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This Chocolate Winter Wonderland Naked Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone Icing is moist, decadent and rich. The perfect winter wonderland inspired cake to bake up this holiday season!
Interrupting your Christmas Eve with the most beautiful Christmas time cake. This chocolate winter wonderland cake is so fun to make and especially gorgeous on your dessert table! Decorated with ‘forested’ berries and rosemary stems- this winter wonderland cake is sure to impress all your guests!
I have a confession: I am not a huge cake person. Given the choice between pie or cake, I will always choose pie. But there are times that call for cake, and this is one of those times! And honestly… I just love how naked cakes look and wanted to create my own version for the holidays.
The mascarpone icing really takes this cake to the next level and cuts back on some of the sweetness.
Our daughter is turning two today (yes, on Christmas Eve!) and she especially loves chocolate. My initial plan was to make a gingerbread cake, but since it’s her birthday, I decided to go with chocolate. Plus, I ran out of molasses after making those amazing Spiced Gingerbread Oat Milk Lattes recently (which by the way, you have to make for Christmas…they’re the best gingerbread lattes you will ever have!), so chocolate was just meant to be. And everyone loves chocolate, right?!
As pretty as this cake is, don’t let it fool you. Soon all those pretty frosted cranberries and rosemary stems will be disassembled to make room for a Finding Nemo theme. And thus, this cake will be reimagined; a fishy, ocean cake fit for a toddler. And that about sums up my life as a food blogger and mom 😉 As pretty as it may seem, there is always more going on behind the scenes! Can anyone relate?
Chocolate Winter Wonderland Naked Cake Details:
This is the best chocolate cake recipe for any occasion! This cake always turns out super moist, decadent and chocolatey. Topped with the most incredible vanilla mascarpone icing, and decorated with beautiful ‘frosted’ berries and rosemary stems for a winter wonderland look. This winter cake is sure to be a hit this holiday season!
here is what you will need:
- two 9 inch cake pans
- all purpose flour
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- granulated sugar
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
- espresso powder
- vegetable oil
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- buttermilk
- black coffee
- 7-10 sprigs fresh rosemary stems
- fresh or frozen cranberries
- salted butter
- cream cheese
- mascarpone cheese
- powdered sugar
- whole milk or heavy cream
Making the chocolate winter wonderland cake:
Grease two 9 inch cake pans. Place the cake pans on top of a sheet of parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw a circle around the bottom perimeter of the pans. Cut the circles out and place the parchment circles at the bottom of the greased cake pans. (Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans).
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or by hand with an electric mixer), mix the oil, eggs, and vanilla together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy. Add the room temperature buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the hot coffee. Whisk on low speed until the batter is completely combined. The batter will be thin.
Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. *my cakes took exactly 23 minutes* Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting them. While the cake cools, start on the frosted cranberry and rosemary stems.
For the frosted cranberry and rosemary stems:
Mix the water and sugar in a small/medium pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes before dipping. This will help prevent the rosemary stems from browning.
When the syrup has cooled some, dip each rosemary stem into the simple syrup. Place the stems on a parchment lined baking sheet. When the rosemary stems are all dipped, add the cranberries to the syrup. Allow the cranberries to soak in the mixture for 5-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cranberries to the parchment lined sheet with the rosemary stems and allow to dry for 45 minutes to an hour .
Once dried, add the remaining 1 cup sugar to a bowl. Roll and dip each piece in the sugar and set aside on a plate until you’re ready to decorate the cake. Start on the mascarpone icing.
Vanilla Mascarpone Icing:
In the bowl or a stand mixer, cream the softened room temperature butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the softened cream cheese and mascarpone and mix until well combined, about 2 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, and mix until well combined.
Add the milk or cream, vanilla, and salt and mix until well combined. If the icing is too thin, add an additional ½ cup of powdered sugar at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Decorating the Chocolate Winter Wonderland Naked Cake:
Gently remove one of the cakes from the cake pan for the bottom layer and place on a cake stand or cake plate. Scoop out a large blob of icing into the center. Using an offset spatula spread the icing to the edges of the cake. Top with the second cake layer, and repeat with the top.
Dot the bare sides of the cake in random places all the way around. Using a cake smoother, smooth the dots of frosting by slowly turning the cake and pulling the cake smoother towards you while turning the cake in the opposite direction, creating a frosted naked cake look. Continue until desired effect is reached. Use a spoon to create swirls on the top of the cake, if desired.
Place the rosemary stems upside down so that the stem is showing, to create a pine tree look. Decorate with the stems and cranberries as desired. Serve immediately.
We hope you love this delicious cake as much as we did! If you make this Chocolate Winter Wonderland Naked Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone Icing, please be sure to leave a comment and/or rating below! I truly love hearing from you! And if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe! We have a lot of yummy content coming your way- you definitely wont want to miss it!
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Here at Butternut and Sage, we wish you all the most magical, joyful and restful Christmas! I appreciate all of you and I look forward to what the new year will bring!
Have a blessed Christmas Eve!
More holiday favorites to try this week:
- Spiced Gingerbread Oat Milk Lattes
- Soft Batch Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookies
- Overnight Creme Brûlée French Toast Casserole
- Dark Chocolate Oreo Truffles
Recipe
Chocolate Winter Wonderland Naked Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone Icing.
Equipment
- 2 9 inch cake pans
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Winter Wonderland Cake:
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup freshly brewed black coffee
For the Frosted Cranberries and Rosemary Trees:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
- 7-10 sprigs fresh rosemary stems
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
For the Vanilla Mascarpone Icing.
- 20 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks + 4 tbsp)
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 5 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 ½ tabelspoons whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9 inch cake pans. Place the cake pans on top of a sheet of parchment paper. Using a pencil, draw a circle around the bottom perimeter of the pans. Cut the circles out and place the parchment circles at the bottom of the greased cake pans. (Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans).
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or by hand with an electric mixer), mix the oil, eggs, and vanilla together on medium-high speed until combined and creamy. Add the room temperature buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Gently pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the hot coffee. Whisk on low speed until the batter is completely combined. The batter will be thin.
- Divide batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. *my cakes took exactly 23 minutes* Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting them. While the cake cools, start on the frosted cranberry and rosemary stems.
Frosted Cranberry and Rosemary Stems:
- Mix the water and sugar in a small/medium pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes before dipping. This will help prevent the rosemary stems from browning.
- When the syrup has cooled some, dip each rosemary stem into the simple syrup. Place the stems on a parchment lined baking sheet. When the rosemary stems are all dipped, add the cranberries to the syrup. Allow the cranberries to soak in the mixture for 5-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cranberries to the parchment lined sheet with the rosemary stems and allow to dry for 45 minutes to an hour .
- Once dried, add the remaining 1 cup sugar to a bowl. Roll and dip each piece in the sugar and set aside on a plate until you're ready to decorate the cake. Start on the mascarpone icing.
For the vanilla Mascarpone Icing:
- In the bowl or a stand mixer, cream the softened room temperature butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the softened cream cheese and mascarpone and mix until well combined, about 2 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, and mix until well combined. Add the milk or cream, vanilla, and salt and mix until well combined. If the icing is too thin, add an additional ½ cup of powdered sugar at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Decorating the Cake:
- Gently remove one of the cakes from the cake pan for the bottom layer and place on a cake stand or cake plate. Scoop out a large blob of icing into the center. Using an offset spatula spread the icing to the edges of the cake. Top with the second cake layer, and repeat with the top.
- Dot the bare sides of the cake in random places all the way around. Using a cake smoother, smooth the dots of frosting by slowly turning the cake and pulling the cake smoother towards you while turning the cake in the opposite direction, creating a frosted naked cake look. Continue until desired effect is reached. Use a spoon to create swirls on the top of the cake, if desired.
- Place the rosemary stems upside down so that the stem is showing, to create a pine tree look. Decorate with the stems and cranberries as desired. Serve immediately.
Great content! Keep up the good work!