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    Home » Recipes

    Winter Woodland Cake - Tastes As Good As It Looks

    January 11, 2019 by Patti Estep 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    White layer cake with sugared cranberry and rosemary stems for trees.

    Decorating a delicious cake is just as fun as baking it, as seen in this lovely winter woodland cake that you can make all season long.

    Winter woodland cake on wood slice tray.

    This year we went to my sister's place for Christmas Eve. Since I wasn't hosting I had plenty of time to make something delicious and contribute to the celebration.

    She asked me to bring dessert. So I thought I'd make two. One chocolate, because everyone loves chocolate, and one that was a bit more festive. 

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    For the chocolate dessert, I made peanut butter stuffed chocolate cookies. You can see that recipe next week.

    This post contains some affiliate links (that means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, there’s no additional cost to you, but I will earn a very small commission. ) i.e. as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

    Wood slice tray for base

    In keeping with my natural holiday decor theme, I decided to pick up this fun wood slice tray for the base. I think it would be great for all kinds of serving, even a nice charcuterie board.

    wood slice tray covered with parchment paper

    Cover the edges with parchment paper to keep them clean while decorating the cake. Also, be sure to leave enough on the outside to be able to pull the sheets of parchment off when finished.

    Bottom layer topping with filling

    The filling was a mix of cherry preserves and buttercream frosting. You could use any flavor you like. Using preserves helps because they are nice and thick. 

    To keep the filling from dripping over the sides try making a ring (or dam) of frosting around the outer edge first.

    I don't even use a pastry bag. Just a plastic baggie. Pour your frosting into the baggie and push it towards a corner. Then snip a bit of the corner off. Then you can twist the bag and push the frosting through the hole just like a pastry bag.

    Winter woodland cake decorated

    Now for the fun part. The decorations. My other sister had some sanding sugar that she was trying to find something to do with so I gladly took the white off her hands. I love the way it made the frosting shine and look like snow.

    sugared cranberries on parchment

    I also made some sugared cranberries to add a little color to the top and a nice band around the base.

    How to Make Sugared Cranberries

    • Heat water and sugar in a 2 to 1 ratio. I used 1 cup water to 1/2 cup sugar for a cup of cranberries.
    • Add your cranberries and let them simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
    • Remove and strain the cranberries. Let them cool on parchment for a few minutes until you can handle them.
    • Roll the cranberries in sugar and place back on parchment to dry a bit before using.
    Rosemary sprigs

    Originally I was thinking about using fresh pine or even some artificial sprigs for trees.

    But then, I notice that rosemary sprigs turned upside down look just like trees! So I just rinsed them off and removed enough leaves from the bottom (actually the top) to sink into the cake.

    The cake is super moist and tastes wonderful with the cherry filling.

    A white 2 layer cake with a ring of sugared cranberries on the bottom. The top has several 5 inch stems of rosemary to look like a forest.

    Doesn't it look festive!

    And, since it's a winter woodland cake, this theme would work well even after the holidays.

    Patti signature

    More Fancy Cake Ideas

    • Rustic Naked Cake
    • Chocolate Charlotte
    • Meyer Lemon Cake
    Rosemary stems on top of a white cake to look like a forest of trees.
    Winter woodland cake decorated

    Winter Woodland Cake

    Patti Estep
    Decorating a delicious cake is just as fun as baking it, as seen in this lovely winter woodland cake that you can make all season long.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Additional Time 50 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 40 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 16 serves 16
    Calories 564 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Cake

    • Box of vanilla or white cake mix
    • 3 eggs
    • 1 cup water
    • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
    • small box of vanilla pudding mix 3.4 oz

    Buttercream Frosting

    • 8 cups powdered sugar
    • 2 cups butter softened
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 1/4 cup milk or more

    Cherry Filling

    • 1/2 cup buttercream frosting
    • 1/4 cup cherry preserves

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
    • Butter and flour two 8 inch cake pans
    • Combine cake mix, water, vegetable oil, eggs, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl.
    • Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
    • Transfer to pans and cook for 30 minutes, checking to see if a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
    • Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
    • Remove from pans and transfer to the refrigerator.
    • Cool for an additional 15 minutes.
    • In the meantime make buttercream frosting by combining butter and sugar.
    • Add vanilla and milk. Mix well adding more milk to get your desired stiffness.
    • Remove 1/2 cup of frosting and mix with preserves to make the filling.
    • Remove cakes from the refrigerator and cut off the top domes to make them flat.
    • Place one cake bottom side up on a parchment-lined tray or cake plate.
    • Using a cake bag or plastic bag, pipe some frosting around the edge to make a dam.
    • Fill the dam in with the cherry filling.
    • Top with second cake bottom side up and crumb coat. (a light coating of frosting)
    • Move back to the refrigerator to set for 15 minutes.
    • Remove from the refrigerator and continue to frost the entire cake.
    • Decorate by sprinkling white sanding sugar all over.
    • Place some rosemary sprigs upside down to create trees.
    • Remove parchment and add sugared cranberries all around the base of the cake and among the trees.
    • Refrigerate until ready to serve.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 564kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 2gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 306mgSugar: 69g
    Keyword cake, layer cake, winter cake, woodland cake
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MrsSW

      January 11, 2019 at 7:28 pm

      Very clever, Patti - pinned, of course.

      Sheila

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        January 12, 2019 at 9:19 am

        Thank you Sheila. And thanks so much for pinning it too! ♥

        Reply
    2. Julie

      January 11, 2019 at 3:11 pm

      Super lovely cake, Patti! I bet it is really delicious, too! Pinned!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        January 12, 2019 at 9:33 am

        Thank you Julie. It was really good and I always appreciate pins. ♥

        Reply
    3. Carole

      January 11, 2019 at 9:03 am

      What a fun cake and I love all those details, the rosemary addition was simply brilliant. The wood slab was a great addition and I can see you using it often.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        January 11, 2019 at 11:31 am

        Thanks Carole. It was so fun to make and tasted pretty good too.

        Reply
    4. phyllis

      January 11, 2019 at 8:30 am

      Want to try this recipe....what is SANDING SUGAR? never heard of it.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        January 11, 2019 at 11:34 am

        Phyllis, sanding sugar is used for decorating cakes and cookies. It's a little larger than normal table sugar and I think that's what gives it extra sparkle. You can find it in colors at craft stores in the candy section and many grocery stores sell it too. I linked to some on Amazon for convenience. Hope you love the cake.

        Reply

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