Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a gorgeous floral wreath, but what it if this festive decoration was made out of food?
We’ve turned this classic decor on its head, bringing it from the door to the table, and have created the most spectacular – and yummiest – edible wreaths for your festive gathering.
Whether it’s hot sausage rolls or a delicious trifle – there’s something for every foodie and holiday season enthusiast.
Find all the yummy recipes below (with their how-to’s) so that you can make your table delicious and bright!
Sausage Roll Wreath
MAKES 36 PREP 20 MINS COOK 25 MINS
INGREDIENTS
✦ 1 tbsp olive oil
✦ 1 onion, finely chopped
✦ 1 carrot, grated
✦ 2 tbsp tomato sauce
✦ 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
✦ 500g beef mince
✦ 500g sausage mince
✦ 1 cup stale breadcrumbs
✦ 3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
✦ ¼ cup milk
✦ ¼ cup sesame seeds
✦ tomato chutney, to serve
METHOD
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook onion and carrot 5 mins until onion softens. Cool. In a large bowl, combine onion mixture, sauce, parsley, beef mince, sausage mince and the breadcrumbs. Season.
Place 1 sheet of pastry on a board. Cut in half. Place one-sixth of the mince mixture along the centre of the pastry. Roll pastry to enclose mince mixture, brushing edges of pastry with a little milk to seal. Cut into 6 pieces. Repeat with remaining pastry and mince mixture.
Arrange sausage rolls, seam-side down, on trays. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake 20 mins until golden and puffed.
Arrange 15 sausage rolls, side by side, in a circle. Arrange 9 sausage rolls in middle to form inner circle (you’ll have some left over). Serve with tomato chutney.
The most Aussie wreath of all! (Source: Woman’s Day)
Trifle Wreath Cake
SERVES 6 PREP 20 MINS + OVERNIGHT CHILLING COOK 5 MINS
INGREDIENTS
✦ 85g packet port wine jelly
✦ 460g store-bought double round sponge cake
✦ ¹⁄3 cup peach schnapps
✦ ½ cup thickened cream, whipped to stiff peaks
✦ 250g strawberries, sliced
✦ 1 yellow peach, sliced
✦ small mint leaves, raspberries, to serve
CUSTARD
✦ 1 cup milk
✦ 1½ tbsp plain flour
✦ ¼ cup caster sugar
✦ 15g butter
✦ 2 egg yolks
✦ 1 tsp vanilla extract
METHOD
Prepare jelly following packet instructions. Pour into a bowl. Chill overnight.
CUSTARD In a medium saucepan, bring milk to boil. In a bowl, whisk flour, sugar and yolks. Beat in hot milk and butter. Transfer mixture to a clean saucepan and bring to boil. Cook 3 mins until thick. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to a bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour until cold.
Trim tops of cakes to level. Using a 6.5cm cutter, cut middle out of cakes (use for another purpose). Brush cut cake parts with schnapps. Arrange 1 cake, cut-side up, on a board.
Transfer cream to a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle. Transfer custard to a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle.
Pipe cream and custard randomly over cake on board. Dollop with jelly. Arrange half the strawberries and peach over. Top with remaining cake, cut-side down. Decorate with remaining cream, custard, jelly and fruit.
Serve topped with small mint leaves and raspberries. Dust with icing sugar, if you like.
Sponge, fruit, custard, jelly and cream! Sign us up! (Source: Woman’s Day)
Christmas Day Salad Wreath
SERVES 6 PREP 10 MINS COOK 5 MINS
✦ 1 bunch baby asparagus, trimmed (see tip)
✦ 1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
✦ 60g packet baby rocket leaves
✦ 200g tomato medley mix, sliced or halved
✦ 100g fetta, crumbled
DRESSING
✦ ¹⁄3 cup olive oil
✦ 1 tbsp lemon juice
✦ 1 clove garlic, crushed
Blanch asparagus and broccolini in boiling salted water 2 mins. Refresh in chilled water. Drain. Trim broccolini into 3cm pieces.
DRESSING In a jug, whisk oil, juice and garlic. Season.
Arrange baby rocket in a 30cm circle on a serving platter. Top with tomato, asparagus and broccolini. Drizzle with dressing. Serve salad topped with crumbled fetta.
WATCH NEXT: See our Christmas Day Salad Wreath in action!
Pizza Wreath
SERVES 6 PREP 20 MINS COOK 25 MINS
INGREDIENTS
✦ 2½ cups self-raising flour
✦ 60g butter, chilled, chopped
✦ ¾ cup milk
✦ 2 tbsp tomato pizza sauce
✦ 1 cup grated pizza cheese
✦ 80g packet pepperoni, sliced
✦ ¼ cup chopped basil, plus small leaves to serve
✦ ½ green capsicum, finely chopped
✦ ½ small red onion, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
✦ torn bocconcini, halved cherry tomatoes, to serve
METHOD
Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease and line an oven tray with baking paper.
Sift flour into a large mixing bowl. Rub in butter, using fingertips. Season.
Make a well in the centre of flour. Pour in milk, reserving 1 tbsp. Using a knife, “cut” through the mixture to form a soft, sticky dough. Don’t over-mix.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly. Press or roll out to form a 45cm rectangle 1cm thick.
Spread pizza sauce over dough. Top with cheese, pepperoni, basil, capsicum and onion.
Roll up to form a log, then bring edges together to join, to form a circle, brushing ends with a little reserved milk and pinching dough to seal. Cut dough into 3.5cm-thick slices around edge of wreath. Brush with remaining milk. Bake 25 mins until scrolls sound hollow when tapped.
Sprinkle with extra finely chopped red onion. Serve topped with combined extra basil leaves, bocconcini and tomato.
Everybody LOVES pizza! Who says you can’t have it at Christmas? (Source: Woman’s Day)
Shortbread Wreath
MAKES 30 biscuits PREP 20 MINS + CHILLING COOK 20 MINS
INGREDIENTS
✦ 2 cups plain flour
✦ ¹⁄3 cup pure icing sugar
✦ 2 tbsp rice flour
✦ 250g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped
✦ silver and white cachous, to decorate
ROYAL ICING
✦ 1½ cups pure icing sugar, approximately
✦ 1 egg white
✦ ½ tsp lemon juice
METHOD
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 3 oven trays with baking paper.
Sift flour, icing sugar and rice flour together into a large bowl.
Rub in butter, using fingertips, until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Press mixture together to form a firm dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently. Divide dough in half. Chill 30 mins.
Roll half the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Cut into discs, using a 6cm fluted round cutter. Cut out holes from middle using a 3cm cutter. Re-roll dough and continue cutting. Arrange on trays. Repeat with remaining dough, using a 4.5cm fluted cutter and 2cm round cutter.
Bake 15-20 mins until lightly golden. Cool on trays 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
ROYAL ICING Sift icing sugar through a very fine sieve. Lightly beat egg white in a small bowl with a wooden spoon. Add icing sugar, a heaped tablespoon at a time. When icing reaches desired consistency, add juice. Beat well. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle.
Pipe icing over a few biscuits at a time, then arrange cachous on icing. Set aside at room temperature for icing to harden.
Thread ribbon through large then small biscuits to create a wreath shape.
Perfect to serve with tea and coffee after pressies! (Source: Woman’s Day)
Sweet and Salty Pretzel Wreaths
MAKES 6 PREP 5 MINS + SETTING COOK 5 MINS
INGREDIENTS
✦ 225g packet white chocolate melts
✦ 200g packet pretzel twists
✦ 10g packet freeze-dried strawberries, crushed (see tip)
✦ ¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped
METHOD
Draw 6 x 13cm rounds on 2 sheets of baking paper. Place paper, pencil-side down, on 2 greased baking trays.
Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl in 30-second bursts, stirring between each burst, until melted and smooth. Using the outline as a guide, spread a little melted chocolate around each circle. Arrange pretzels on top of melted chocolate on each circle.
Drizzle some melted chocolate over pretzels and sprinkle with half the crushed strawberries and pistachios. Repeat to make 2 layers.
Set aside 30 mins until chocolate has firmed.
