Christmas Tree Cake
Steps involved
Make cake layers
Make buttercream
Assemble and ice cake
Chill cake
Carve/shape cake
Pipe on cake
Add sprinkles
Add sugar snow
READ BEFORE CONTINUING: The following recipes are scaled to make the cake pictured above -- a 4 layer cake made with 6-inch round cake layers. If you wish to make a smaller cake, please scale down these recipes.
recipes used
1 - 1.5 batches Italian meringue buttercream
I made this buttercream vanilla flavored by adding 1 tablespoon of vanilla to my 1.5x batch (can add less or more to taste)
Colors used
To get these colors, I used Wilton Icing Color in Juniper.*
For the icing:
The colors may differ depending on how much icing you're coloring and the starting color of your buttercream (certain butter brands are more white or yellow which can make the buttercream whiter or more yellow). These are the amounts I used and should get you close.
Wilton Icing Color in Juniper:
You can use anywhere in between 1-2 containers of icing color. You can always let the icing sit to allow the color to deepen.
Supplies/tools
To find the tools I use for almost every cake I make and decorate (including pans, cake boards, icing smoothers, etc.), click here.
The supplies/tools below are specifically for decorating this cake, which I used in addition to the ones in the link above.*
*Some of these links may be affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small amount from some purchases, however, this does not affect my recommendations.
Decorating the cake
After the cake has been assembled and iced:
Refrigerate until completely chilled.
Find the center of the cake and mark it with a toothpick. Roughly draw a circle around the toothpick. (The circle I drew was about 2 inches in diameter)
Starting at the edge of the circle, cut pieces off of the cake to form a cone shape. I would recommend starting more conservative and cutting more off as you go---it's harder to add pieces back then take them away so go slowly.
Continue cutting until you have a cone shape. I left the bottom layer untouched to give it more of a tree-like shape.
Take the scraps of cake and icing and mash them up in a bowl to create a cake pop dough. *You may have to microwave the scraps for a few seconds to soften the icing*
Form the cake pop dough into a small cone shape to fit on top of the cake cone. Press the cake pop cone to the top of the cake.
Using a small offset spatula frost the cake to seal in any crumbs. *This does not have to look nice because we are going to cover it up anyway*
I recommend refrigerating the cake at this point to allow the icing to firm up, but it is not necessary.
Using a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 8B tip, pipe blobs of icing around the base of the cake. Take the small offset spatula and hold it vertically and parallel to the cake with the handle in line with the point of the tree. Press the spatula into the center of the blob and smear the icing upward. Continue for the rest of the blobs in the row.
Pipe another row of icing blobs above the row below and repeat the smearing process.
Repeat step 10 until the entire cake is covered. Pipe a single blob of icing at the top of the cake to form a point.
Add sprinkles.
Dust with powdered sugar to resemble snow.
Slice and enjoy :)
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