Ingredients
1 package cake mix (any flavor)
5 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup crisco shortening
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup non-dairy creamer
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp green food coloring
1 peppermint candies
1 pretzel rods
1 large gumdrops
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350~F. Grease and flour a 13x9 pan. Prepare, bake
and cool cake following package directions.
For decorator frosting: Combine confectioners sugar, shortening,
water, non-dairy creamer, vanilla and salt in large bowl. Beat at
medium speed with electric mixer for 3 minutes. Beat at high speed
for 5 min. Add more confectioners sugar to thicken or more water to
thin as needed. Reserve 1 c frosting. Tint remaining frosting w/
green food coloring. Cut cooled cake diagonally and invert one piece
so that the cake takes on a tree shape with a wide base. Spread green
frosting over cake. Decorate tree with reserved white frosting and
peppermint candies. Make trunk from pretzel rods. Roll out large
gumdrop and cut with star cookie cutter. Top tree with gumdrop star.
Serves: 16-20
Servings: 16 servings
Christmas Tree Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Christmas; Dessert; Holiday
The History of Recipes
We are able to follow the history of written recipes back into the distant past, in truth as far back as the early Egyptians, and maybe even further. Interesting though that is, in the main part, these early records were just very basic pictorial recipes for preparing food.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to experts in ancient history is a collection of clay tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel blissful and exhilarated. As we move on, there are two interesting recipe books dating from the 1300s : a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these books have no connection with the spicy food that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of meals enjoyed by the nobility of the time. Later, in the fifteenth century, the Crusaders brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including spices such as coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new foods and tastes created an explosion in books on cooking, the majority of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. During the following few hundred years, the powerful families of Europe tried to offer the most exotic banquets, and because of this chefs and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. However, it wasn`t until the 19th century that fine cooking and cookery books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to assembling, verifying, and recording recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the time we get to the 1900s, recipe publications were starting to become popular due to higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and a general increase in wealth. The arrival of television brought us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to search through thousands of recipes like those on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Christmas Tree Cake recipe.
