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–+ servings

Chocolate Winter Wonderland Naked Cake with Vanilla Mascarpone Icing.

Moist and chocolatey cake layered with vanilla mascarpone cream cheese icing. This winter wonderland cake is perfect for your winter baking!
5 from 2 votes
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: birthday cake, cake, chocolate, christmas, icing, mascarpone, winter
Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cook Time: 23 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 8 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Author: Kaylen Nicole

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.

Notes

The frosting and cake layers can be made a day in advance, along with the sugared cranberries and rosemary trees to save time.