Radiant Christmas Wreath Cake With White Chocolate Candles And Chocolate Pinecones

The most wonderful time of the year has arrived, which means it's also time for the most wonderful food of the year! Between putting up all of your holiday decorations, buying gifts for friends and family, and planning all of your family gatherings and Christmas parties, December is an amazing, but busy month! When it's your turn to host a Christmas event, make something really special and try out our recipe for a radiant Christmas wreath cake. From its delicious chocolatey taste to its absolutely stunning edible candles, evergreen branches, and pinecones, this cake captures all of the magic that makes Christmastime so special. 

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 3½ hours
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Inactive Time: 6 hours
Difficulty Level: Advanced

You'll Need:

For the Christmas cake:

• 12 egg whites
• 2¼ cups sugar
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups flour
• 1¾ cups cocoa powder
• red food coloring
• green food coloring
• star cookies for the decoration

For the chocolate buttercream frosting:

• ⅔ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1½ cups cocoa powder

For the white chocolate candles:

• 11 oz white chocolate, chopped
• ½ cup heavy cream 
• ¾ stick butter, room temperature
• 4 pine nuts

For the evergreen branches:

• 11 oz white chocolate, tempered
• green food coloring
• 30 chocolate Pocky Sticks

For the chocolate & marzipan pinecones:

• chocolate Frosted Flakes
• marzipan or almond paste
• cocoa powder 

Extra:

• 10-inch bundt cake pan
• 1 empty paper towel roll
• small rubber bands
• fork
• parchment paper
• piping bag

Here's How:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the bundt cake pan. For the Christmas cake, beat the egg whites while gradually adding in the sugar. Continue beating until a stiff meringue forms, then add in the flour, milk, and vegetable oil, adding 1 ingredient at a time until everything is combined. Divide the batter in half, then add red food coloring to the first half and green food coloring to the second.

2. Use a ladle to spoon a small amount of red cake batter into the bundt cake pan, then pass some of the cocoa powder through a sieve on top. Add a layer of green cake batter on top of the cocoa powder, then continue alternating between layers of cocoa powder and the red and green cake batters, making sure the 2 kinds of batter don't mix together.

3. Transfer the bundt cake pan to the oven and bake the cake at 350°F for 50 minutes. After the cake has baked, stick a toothpick into it, and if it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, continue baking the cake until the toothpick test works. Once the cake has finished baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 2–3 hours until it reaches room temperature. 

4. For the chocolate buttercream frosting, beat the softened butter until it becomes light and fluffy. Add in the cocoa powder and continue beating until combined. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and mix everything together until the frosting has a creamy consistency. For the white chocolate candles, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan and stir in the chopped white chocolate. Once combined, remove the mixture form the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Make sure the white chocolate cream and butter are both about room temperature, then gradually add in the butter. Line an empty paper towel roll with parchment paper, cover 1 end of the roll, and seal it with a rubber band. Flip the paper towel roll over and fill the open side with the white chocolate mixture, pressing down to remove any air bubbles. Once the paper towel roll is full, seal it at the open end, transfer it to the refrigerator, and let it set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Set the remainder of the white chocolate mixture aside for later. Once the white chocolate log has set, use the parchment paper to remove it from inside the paper towel roll. Warm up a knife slightly and use it to cut the white chocolate log into 4 equally sized segment in order to make 4 candles of the same size. Stand the candles up, then heat a small spoon and press it into the top of each candle to make the surface slightly concave. Warm up the rest of the white chocolate mixture you set aside earlier and drip it around the top edge of the candles so that it runs down the side and looks like wax. Place 1 pine nut in the center of each candle to make a wick, then transfer the candles to the refrigerator and let them chill for 30 minutes. For the evergreen branches, temper the white chocolate and stir in some green food coloring. Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and spoon a long strip of tempered green chocolate onto the parchment paper. Use 2 forks to spread it outwards from the center to make the chocolate look like pine needles. Place 1 chocolate Pocky Stick in the center of the tempered green chocolate design. Transfer the evergreen branches to the refrigerator and let them chill until the chocolate has hardened, then carefully remove them from the parchment paper.

5. For the chocolate pinecones, knead some cocoa powder into the marzipan or almond paste, then roll it into a slightly ovular ball. Stick chocolate Frosted Flakes all around the circumference of the ball so that it looks like a pinecone. Frost the cake with the chocolate buttercream frosting, then press the evergreen branches into the sides of it.

6. Place the candles on top of the cake, then lightly push them into the frosting.

7. Place the chocolate pinecones and some star cookies on top of the cake to finish off your beautiful Christmas wreath cake.

This wreath cake is a masterpiece for anyone who loves Christmas treats and wants to try out something a little bit different. Celebrate the holidays with your loved ones by sharing a slice of this stunning cake!

Get the recipe for the Christmas & Winter Sweets featured in the bonus video.