Crafting Edible Snowflake Wedding Cakes: A Guide

Planning a winter wedding? Snowflake wedding cakes are a beautiful way to embrace the season. You can make your own edible snowflakes to decorate your cake with wafer paper, fondant, icing, or gum paste. You can even use buttercream and a snowflake stencil to create a snowflake design. If you're short on time, you can also buy edible snowflakes online.

Using royal icing and a stencil

Preparation:

Before you begin, it's important to have the right tools and materials. You will need:

• Parchment paper
• Royal icing with a medium consistency (thicken it with powdered sugar if needed)
• A small round piping tip (such as Wilton's tip 3 or 4)
• A snowflake stencil or template (you can draw your own, print snowflake clip art, or even freehand it!)

Creating the Snowflake Design:

• Start by placing your template under a piece of parchment paper. Parchment paper is recommended over waxed paper as it breathes better.
• Prepare your royal icing and ensure it is the right consistency—thick enough to hold its shape but not too difficult to pipe.
• Trace over your snowflake template a couple of times to create a stronger design. You can also add piped dots for texture and cuteness.
• Allow the royal icing snowflakes to dry completely, which should take around 24 hours. Once dry, they will easily lift off the parchment paper.
• (Optional) For some extra sparkle, you can pearlize your snowflakes using an airbrush or a product like PME pearl spray. Alternatively, brush on some CK Super Pearl pearl dust with a dry brush.

Attaching the Snowflakes to the Cake:

• It is recommended to use royal icing decorations on fondant or a crusting buttercream. Royal icing does not pair well with moisture, so avoid using it with whipped cream or non-crusting icing unless serving immediately.
• Use a small amount of royal icing as "glue" to attach the snowflakes to your cake. It will adhere almost immediately.
• If you are inserting the snowflakes into buttercream, be aware that the royal icing may soften, so it is best to add them just before serving.

Now you're ready to add some wintry magic to your wedding cake!

Making them out of fondant

Making edible snowflakes out of fondant is a great way to decorate a wedding cake. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create them:

Materials:

• Fondant or gum paste
• Tylose powder (only if using fondant)
• Snowflake cutter or heavy cardboard and an exacto knife
• Non-stick board and rolling pin
• Corn flour
• Small knife
• Glitter colour dust (white or light blue)
• Edible glue
• Paintbrushes
• Optional: Wilton gum paste storage board, glitter, and/or a duster

Step-by-Step Guide:

• If using fondant, knead it with a pinch of tylo powder to make it easier to work with. If using gum paste, you can skip this step.
• Dust your non-stick board and rolling pin with corn flour.
• Roll out the fondant/gum paste to a suitable thickness—not too thin.
• Using your snowflake cutter, cut out the snowflakes. Firmly press down the cutter, twist it, and then push the plunger. You can also use a heavy cardboard cut-out and an exacto knife to cut around your template.
• Before removing the snowflake from the cutter, carefully remove excess fondant. Then, gently push out the snowflake.
• If making a large number of snowflakes, cut out multiple shapes at once and store the extra snowflakes under plastic wrap or on a gum paste storage board to prevent them from drying out.
• To add sparkle to your snowflakes, apply edible glue with a paintbrush and sprinkle glitter over them.
• Gently lift the snowflakes onto a kitchen towel and shake off any excess glitter.
• Allow the snowflakes to dry for at least one day before using them to decorate your cake.

Fondant snowflakes are a beautiful and delicate addition to a wedding cake. Happy caking!

Using buttercream and a stencil

Preparation

Before you start making the snowflakes, there are a few things you should prepare:

• Make your cake layers in advance and freeze them. This will make the process more manageable.
• Make your frosting up to a week in advance or save any leftover frosting. This can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to a month.
• Use a chilled cake; the frosting should be firm to the touch.
• Thin your buttercream with extra heavy cream to make it more spreadable. This will help the stencil lift up easily once you've covered it in frosting.

Creating the Snowflake Design

Now, you are ready to create the snowflakes:

• Place the cake in the freezer for 10 minutes to allow the frosting to firm up.
• Carefully secure the snowflake stencil around the cake using either toothpicks or pins. If your template doesn't have holes in it, use an X-acto blade to cut tiny holes on each side of the template.
• Spread the thinned buttercream over the snowflake stencil, fully covering each cutout with a thin layer of frosting.
• Holding the template in place, remove the toothpicks, and slowly peel away the template, starting on one side and slowly peeling it off towards the other.
• Colour any remaining frosting blue, and pipe swirls on top of the cake.
• If desired, add a ring of sprinkles inside the frosting swirls.

And there you have it! A beautiful snowflake wedding cake using buttercream and a stencil.

Creating them with white chocolate

Creating edible snowflakes for wedding cakes using white chocolate is a fun and simple process. Here is a step-by-step guide:

Materials:

• White chocolate
• Wax paper
• Piping bag
• Snowflake template
• Shimmer sugar or sprinkles (optional)

Step 1: Prepare the Template

Begin by drawing a snowflake template on a piece of paper. You can also print a picture of a snowflake or use snowflake clip art as a template. Remember that snowflakes have six points if you want to be technically accurate! Place a sheet of wax paper over your template and secure it with tape.

Step 2: Melt the White Chocolate

Melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in short intervals, stirring in between until it is completely melted and smooth. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate, as it may become lumpy. You can add a small amount of vegetable oil or shortening to prevent the chocolate from hardening too quickly.

Step 3: Pipe the Chocolate

Place the melted chocolate into a piping bag. Cut a small hole in the bottom or corner of the bag. Make sure the chocolate is warm but not too hot, as it will flow out too quickly otherwise. Pipe the chocolate over the snowflake template on the wax paper. Outline and fill in the snowflake shape.

Step 4: Decorate (Optional)

While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle shimmer sugar, white sprinkles, or edible pearls over the snowflakes for added sparkle. You can also stick silver or white pearls in the centre of each snowflake for extra decoration.

Step 5: Set and Remove

Allow the chocolate snowflakes to set and harden. Placing them in the freezer for a few minutes can make it easier to remove them from the wax paper. Once hardened, carefully peel them off the paper and place them on a flat surface.

Step 6: Adorn Your Cake

Your white chocolate snowflakes are now ready to be placed on your wedding cake! Gently position them on the cake, using a dot of buttercream or melted chocolate to secure them if needed.

Your wedding cake will now have beautiful, edible snowflakes as decorations, adding a touch of winter wonderland magic to your special day!

Buying them ready-made

If you're short on time or don't trust your baking skills, you can always buy ready-made edible snowflakes to decorate your wedding cake. There are a variety of online retailers that offer edible snowflakes, including Amazon and Etsy.

Amazon offers a wide range of edible snowflake products, including wafer paper snowflake cake sprinkles, rice paper snowflake cake decorations, and edible snowflake sprinkles. Many of these products come in packs of 50 and are suitable for Christmas, winter, and Frozen-themed parties. Some products are even specifically designed for wedding cakes, with blue and white snowflakes to match your colour scheme. You can also find edible snowflakes in different shapes and sizes, such as snowflakes with a glitter finish or snowflakes that are 1-2 inches in size.

Etsy is another great option for buying ready-made edible snowflakes. You can find assorted edible snowflakes made from wafer paper, potato starch, vegetable oil, water, and petal dust. These snowflakes usually come in packs of 24 and are blue, white, and glittered. They measure approximately 1-2 inches, making them the perfect size for decorating your wedding cake.

When buying ready-made edible snowflakes, be sure to read the reviews to ensure that you're getting a quality product. Some customers have mentioned that the snowflakes they received were smaller than expected or arrived broken, so it's important to do your research before placing your order.

With these ready-made edible snowflakes, you can easily and conveniently decorate your wedding cake to create a beautiful and elegant winter wonderland theme.

Frequently asked questions