to stick the marzipan down.
| Cake size | Apricot jam | Marzipan | Ready-to-roll icing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 cm (4 in) | 1½ tbsp | 350 g | 350 g |
| 15 cm (6 in) | 2 tbsp | 400 g | 400 g |
| 18 cm (7 in) | 2½ tbsp | 450 g | 450 g |
| 20 cm (8 in) | 3 tbsp | 500 g | 500 g |
| 25 cm (10 in) | 4 tbsp | 700 g | 700 g |
| 30 cm (12 in) | 5 tbsp | 1 kg | 1 kg |
A square cake has about 27% more surface to cover than a round cake of the same width, so add about a quarter to these weights. For royal icing instead of ready-to-roll, Doves Farm’s recipe for a 20 cm cake uses 400 g of icing sugar and 2 egg whites.
When to marzipan and ice a Christmas cake
Marzipan needs time to firm up before the icing goes on: at least 12 hours in Doves Farm’s method, and ideally two days in Delicious magazine’s, which explains that the wait stops almond oil from the marzipan staining the icing. Royal icing then needs to dry overnight before you add decorations.
| Step | Leave it for | Latest comfortable date for Christmas 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Apricot jam and marzipan | 12 hours minimum, ideally 2 days | Saturday 19 December |
| Royal or ready-to-roll icing | Overnight for royal icing | Monday 21 December |
| Toppers, shapes and ribbon | Until serving | Tuesday 22 December |
| Glazed fruit and nut top, instead of all the above | Until serving | Tuesday 22 or Wednesday 23 December |
That leaves Wednesday 23 December and Christmas Eve for repairs. Doves Farm says a cake covered in ready-to-roll icing keeps for several weeks wrapped in baking parchment and a double layer of foil, stored in an airtight container, so the same steps can just as well happen a fortnight earlier.
Tips for a smooth white finish
- Doves Farm rolls the marzipan covering to a circle twice the cake’s diameter, so it drapes down the sides.
- A little glycerine stops royal icing setting rock hard: Delicious magazine adds 1½ tsp to 900 g of icing sugar.
- The smallest touch of blue food colouring makes royal icing look whiter rather than cream (another Delicious tip).
- Royal icing contains raw egg white. The Food Standards Agency advises that young children, pregnant women and older people can eat raw hen eggs with the British Lion mark or from the Laid in Britain scheme. The advice does not cover people who are severely immunocompromised and on a medically supervised diet.
Christmas cake toppers and edible decorations: what to check
- Glitter and dusts: put only glitter or dust clearly labelled edible on anything that will be eaten. If the label does not say edible, keep it off the cake.
- Plastic and ceramic toppers: wash them, stand them on a small disc of icing or baking parchment, and lift them off before cutting. Kept in a tin, vintage figures come out year after year.
- Wired sugar flowers: put the wires in a posy pick, a small food-safe holder pushed into the cake, so no wire touches the cake itself.
- Real holly: keep the berries off anything that will be eaten. The International Programme on Chemical Safety’s monograph on holly notes that 3 to 5 berries may cause stomach upsets such as vomiting and diarrhoea. Sugar or marzipan holly is the edible swap.
Where to buy Christmas cake decorations in the UK
Supermarket baking aisles stock ready-to-roll icing, marzipan and packs of sugar decorations. Cake-decorating suppliers and online marketplaces carry cutters, posy picks, edible wafer scenes that stand up on the icing, and figure toppers. Check the label for the word edible before anything goes on the cake.
Setting the table around the cake
The table around the cake matters as much as the top. Flameless candles, garlands and light-up trees are in our Christmas home decor collection, and our easy Christmas baking ideas cover the bakes that go alongside.
Christmas cake and a pot of tea go together, so set out Christmas mugs next to it, and match the room to the cake with our home and kitchen Christmas decorations.
Frequently asked questions
What can I decorate a Christmas cake with?
The classic covering is apricot jam, then marzipan, then royal or ready-to-roll icing. On top of that: peaks of royal icing, cut-out icing shapes, sugar or plastic toppers and a ribbon round the side. For no icing at all, a glazed layer of nuts and glacé fruit works on its own.
What are popular Christmas cake decorations?
Snow scenes with fir trees, robins and snowmen are the classic choice, along with sugar holly leaves, stars and snowflakes cut from icing, and a red or gold ribbon. Vintage figure toppers are often kept in a tin and brought out every year.
Where can I buy edible Christmas cake decorations in the UK?
Supermarket baking aisles, cake-decorating suppliers and online marketplaces all sell sugar decorations, edible glitter and wafer toppers. Whatever you buy, check that the label says edible before it goes on the cake.
How far ahead should I marzipan and ice a Christmas cake?
Allow two to three days from marzipan to finished cake: the marzipan needs 12 hours to 2 days to firm up, and royal icing needs a night to dry before decorations go on. For Christmas Day 2026, marzipan by Saturday 19 December keeps it comfortable, and a cake covered in ready-to-roll icing, wrapped in parchment and foil, keeps for several weeks, so earlier is fine.
Do you have to put marzipan under the icing?
No. You can brush the cake with apricot jam and lay ready-to-roll icing straight on, or skip icing entirely with a glazed fruit and nut top. Marzipan gives a smooth, firm base and stops crumbs and fruit from marking white icing.
How do you stop royal icing from setting too hard?
Stir in a little glycerine. Delicious magazine uses 1½ teaspoons for 900 g of icing sugar, and the more glycerine you add, the softer the icing stays, which makes the cake easier to cut.
Can I put real holly on a Christmas cake?
Keep the berries away from anything that will be eaten. The International Programme on Chemical Safety’s monograph on holly says 3 to 5 berries may cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Holly leaves and berries made from sugar or marzipan look the part and are safe to eat.
Is non-toxic glitter safe to use on a cake?
Not on cake that will be eaten. Use only glitter or dust clearly labelled edible on food. Keep anything that is not labelled edible for decorations that come off before the cake is served.
