Christmas Tree Cake
By: Miranda Couse
Published: Thursday, December 22, 2016 - 10:32am

Ingredients




½ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup + 2 T. granulated sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup + 6 T. all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup + 2 T. buttermilk
Leaf Green gel paste food color
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 + ½ cups powdered sugar
4 + ½ T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 - 8 drops red red gel paste color
festive sprinkles

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease mini cake pan and dust it with flour. I used the USA pans 6 well mini cake pan. 2 In a mixing bowl, add the butter and granulated sugar. Mix until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. 3 Add the vanilla extract and each egg separately. Mix until each egg is incorporated, before adding the next. 4 In a separate bowl, add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. 5 Alternately add the flour and buttermilk always starting and ending with the flour. I did 3 parts flour and 2 parts buttermilk. Scrape down the sides and mix to combine. 6 Add in a couple drops of leaf green gel paste color. Mix until the food color is incorporated and the batter is a pale green. 7 Add in a third of the batter into the first two cavities. If you don't have the pan and want to use something similar, the measurements are 4.25 x 3.75 x 1.5 inches for each cavity. 8 Add another 3 - 4 drops of leaf green paste food color. Mix until the food color is incorporated and the batter is a bright green. 9 Add in another third of batter into the second two cavities. Spread the batter evenly. 10 Repeat adding 3 - 4 drops of leaf green color and mix until incorporated. The batter should be a dark green. 11 Add the remaining batter into the last two cavities. Spread the batter evenly. 12 Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is done. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and if it comes out with moist crumbs or clean, it's done. If there's batter, place it back in the oven for a few extra minutes and test again. 13 Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool. 14 Once the cakes are cooled, even the top of the cakes out using a serrated knife. 15 Use the serrated knife and slice off the brown on the bottom of the cake. It only takes a thin layer. 16 Use a 4 inch cookie cutter and center it on the cake. Make sure all the brown edges will be cut off and cut it out. The brown really takes away from the little cake stacks. 17 Frosting 18 In a large bowl, add in the butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix on medium until incorporated. Turn mixer on high and beat for another 1 - 2 minutes until light and fluffy. 19 Add half of the frosting into a disposable bag fitted with a 1M tip. 20 Add red red gel paste food color to the remaining frosting. Add enough to give a bright red. 21 Add the remaining frosting into a disposable bag fitted with a 1M tip. 22 Pipe 4 red shells and 4 white shells on each cake layer. 23 Top with some sprinkles, a star and serve up!

About

Christmas Tree Cake - Fun and festive green ombre cakes with red and white frosting piped in pretty shells.