Chocolate Cinnamon Winter Cake
Chocolate Cinnamon Winter Cake is a festive cake that looks beautiful and is not difficult to make. It’s perfect for the snowy winter holidays!
It’s been snowing all day, yay! I LOVE snow!! To me, this is the perfect time for baking. I can watch the snowflakes dance in the sky and observe how much snow accumulates. Do you like to bake when it’s cold and grey outside?
After baking lots of Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Cookies and Spitzbuben – Linzer Cookies over the last few weeks, it was time for a cake.
I turned on the fireplace, played some Christmas music, and got to work.
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Ready for Christmas
After a few hours, I had a finished cake that looked so wintery and festive it made me even more excited for Christmas!
It was still snowing by the time I was done with the cake. So I took the opportunity and snapped pictures of the cake outside in the snow. That gave it some extra sparkle!
Though these pictures don’t do justice, the cake looked much better in person. I’m still figuring out all the food photography know-hows. Give me some time, and I will hopefully provide you with much better pictures in the future.
How to make the snowy “trees.”
Aren’t those “trees” neat? They look so real and are very easy to make! They are made out of fresh rosemary springs!
Use a small saucepan and add an equal amount of water and sugar to it. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Let the syrup cool down a little. If it is too hot, it will turn the rosemary brown. I let mine sit until it was lukewarm.
Trim the rosemary springs to the desired length/hights. Take one twig at a time and entirely dip it into the syrup. Take it out and shake the excess liquid off. Place it on parchment paper and let it sit for 15 min.
Have a little bowl with granulated sugar ready. Take a rosemary spring and roll it in the sugar. Make sure it is nicely covered with sugar crystals. Place the “snowy tree” on fresh parchment paper and let it completely dry for about half an hour.
E Guete (Bon appétit)!! Don’t forget to share some pictures with me and tell me how you liked this Winter cake. It would make my day if you tag @mirjamskitchenyodel on Instagram, share on Facebook or pin on Pinterest.
You might also like:
Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Cookies
Chocolate Cinnamon Winter Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cinnamon cake
- 170 g Butter
- 50 g Vegetable oil
- 300 g Granulated Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
- 150 g Dark chocolate melted
- 350 g All-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp Baking powder
- 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
- 4 Eggs
- 200 ml Milk
Cream cheese Mascarpone Frosting
- 280 g Butter soft
- 230 g Cream cheese soft
- 230 g Mascarpone
- 600 g Powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp Salt
Rosemary Trees and Frosted Cranberries
- 250 ml Water
- 250 g Granulated sugar
- 8 Rosemary springs
- ½ cup Cranberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
Chocolate Cinnamon Cake
- Prepare three 9 inch cake pans by greasing them thoroughly and dusting them with flour. Discharge excess flour. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.
- In a saucepan, melt the chocolate on low heat!
- Combine the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. You can use a hand or a stand mixer for that.
- Add one egg at a time, mixing until combined until you add the next egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to get all the ingredients well combined.
- Add the melted chocolate and mix until well combined.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter. Then, with a wooden spoon, carefully combine it with the mixture.
- Slowly add the milk to the mixture until well combined.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not overmix the batter, or your cake will get a dome. You want an even cake without a dome.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans, and spread it with a spoon to achieve an even bake. Bake for 25-30min or until a toothpick comes out dry.
- Take the pans out of the oven and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Then, carefully remove the pans and let the cakes cool completely on a cooling rack.
Make rosemary trees and frosted cranberries
- In a saucepan, combine water and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool down until it's lukewarm.
- Trim the rosemary springs to the desired length/hights. Take one spring at a time and entirely dip it into the syrup. Take it out and shake excess liquid off. Place it on parchment paper and let it sit for 15 min.
- To a small bowl, add about a cup of sugar. Take a rosemary spring and roll it in the sugar. Make sure the whole spring is nicely covered with sugar crystals. Place the “snowy tree” on a fresh parchment paper and let it completely dry, about half an hour.
- Put the cranberries in the sugar syrup and let them in there for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, take them out with a spoon and place them on parchment paper to dry for about 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, roll them in the sugar and place them on a new parchment paper until you need them.
- Save the syrup for later.
Frosting
- Combine the butter, cream cheese, and mascarpone in a large mixing bowl with a hand or stand mixer.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and mix well.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time. Mix until well combined and smooth.
Put cake together
- Take the three cakes. If you have a dome on top of the cakes, cut it off with a serrated knife so that they are completely flat.
- On a cake stand or serving plate, add four square parchment paper pieces, big enough to cover the cake stand to prevent the frosting from getting on it. Place the first cake on top.
- Take the leftover syrup from the snowy trees and, with a food brush, brush some all over on top of the cake (reserve the rest of the syrup for the following two layers). Then, spread a little less than a ⅓ of the frosting evenly on top of the cake with an offset spatula.
- Add the second layer of the cake and repeat with the syrup and the frosting.
- Top the cake with the remaining layer and add the rest of the syrup.
- Dot the bare sides of the cake in random places, all the way around. With the offset spatula or a cake smoother smooth the dots of frosting until you reach the desired semi-naked effect.
- Use remaining frosting and cover the top of the cake. Create swirls using a spoon to make them look like snow.
- Decorate with trees. Place the springs upside down to make to achieve the pine tree look. Randomly add frosted cranberries.
- Sprinkle with white sanding sugar for a sparkly fresh snowfall effect.
- Remove the square parchment paper pieces from under the cake and serve.