HOLIDAY HOOPS

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.

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BY ASHLEY BARBEY

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

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 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 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.

7. Insert the hoops into the cake. Place one hoop into the 8-inch tier on the right side of the cake and the other off to the left side of the cake.

8. Secure the hoops to the front of the cake with small pieces of wire.

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them out so that there are 3 to 5 balls per hoop. 2. Mix the gold dust and alcohol together to make a thick paint.

Paint the fondant balls and the exposed tape on the wires. 3. Place the flowers into the cake, beginning with the foliage that will make the foundation of the wreath. Place the pine leaves, then the pine cones, mistletoe leaves, and berries.

4. Place the large flowers next.

Sprinkle the pine cones with a little bit of desiccated coconut for a snowy effect. ACD

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FORM THE SMALL HOOPS

1. Make the second set of hoops for the 6-inch tier. Use 3 pieces of gold wire instead but follow the same process in Steps 2 through 5 of the previous section. 2. For the second set of wires for the 8-inch tier, cut 3 of the wires in half. You will need 5 halves. Set the remaining wire aside for a future project.

Repeat Steps 2 through 5 of the previous section. 3. Place the smaller hoops into the 8-inch tier, right beside the first set of hoops. Place the second set of smaller hoops next to the other larger set of hoops. 1. Roll small balls of fondant and attach them to the wires with a tiny bit of piping gel, spacing

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FINISH THE DECORATIONS

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