Christmas Tree Cake
This Christmas tree cake is a stunning dessert to bring to any holiday party! It’s super versatile— you can make ANY cake flavor, filling, and frosting you want. Plus, you can use all sorts of different sprinkles and icings to decorate your tree!If you need some inspiration, I used my baking mix company’s Spiced Yellow Cake Mix, layered in my simple cherry jam, and decorated with homemade Swiss meringue buttercream + holiday sprinkles. All information is included in the recipe card!
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- Large saucepan for cherry jam
- medium saucepan for double boiler
- medium bowl heatproof
- Stand mixer both whisk and paddle attachment needed
- Round cookie cutters 6", 4", 3", 2"
Ingredients
Cherry Jam:
- 1 ½ pounds cherries fresh or frozen, pits and stems removed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest 1 small lemon
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice 1 small lemon
Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- 5 egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature, cut into tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract; can use any flavoring
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- gel food coloring
Cake Layers:
- 1 box Spiced Yellow Cake Mix
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
Instructions
Make the Cherry Jam:
- The cherry jam recipe yields more than you need for the cake, so save leftover jam for breakfast or other desserts! :)
- In a large saucepan, stir together all of your ingredients: 1 ½ pounds cherries, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ tablespoon lemon zest, and 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice.
- Turn the heat to medium and stir. Gently boil for 15-25 minutes, scraping the bottom + sides of the pan often. It will be really liquidy at first, then cook down and thicken.
- To test for doneness, drag a spatula across the bottom of the pan. If it leaves a clear trail that slowly fills in after 1–2 seconds, the jam is ready. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Tips: For a smoother texture, blend the jam with an immersion blender while it’s still warm.If it becomes too thick after cooling, stir in a splash of water.
Make the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
- Tip: Make sure your hand whisk, stand mixer bowl, and whisk attachment are completely clean and grease-free. Any trace of fat will prevent the meringue from whipping properly. For extra insurance, wipe everything down with white vinegar and dry thoroughly.
- In your medium bowl, whisk together 5 egg whites and 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar until combined.
- Fill a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place medium bowl with egg whites and sugar on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk constantly, scraping the sides and bottom, until the mixture reaches 160°F/71°C—about 5 minutes. It will look thick at first, then thin out and eventually turn an off-white.
- Carefully transfer the mixture into your stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until you get room temperature, stiff, glossy peaks, about 15 minutes. During this step, you can make your cake.If it’s taking longer than expected, place the bowl in the fridge for 5-10 minutes, then whip again.
- If the meringue is still warm, let it cool before continuing—adding butter too early will make it soupy.
- Replace whisk attachment with paddle attachment. While mixing on medium speed, add the 2 cups unsalted butter one tablespoon at a time. Scrape bowl as needed using silicone spatula.
- Once all the butter is incorporated, mix in 1 tablespoon vanilla and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt.
- Continue beating mixture until it is smooth and silky. If the buttercream curdles or is grainy, that is completely normal. Keep mixing for another 10-15 minutes and it should smooth out. If the buttercream doesn't smooth out, place the mixing bowl over a simmering pot to let just the edges of the meringue warm up and slightly melt. Rewhip and it should come together!
- Dye green using gel food coloring. To get the shade I did, I used a mixture of green, blue, and black dyes. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Bake Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Line jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, use hand whisk to mix ½ cup water, ¼ cup vegetable oil, and 3 eggs until combined. Add 1 box Spiced Yellow Cake Mix and whisk until no dry spots remain.
- Pour batter onto jelly roll pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
Assemble Christmas tree cake:
- Use round cookie cutters to cut out your tiers. I decorated two tree cakes, and was able to cut two of each size: 6-inch, 4-inch, 3-inch, 2 ½-inch, and 2-inch circles.
- Now it is time to stack the cake layers from largest to smallest, adding your filling(s) between each tier. Here's how I did mine:Starting with the largest layer, brush on the cardamom simple syrup from the cake mix. Spread a thin layer of buttercream, pipe a buttercream dam around the edge, and spoon cherry jam into the center. Place the next layer on top and repeat.
- Pipe green buttercream on the entire outside of the cake for the tree leaves. Decorate with gold pearl sprinkles, shimmery white sprinkles, Christmas sprinkles, and a mini star topper.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Leftover cake scraps and buttercream? Make cake pops!
Storage instructions:
