Christmas tree cake
Christmas is the principal festival of the year and the occasion demands that we rediscover all the different ways in which we can celebrate this magical time of the year. Your kitchen should smell of Christmas aromas from classic dishes, and we suggest something particularly pleasing to the eye such as this wonderful and colourful cake in the shape of Christmas tree. A beautiful and original idea, just the ticket if there are children at home and you want to have fun with them! They will find it absolutely wonderful to look at and make, as well as tasty, and it will impress all of your relatives or friends as a dessert for Christmas lunch. To ensure a great success with this tree you simply need to follow our step-by-step photo gallery and in next to no time you will have your very own Christmas tree cake!
Ingredients
* approximate values per serving
Preparation
Start by making the cake. Beat the sugar with the egg yolks. Add the yogurt and a pinch of salt. After mixing them in well, sift in the flour with the baking powder and finally the beaten egg whites. Butter and lightly flour the Christmas tree mould and pour the batter in, sprinkling over the berries. Bake at 180°C for about 40 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn the cake out. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. Mix the flour and sugar, adding the finely chopped chocolate. Meanwhile, put the milk on to warm. Then add it to the flour and sugar mixture gradually so as not to form lumps, using a hand whisk. Transfer the pan to the stove, bring to the boil stirring constantly, and continue to simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the sauce thickens. At this point, pour it over the cake which should be sitting on a wire rack, making sure the entire surface is covered and that the excess can drain underneath. Finish by decorating with chocolate and then sprinkling with the coloured sugar.
Step by step
|
View the step by step
|
Sift the flour together with the baking powder and then add to the egg mixture
|
|
View the step by step
|
Finally add the beaten egg whites, taking care to fold them in stirring from the bottom to the top
|
|
View the step by step
|
Pour the cake batter into the Christmas tree mould which has been greased and lightly floured; alternatively you could use other moulds with a Christmas theme
|
|
View the step by step
|
At this point add the fruits of the forest berries uniformly across the batter
|
|
View the step by step
|
Bake the cake at 180°C for 40 minutes, checking that it’s cooked with a toothpick
|
|
View the step by step
|
When cooked, remove from the oven and turn it out
|
|
View the step by step
|
Place the cake on a rack and prepare the glaze by mixing the flour and sugar, adding the finely chopped chocolate allowing it to melt in. Then gradually add the hot milk and bring everything to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes until it thickens. After cooling slightly, pour the icing over the cake evenly.
|
|
View the step by step
|
Proceed with the decoration, first with the chocolate sauce and then sprinkle over the coloured sugar.
|
|
View the step by step
|
Transfer the cake to a platter and serve
|
Additional information
Simple Christmas Tree Cake
Are you looking for the recipe for a simple Christmas tree cake? You're not very skilled in baking and rarely make desserts throughout the year: you prefer to buy them ready-made or enjoy those made by your friends or relatives. Well, we have the solution for you. You can still make a Christmas tree cake without too much effort and with a good visual effect. How? Our advice is to prepare a sponge cake or chocolate cake, using a Christmas tree-shaped mold. When the cake is baked, the only difficulty you might encounter is leveling the cake, which may have formed a slight dome in your home oven. Before removing it from the mold, take a long bread knife and, using the edges of the mold (which will serve as a guide), cut off any protrusions. Don't worry if it's not precise. To decorate it, all you have to do is flip it over! As for decoration, nowadays supermarkets sell very easy-to-work fondant. You can roll out a thin layer of fondant, cover the cake, trim the excess, and then decorate with colorful sprinkles or smarties (glazed candies) or edible pearls or anything else. Alternatively, you can use whipped cream, leveling it with a knife. If the work is not precise, a shower of colorful sprinkles will mask everything.
Christmas Tree Cake with Puff Pastry
Christmas tree cake recipe with puff pastry: the idea is really fun and promises to be quite simple! The Christmas tree cake with puff pastry will be even easier if you buy pre-made puff pastry. Buy two rectangular sheets of puff pastry. Spread the first one with Nutella, pastry cream, cream, and crushed hazelnuts, whatever you prefer. Layer it with the second roll of pastry. At this point, cut everything into a triangular shape. Then make a series of horizontal cuts across the pastry, to create branches that ideally extend from the right and left of a trunk. Now, take each "branch" from its end and roll it up on itself. Brush with lightly beaten egg yolk, sprinkle with a bit of sugar, and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
The Christmas tree cake with puff pastry can also be a savory cake. You just need to use savory ingredients between each layer of pastry, appropriately cut into tiny cubes. Diced bacon, capers, small pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, or black olives will work well, or you can cover the entire tree with sliced cheese (like Edam) and cooked ham, and then proceed with the cuts. Again, you will brush the surface with egg yolk or milk.
Christmas Tree Cake with Nutella
If your idea is to make a Christmas tree cake with Nutella, we recommend proceeding in two ways. You can make the cake with puff pastry, as described in the previous paragraph, or make it with sponge cake, then cut it in half, fill it with Nutella cream, and make a nice chocolate glaze for the surface. You will then finish the decoration with colorful sprinkles or other treats that we are sure you will find in some specialty store or in a well-stocked supermarket.
Christmas Tree Cake Bimby
Let's conclude our discussion about the Christmas tree cake with the recipe for the Christmas tree cake Bimby. The Bimby is a beloved kitchen robot used by many families. It speeds up many preparations and allows you to dirty fewer utensils. That said, we recommend preparing a classic sponge cake batter using the Bimby. Pour everything into the Christmas tree-shaped mold and bake in the oven. While the sponge cake is baking, quickly wash the bowl. Prepare a chocolate glaze also with the help of the Bimby. In Cookidoo, you will find various recipes for glazes of different kinds: the chocolate one is a great idea. When you have taken your Christmas tree cake Bimby out of the oven, let it cool, place it on a rack, and then glaze it trying to be as precise as possible. Finally, let your children decorate it!