How to Make a Stag Cake

Line a baking tray or board with a sheet of non stick baking paper. Melt 60g of the dark cocoa Candy Melts according to the instructions and use a teaspoon to drizzle and flick thin strands across the paper. Put the tray/board in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until the Candy Melts have set hard.

Melt the whole packet of white Candy Melts and use a palette knife to spread it all over the sheet of baking paper, being careful not to disturb the dark cocoa markings you have made. Return the tray to the fridge and leave until everything has set hard. You can break the cold chocolate into shards or use a knife or pizza wheel to cut into strips ready to decorate your chosen cake.

Take your chosen cake and stick to a cake board with a blob of buttercream – I have used a wooden log slice to tie in with the woodland feel. Cover the whole cake with a good thick layer of buttercream. Work quickly to adhere the strips of bark to the sides of the cake, overlapping the previous strip as you work your way around the cake.

Make the antlers a day or 2 in advance so they have time to dry and harden. Use the template provided or your own design to shape 2 antlers out of the white modelling paste. Use a veining tool to score ridges in the antlers to give them texture. Insert a bamboo skewer in each antler leaving enough protruding to stick into the cake. Leave to completely dry and harden.

Dust the dry antlers with silver lustre dust and a soft brush to give them a festive shimmer.

Make little pea sized balls out of red icing and roll them in sugar or edible glitter to give them a frosted look.

With any remaining white modelling paste, make some little toadstools – shape little cones for the stalks and flat, round caps and stick together with a little water. When these are hard and dry you can paint tiny specks on the tops with a teaspoon of cocoa mixed with a little water to make a paint.

To make pine cones, take different sized balls of brown icing and roll them into teardrop shapes. Use a clean, new pair of curved ended scissors to snip into and around the cone to make the scales. Leave to dry and harden.

When all of the elements are dry insert the antlers into the top of the cake and decorate around the base of the cake with fresh rosemary sprigs, toadstools, pine cones and berries.