Christmas is most definitely on the way… how can you tell? Well I went into Tesco the other day and they played 8 Christmas songs in a row. It instantly put me in the festive mood so what better time to share my recipe for this Spiced Christmas Tree Cake.
I found this Christmas tree pan in TKMaxx and couldn’t resist buying it and baking with it. The tin needs to be well greased and dusted with flour in order to prevent sticking and to ensure the decorative details can be seen on the cake. The cake is great on its own alongside a hot drink or even with some hot custard for dessert but this time I decide to cover it in green buttercream and sprinkles so it resembles a Christmas tree.
Alternatively if you don’t want to cover the cake in buttercream, a festive dusting of icing sugar snow is just as effective as the green buttercream! In fact this method keeps the definition of the pattern visible, almost like a bundt cake!
Check out some of my other Christmas and festive themed recipes down below!!
Melted Snowman Chocolate Chip Cookies
White Chocolate Confetti Popcorn
For the cake:
Plain flour, for dusting
125g margarine, plus extra for greasing
125g granulated sugar
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
Pinch of ground nutmeg
For the decoration:
100g margarine or unsalted butter
220g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tsp milk
Green food colouring
Pearl sprinkles
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease a Christmas tree shaped tin well and dust with plain flour, throwing away the excess.
In a mixing bowl, cream the margarine with the sugar until it is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, scraping down the sides with a spatula after each addition. Sift in the flour and the spices and fold through until incorporated and even.
Transfer the cake batter to the greased and floured pan and spread evenly, making sure it reaches all the corners. Bake the cake for around 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the very centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Prepare the buttercream by softening the margarine in a mixing bowl and adding in the icing sugar in 2 additions, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla extract and enough milk to make a buttercream which holds its shape and is smooth enough to spread. Add a good amount of green food colouring to turn the buttercream into a Christmas tree green.
Place the cake on your serving plate/cake board. Spread the green buttercream over the cake evenly, making sure that none of the cake is visible. Press the back of a knife lightly onto the buttercream and lift up to create peaks across the entire cake.
Use the pearl sprinkles to create lines of tinsel and baubles on the tree.
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Andrew in the Kitchen 