
Festive Bird Cake
Make a yummy festive treat for garden birds this Christmas; they also make great outdoor decorations!

To make these festive treats for the visitors to your garden you will need:
- 1 cup of bird seed
- 1 standard sachet of gelatine
- 120ml of boiling water (or the amount stated in your gelatine instructions)
- Measuring jug
- Mixing bowl
- Festive shaped cutters
- Fat for greasing
- Baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or eco alternative
- Spoon
- Fork
- String cut into lengths long enough to make a loop for hanging

Method:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- Grease the cutters and place on the lined baking tray
- Measure the bird seed into the mixing bowl
- As soon as the kettle has boiled, measure out the correct amount of boiling water into a measuring jug
- Dissolve the gelatine into the boiling water, whisking briskly with a fork
- Pour the gelatine into the bird seed and mix well
- Spoon the mixture into the cutters and press down until half full
- Add string loops and then continue to add the mixture pressing down firmly until the cutter is full
- Repeat until all cutters are filled
- Leave to set in a cool place overnight
- Remove bird cake from cutter and hang in your garden
- Download the spotter sheet below and see if you can identify any visitors who come for a festive feast!
Garden Bird Spotter Sheet to download
Top tips:
- Have more cutters than you think you will need prepared as the mixture starts to set relatively quickly and so it will become more difficult to work with
- This amount made 4 shapes of medium sized cutters but it will depend on the size of your cutters
- Grease the cutter thoroughly so that the bird cake slides out and keeps its festive shape
- Sprinkle the gelatine onto just boiled water so that it fully dissolves
- Any leftover mixture could be sprinkled on your lawn for birds to forage or on a bird table
- Hang near to some shelter as many species are shy and so do not like to be in the open for long
- If you don’t have bird seed try: crushed up cereals, raisins, oats, chopped nuts, breadcrumbs or a mixture!