To get 2020 holiday spirits up, I decided to make a Christmas tree cake. Two weeks ago we went to a local farm close to home to pick up our live Christmas tree. From the moment we brought the tree inside the house, I knew I wanted to try something new this year for a cake. Hence the idea of Christmas tree cake. The fresh smell of the Christmas tree in the house got me into the holiday baking mood bit early too.

I have seen many variations of Christmas tree cakes around, but all of them looked really big and tall with 3 to 4 layers of 6 inch and 4 inch round cakes that were stacked together and they looked grand. With the current situation with COVID; not socializing with anyone, baking a large cake is not what I wanted this time. So, I decided to try with a simple sheet cake and make a small size cake.

I have used my go to Vanilla Cake recipe for this cake. Instead of the regular round pans, I have opted to bake them in a regular Cookie Sheet Wilton – 17.25 x 11.5 inch. The steps are pretty straightforward. You need to cut a few different sizes of circles off of the sheet cake, and then you will stack them to build up the tree shape.
If you have round cake cutters at home, the job is pretty effortless. But like most of us, I don’t own these tools. Look around the kitchen and I am sure you will be able to find some cake pans, pots, lids, bottle caps etc to make the cut.

I took my 6 inch baking pan and few other items and created 7,6,5,4,3,2,1 inch rounds. You can either trace the rounds into a parchment sheet or use them as a guide when slicing the cake rounds. Remember to keep the sheet cake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before carving the rounds out. Once again the cake rounds are sliced keep them in the freezer for 5 minutes. Don’t forget to save those left over cake scrap pieces for later use.

Let’s talk about some frosting now. We will be doubling my Vegan Buttercream Frosting recipe that I have posted with my Vanilla Cake. First we will stack the cake and assemble the tree shape. Feel free to use the left over cake pieces that we saved earlier, if you feel like you want to adjust your tree shape to a more realistic tree-cone. Crumb coat the cake and transfer the cake into the freezer for 10 minutes.  Once the cake has chilled in the freezer, you can go ahead with the final buttercream layer.

To make the tree shape stand out I went ahead and slightly trimmed the bottom layer. All you have do is to; take a sharp knife, gently carve away the bottom layer to make it more perpendicular to the tray.

I have used Wilton tip no – 32 on this cake. But feel free to use any other open star tips of your choice. You can even go for a leaf tip for more of a detailed look. Now it is time to deck the tree. You can use store bought cake sprinkle mix. I did not have all the colors I wanted so I made some tiny fondant balls in different colors to decorate the cake.

Finally make a fondant star using a star cutter. Again I didn’t have any cutter at hand so I just free handed the star shape. Use a toothpick to place the star upright and in place on top of the tree.

Now take a step back and take in the wonderful creation. Slice and enjoy with your loved ones. Happy Holidays…… Stay safe!

Christmas Tree Cake

Serves 6 – 8 | Cake Prep-time 40-50 mins | Cake-decor time 30-40 mins

Ingredients :

• Vanilla Sheet Cake – Recipe under Vanilla cake.
• 2 Batches Vegan Buttercream Frosting – Recipe Under Vanilla cake.
• Cake circles – 7,6,5,4,3,2,1 inch Parchment paper rounds.
• Cake Sprinkle mix or Fondant for decoration in preferred colors. (White,Yellow,Red)
• Piping tip No – 32.
• Food coloring- Green, Red,Yellow.

Directions :

• Bake a Sheet Cake and chill for 10 minutes.
• Slice cake rounds as per required dimensions and chill for 5 minutes.
• Make 2 batches of the frosting and color with green food coloring .
• Take a cake board or cake stand, stack the cake layers using the frosting. (remember to choose your cake stand or board that fits in your freezer)
• Crumb coat the cake and keep in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Using a piping tip, decorate the cake by starting from the bottom layer of the cake.
• Finally, decorate with cake sprinkles and insert the fondant star on the top.

Notes:

• I made my Sheet cake using a Cookie Sheet. But if you are planning to use a Sheet pan for example 11 x 15 x 2 inch you have to double the Vanilla Cake recipe.