TUTORIAL
HOLIDAY
’Tis the season for dramatic gold hoops to accent a seasonal sugar spray of flowers and foliage. With little more than wire and tape, you can create a bold look that will surely impress during the holidays. BY ASHLEY BARBEY
LEVEL:
COMPONENTS Edibles: 6-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch cakes covered in dark green fondant Dark green fondant Piping gel Gold dust High-proof alcohol Sugar flowers and foliage Sugar pine leaves Sugar pinecones Sugar mistletoe leaves and berries
Desiccated coconut Cocoa powder Orange petal dust Equipment:
25 pieces of 14-inch-long 24-gauge gold wires ¼-inch floral tape Wire cutter Paintbrush
FORM THE BIG HOOPS 1. You will need two 14-inch
wires per hoop. Overlap 2 wires by about an inch.
2. Tape the 2 wires together,
stretching the tape to activate the glue. Wrap them as tightly as possible and overlap the ends so you can’t see the ends of the wires. Make 5 extended wires total.
3. Bunch the 5 wires together
and even the end of 1 side of the wires. Tape the wires about 1½ inches in length.
4. Stagger the opposite end of
Ashley Barbey is an award-winning cake designer, sugar-flower artist, and food blogger located in St. Louis, MO. Her cake tutorials can be found on Sugar Geek Show, Sugar Street Studios, and on her blog. Ashley is the food stylist, photographer, and baker behind thelittlevintagebakingcompany.com, where she shares recipes, cake, cookie, sugar-flower tutorials, and lots more. thelittlevintagebakingcompany.com facebook.com/littlevintagebaking instagram.com/thelittlevintagebakingcompany 74 americancakedecorating.com November | December 2021
the wires so that the loops will have difference sizes and tape about 2 inches.
5. Combine the 2 ends and
tape together tightly. Twist to make a loop. This loop is the larger loop and will be placed on the 8-inch tier.
6. Repeat Steps 2 through 5
to create another loop.
