Holiday Gift Box Cake

Name: Holiday Gift Box Cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 1 large egg; 118 milliliters toasted pecans, finely chopped; 177 milliliters finely chopped pecans, divided; 10 servings Powdered sugar; 425 grams package of refrigerated piecrusts; 10 servings Plastic drinking straw; 6 Tbsps white sparkling sugar, divided; 1 recipe Vanilla Buttercream Frosting; 2 Tbsps water; 1 cardboard or poster board

Holiday Gift Box Cake requires roughly 45 minutes from start to finish. This recipe covers 6% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. One portion of this dish contains around 4g of protein, 20g of fat, and a total of 346 calories. This recipe serves 10. If you have recipe vanilla buttercream frosting, sparkling sugar, powdered sugar, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. It is a good option if you're following a dairy free diet.

Instructions

Cut 1 (12- x 1-inch) strip and 1 (12- x 1/2-inch) strip from a piece of cardboard or poster board.

Unfold 1 piecrust on a lightly floured surface; gently roll to press out fold lines.

Ingredients you will need

Pie Crust

Roll

Cut piecrust in half; reserve and set aside one half. Using the 12- x 1/2-inch cardboard template as a guide, begin at the straight edge of one piecrust half; and cut 8 (1/2-inch wide) strips.

Ingredients you will need

Pie Crust

Cut each of the 8 strips into as many 3-inch-long pieces as possible. You will need a total of 20 (3- x 1/2-inch) pieces. Gather together any remaining scraps, and set aside.

Arrange cut pieces on a baking sheet.

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Bake at 425 for 4 minutes or until golden. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Dip the top side of each warm pastry piece in powdered sugar.

Ingredients you will need

Powdered Sugar

Dip

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Oven

Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Unfold the second piecrust on a lightly floured surface; gently roll to press out fold lines.

Ingredients you will need

Pie Crust

Roll

Whisk together 1 large egg and 2 tablespoons water.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Egg

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Brush egg mixture lightly over piecrust.

Ingredients you will need

Pie Crust

Egg

Sprinkle piecrust evenly with 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans and 2 tablespoons white sparkling sugar. Using the 12- x 1-inch cardboard template, cut the piecrust into 1-inch wide strips. Repeat the procedure with the reserved piecrust half, sprinkling with 1/4 cup nuts and 1 tablespoon sparkling sugar.

Ingredients you will need

Pecan Pieces

Pie Crust

Sugar

Nuts

Cut 4 of the strips into 9 1/2- x 1-inch pieces.

Cut the remaining strips into as many 3-inch-long pieces as possible. You will need a total of 20 (3- x 1-inch) pieces.

Arrange the cut pieces on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Equipment you will use

Baking Sheet

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack

Oven

To make gift tags, roll the reserved scraps of piecrust to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a 2 1/2- to 3-inch cookie cutter, cut decorative shapes from the piecrust. Press the end of a plastic drinking straw into each tag, creating a round opening.

Ingredients you will need

Pie Crust

Roll

Equipment you will use

Drinking Straws

Cookie Cutter

Brush lightly with the egg mixture, and sprinkle with sugar.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Egg

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes or until golden.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Prepare a half recipe of Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Carefully spread a small amount of frosting on the back of each pastry piece. Gently press 1 (9 1/2-inch-long) pastry piece horizontally on each side of the cake to form the rim of the box's lid. Gently press 3-inch pastry pieces, alternating pecan and powdered sugar pieces, on each side of the cake in a vertical pattern.

Ingredients you will need

Powdered Sugar

Frosting

Vanilla

Spread

Pecans

Sprinkle the top of the cake with 1/2 cup finely chopped, toasted pecans and 2 tablespoons white sparkling sugar. If desired, use remaining frosting to add a decorative design to the gift tag or to pipe a narrow border around the bottom of the cake.

Ingredients you will need

Frosting

Pecans

Sugar

Garnish the top with gold and silver wire-edged ribbon; fresh mint, and red candy-coated chocolate pieces.

Ingredients you will need

Fresh Mint