We don’t much like traditional fruity Christmas cake in our household, so every year I pick a theme and have a little fun getting creative with a much preferred sponge cake.
Last year featured reindeers and this year, Christmas Trees to adorn the layers of fluffy sponge sandwiched together with cream cheese icing and enrobed in buttercream. Sprinkle with oodles of coconut and icing sugar and you’re transported to a wintery pine forest.
You can make 5 to 6 thin layers as I did or three thicker layers (using 18 – 20cm cake tins). Whatever you prefer. The cake should just be tall enough for the trees, unless you want to use mini trees. Then feel free to halve the recipe.
Another optional is that I prefer the flavour of cream cheese icing, but buttercream is more stable so easier to pipe and keep it’s shape. So I used cream cheese icing between the layers and used the leftovers for a crumb coat around the cake. Then used buttercream for the final layer covering the cake and to pipe the trees. If you prefer to use all buttercream then just make one and a half times the buttercream icing recipe. The green and white striped filling is also optional. Feel free to leave it white or make it all green.
(The memories of snowy winter wonderlands taking over to distract from the heat of the Southern Hemisphere this time of year)
Christmas Tree Cake
Christmas Trees adorning the layers of fluffy sponge sandwiched together with cream cheese frosting and enrobed in buttercream. Sprinkle with oodles of coconut and powdered sugar and you're transported to a wintery pine forest.
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Ingredients
Cake:
- 1½ Cups Unsalted Butter (350g) Softened to room temperature
- 2 Cups Castor or granulated sugar
- 1 Cup Sour Cream Can substitute with full fat plain yoghurt
- 6 Egg whites
- 2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Milk
- 3½ Cups All-Purpose/Cake Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
Cream Cheese Icing/Frosting:
- ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter (57g) Softened to room temperature
- ½ Cup Plain Cream Cheese (113g) Softened to room temperature
- 1 – 2 Cups Icing/Powdered Sugar Sifted
- 1 tsp Milk
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- Green gel food colouring Optional
Buttercream Icing/Frosting:
- 1 Cup Unsalted Butter (250g) Softened to room temperature
- 3 – 4 Cups Icing/Powdered Sugar Sifted
- 5 Tbsp Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Green gel food colouring
Decorating:
- 8 – 12 Ice Cream Cones/Sugar Cones
- Desiccated Coconut for decorating Optional
- Icing/powdered sugar for decorating
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease your springform cake tins and line the bottoms with baking paper (You can make 5 to 6 thin layers as I did or three thicker layers using 18 – 20cm cake tins)
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream and mix
- Next, add the egg whites and vanilla and mix well. Finally, add the milk and mix again
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and stir through until well combined and lump free
- Divide evenly between your prepared cake tins
- Bake for 25 – 35 minutes (depending on the thickness of your layers), or until lightly golden and a skewer or cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean
- Cool in the tins for at least 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire cooling racks before decorating*
Cream Cheese Icing/Frosting:
- With an electric hand mixer or your stand mixer, mix together the softened butter and cream cheese
- Add the sifted sugar a bit at a time until incorporated, smooth and lump free
- Add the milk and vanilla and mix through
- For two toned icing, remove ⅓ of the icing and add green gel food colouring until you achieve the desired green
- Place the green icing in a piping bag and the same amount of white icing into another piping bag. Then place both piping bags together into a third bag
- Set aside until assembly. If preparing ahead of time, keep it in the fridge but remove around 10 – 15 minutes before you need to use it
Buttercream Icing/Frosting:
- With an electric hand mixer or your stand mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth
- Add the sifted sugar a bit at a time until incorporated, smooth and lump free
- Add the milk and vanilla and mix through
Assembly:
- Using the cream cheese icing between the layer and as a crumb coat is optional. I will explain here what I did, but feel free to keep it plain and simple if you wish
- Place the first layer of cake on your serving plate or cake stand. Cut around 1cm off the tips of the filled piping bags
- Beginning in the centre, pipe the icing in a spiral, turning the cake as you go, until just before you reach the edge of the cake. Try not to go right to the edge with the green as it can bleed through the coating and don't make the layer to thick as there will be many. Repeat with the other layers leaving to top plain
- Use the remaining plain white cream cheese icing to spread a very thin layer around the cake and over the top (this is called a crumb coat which stops crumbs showing through the final layer of icing)
- Place the cake in the fridge for at least an hour or two before finishing with the buttercream layer
- Just before the cream cheese icing has firmed up, make the buttercream and prepare the sugar cones
- Cut three sugar cones to make different height trees for the top of the cake, then carefully cut the rest in half lengthways for the sides of the cake and also at different heights. Cutting the sugar cones is quite difficult so ensure you have spare as some will break. If the cuts are a little uneven it's ok as they will be covered with icing
- Next, spread an even layer of buttercream on the sides and top of the cake and smooth it out (do not make it too thick). Then position the halved cones around the cake, gently pushing the edges into the icing to make them stick
- Sprinkle the top and sides with as much desiccated coconut as you like (if using)
- Add green gel food colouring to the remaining buttercream icing until you get the desired colour, then place in a piping bag with a star nozzle
- It is easier to decorate the top trees before they're on the cake. Pipe all the way around the tree leaving a rim at the bottom and right at the top, then place them on the cake and pipe the edges to cover
- Now pipe the trees on the sides of the cake. I start with the sides and bottom edges then work my way up
- If it's warm, place in the fridge before serving
- Just before serving, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar to add some 'snow' to the trees
Notes
*I like to bake my cakes the day before to reduce the amount of work. If doing this, ensure you cover each with plastic wrap once completely cooled to ensure they remain moist.
Tip: Place the cake in the fridge between stages, especially between the two stages of icing, to ensure the colours don’t bleed and the icing sets smoothly
Tried this recipe?Post your pics and tag us at @my_homemade_kitchen_za or #myhomemadekitchen!
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