The Center of Attention

Fact: The holidays are a busy time of the year. It is one of my favorite times of the year and I want to squeeze every bit of festive fun out of the season that I possible can. So I really try to come up with quick, cheap short cuts that make a big impact. I get lots of compliments on this centerpiece whenever I put it out and very few people even believe the fruit is real. But the best part of all, is that the next day when you are finished with your centerpiece you can wash off the fruit and eat it. All you have wasted is an egg white and some sugar. I love that. :-)

To start, I gather up my supplies. You will need a variety of fruit colors. I am using a Red Delicious apple, lemons, Granny Smith apple, navel orange, and limes. You also need an egg, a few bowls, sugar, a spoon, a fork, a brush of some sort and wax paper.



Separate the egg. We only need the egg white.



Use a fork to whip up the egg white a bit. You want to break down the membrane in the egg white and make the white a bit frothy.



Put a piece of fruit in the bowl and use the brush to make sure the fruit is coated with the egg white. If you miss a spot, the sugar will not stick, so this is an important step. Pick up the fruit and let the extra egg white drip off.



Put the fruit into the bowl of sugar. Use the spoon to coat the fruit with sugar.



Then put the fruit on the wax paper to dry. I usually give my fruit about fifteen minutes to dry.



When all your fruit is sugar coated and dry, you can begin to put your centerpiece together. I am using my favorite cake pedestal, ribbon, cedar branches, and a few colored balls for a little extra sparkle on the table.



Start with a layer of cedar leaves or any evergreen you have in your yard to give it a bit of festive color.



Add your fruit to the plate. I was super impatient to put this together so I was using the fruit before it was completely dry. That is why this shot looks so blotchy. After the fruit dries, it will look evenly frosted.



Then make a pretty bow for your arrangement.



I am attaching the bow with my favorite glue dots.



Voila! In the top picture I sprinkled pomegranate seeds around the edges to give it a pop of red color. A pretty ribbon winding through the fruit would be a nice touch as well as candle light. You can get as creative as you want with this idea. The fruit will last for about one week. After a week, the sugar coating begins to crack and fall off the fruit. Enjoy!