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Tip Store: Christmas: Christmas Cakes


​Gingerbread Shed Kits

Approximate $ Savings: $20 per child

​ This Christmas, I plan on creating gingerbread house kits for my primary school age nieces and nephews. Using information from marthastewart.com, I've created a cardboard mock-up of their grandfather's shed. I then used the cardboard pieces to cut gingerbread dough to size. I baked the gingerbread and will now build and decorate the shed. I'll then take a photo of the final product and put that, with the cooked gingerbread slabs, decorating lollies and the ingredients for the icing 'glue' in a box. They can then have full assembling and eating their own gingerbread shed. Choose a simple structure (like a shed), rather than the traditional peaked roof gingerbread house as assembling a gingerbread house takes some skill. I'm even going to put a toy tractor in the box that they can park in the shed.
Contributed by Michelle, Mt Waverley
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​Make Your Own Cake Decorations

Why shop for these things? Try making your own. Cheap ready-made icing can be used to write on the top of the cake using a heavy plastic bag with the corner cut off to hold the icing. For the holly and berries.....use a bit of colouring and make them using a bit of extra icing sugar to make the icing more solid. Colour some of it green and roll out onto some greaseproof paper, then cut out in a holly shape. Allow to set. The berries can be made by colouring with red, and then rolling into small balls. Use more greaseproof paper, doubled, to wrap around the cake, and then cover with ordinary Christmas wrap.
​Contributed by Lesley
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​Rethink How You Decorate Your Cakes

​Depending on how many cakes you make it might be cheaper to rethink how you decorate them. If you ice the cakes you could try piping the "Merry Christmas" message in icing or buy a tube of Cakemate gel. One tube would go a long way. For your holly check out the $2.00 shops for Christmas picks. Pre-wired bunches of holly or gold and silver leaves can be pulled apart and you could get several bunches from one pick. Picks can cost around $2.00 each. Instead of the frill you get in the packs, perhaps you could use wrapping paper? First cut a band of greaseproof paper to go round the cake then another band of Christmas paper the same width and wrap this around the outside. The greaseproof paper will stop the cake bleeding into the wrapping paper. If you are making less than 10 cakes it might be cheaper to invest in a piping bag and make your own icing for the piping. 1 egg white beaten and add sifted icing sugar and a little food colouring until it is the right consistency. Use a skewer to pre mark you message then just pipe it over the top.
​Contributed by Lee, Somerville
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​Make Your Own Holly Cake Decorations

Make your own - white marshmallows with melted chocolate on top. Decorate with a Jaffa and a cut mint leaf. They are cute little pudding look alikes or decoration for something bigger.
​Contributed by K, Sunshine Coast
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  • Home
  • Join the Club!
    • Twenty Reasons to Join the Cheapskates Club
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  • Forum
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