How to Make a Christmas Tree Cake

How to Make a Christmas Tree Cake

If you saw my Christmas tree cupcakes you know where I got the inspiration for this cake! I cut up a few ice cream cones and used them as the base for various sized pine trees on the side and top of my cake. Little dollops of green buttercream and a dusting of powdered sugar complete the snowy winter scene.

I kept this recipe simple and just used a good vanilla but you could add ANYTHING! Bourbon, peppermint extract, mini chocolate chips, even toffee chips!

TIPS AND POINTERS:
*If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
*If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients.
*You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.

[jmpond]

Just putting together everything to make this cake so I purchased waffle sugar cones instead of the regular sugar cones. They are sturdier than regular sugar cones. Also, I submerged the cones, one at a time, half way in water which softened them just enough so they wouldn't break. I also used my kitchen scissors which did not put as much stress on the cones. They turned out perfectly. Thought I'd pass on this tip. Thanks for such a great idea. Your cakes are always so beautiful.

[diegolaraolguin]

He’s the human personification of a golden retriever. Such a good boi.

[debbiewalker]

I made this very cake yesterday, November 2019, to see if I could do it, and if it came out right, I would make it for Christmas Eve when I have my whole family over. Well, I was amazed at myself! This cake came out so beautiful! Looks almost as good as yours! My husband and son loved it! I bought the straps to place around the cake pans and wow! They came out flat on top and beautiful golden color like yours. I am really impressed. Thank you for showing us how to make this beautiful cake and turning me into an awesome cake baker and decorator! I can't wait to do it again for Christmas Eve. I'm new to your channel and love your fun personality and all the wonderful things you're showing us how to make. Thank you and God bless you and your family.

[glittery_cucumber]

I like that you don't do everything with fondant and that you give suggestions for things like the extra yolks, it kind of bugs me when bakers seem to throw away lots of food. And the natural food coloring options, too!

[mikeylmt]

My grandma always baked with brown butter. I loved everything she baked. Thanks for showing us how to do it.

[clairechapin]

Your technique for making a cake with baking strips and getting perfectly even layers has been the best baking advice i've ever had. Hands down the way to go. Thank you very much. I watch a lot of baking videos so that's saying a lot.

[JeremyAntonL]

RE: buttercream, I like what I learned as French (butter)cream which is butter, superfine or granulated sugar - in mixer for ...ever 10 to 15 minutes when grit is gone add vanilla and big heaping tablespoon of cooled very thick bechamel...the measures I kind of wing-it as I lost the recipe about 20 years ago...a few people have said they really thought it was whipped cream not buttercream at all ...so, great, but when I have the time and seldom occasion for white festive kind of frosting these days, it works for me and way more stable than whipped cream. Cheers to you John! For bringing me and clearly many others a lot of joy.

[mayratalunas]

"I want to have EXACTLY even cake layers...I'm a Virgo so this is how my life is." "No mess was ever made here." Oh, you are SO my spirit animal. #Virgo4Life You are officially my favorite YouTube star. I'm spreading the word! Wishing you continued success with your channel and lots of sponsorships in 2019 and beyond.

[mauracramertowne]

I made this cake for Christmas! It came out so beautiful and I placed it on a rustic slab wood slice. My family thought it was a new Christmas decoration and they were amazed that it was a cake! Thank you so much for all your tips and tutorial.

[kunobot]

I just made this cake on the weekend for my mom's birthday. It looked incredible and it made her cry! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and creativity with us so we can share with those we love! ^_^

[AngelaGWillis]

Hi John! I made this cake today as a Christmas gift for my son's teacher. The cake recipe was a little different in flavor, I added warm spices, molasses, and espresso for a gingerbread latte flavor, then did the same kind of decoration that you did. It was a lot of fun to make, even when I ran out of butter cream while piping and had to free hand some of the trees using a paint brush. Since the end result is covered in "snow" no one was the wiser. It turned out super cute and very festive. His teacher was over the moon with the way it looked and the flavor combo, I even hid tiny chocolate covered espresso beans in the tree cones (per your idea from the tree cupcake video). Just wanted to let you know and thank you again for the wonderful creative recipes. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

[ndlook]

Have watched this vid 3 times in 3 months. I am so excited to make this cake for Christmas 2019 I bought 3 tiny rabbits to place on top near the trees and of course complete with little bunny tracks in the icing! 😄

[zaruhihayryan]

Unique confectioner. Much respect to you from Armenia

[nutmeg]

I tried this recipe out and my cakes came out PERFECT.... So white, moist and cakey! I've since used your recipes for most everything including Swiss meringue buttercream thank you so much for all you do with your channel.

[danieljuliaoberetta]

I live in Brazil and despite not speaking English very well, I managed to understand the whole recipe. it’s really fun to see your recipes and I’m definitely going to risk making this cake. Many people in Brazil do not like buttercream, they say it tastes very much like butter, so we use a lot of "chantyninho" whipped cream with powdered milk, condensed milk and royal icing. congratulations on the video, have my like and admiration

[alexmuniz]

The positive energy exuding from this video is actually making me smile

[HeidiFaith]

Wow this is the most beautiful Christmas cake I've ever seen in my life. I will be making a vegan version of this cake like asap

[karenallen]

I like Italian frosting. I have a friend and for my birthday she makes me coconut cake and 7 minute frosting. Yummy!!!

[SHorn-ktfe]

Thank you for this wonderful idea. I made three 8” cakes last Christmas. I made one for a party, one for my hairdresser (after I showed her a picture I had taken) and one for my cousin’s Christmas Day birthday. They were such a nice change from flowers! You are a great teacher!

[carolestrawn]

Someone posted this cake on Facebook and I love it. I've been Googling like mad trying to find out how to make the Christmas trees. I could tell they had something under them to give them shape but didn't know what it was. Ice cream cones!! This is a great video and I'm going to give this a try next Christmas. Thank you for posting this tutorial.