Santa Cake

Give a nod to Saint Nick with this berry-laden yellow cake. Strawberries form a hat, eyes, and nose, while candies and piped icing form other features.

Santa Cake
Photo: Blaine Moats
Start To Finish Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Servings:
8

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Yellow Cake or other desired cake

  • 1 recipe Vanilla Sour Cream Frosting or other desired frosting

  • 2 cup fresh strawberries, tops removed

  • 2 small blue candies

Yellow Cake

  • ¾ cup butter

  • 3 eggs

  • 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 ¾ cup sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 ¼ cup milk

Vanilla Sour Cream Frosting

  • ¾ cup butter, softened

  • ¾ cup sour cream

  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

  • 8 cup powdered sugar

  • buttermilk or milk

Directions

  1. Prepare, bake, and cool Yellow Cake as directed for 8-inch round layers. Reserve 1 cup Vanilla Sour Cream Frosting for piping. Place a cake layer on a plate. Spread cake top with some of remaining frosting. Add second layer; frost cake top and sides.

  2. For hat, arrange strawberries on the top one-third of the cake. Place reserved frosting in a decorating bag fitted with an extra-large star tip. Pipe an edge and pom-pom onto hat. Pipe eyebrows, mustache, and beard onto cake. Use a strawberry tip for a nose, green tops for eyelashes, and strawberry slices for cheeks. Before serving, add blue candies for eyes. Store cake in the refrigerator.

Yellow Cake

  1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour two 9x1-1/2-inch or 8x1-1/2-inch round cake pans or grease one 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set pan(s) aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

  2. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl; beat for 2 minutes more. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter in the prepared pan(s).

  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes for 9-inch pans, 30 to 35 minutes for 8-inch pans, 25 to 30 minutes for 13x9x2-inch pan, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center(s) comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans; cool thoroughly on wire racks. Or place the 13x9x2-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly. Frost with desired frosting.

Vanilla Sour Cream Frosting

  1. In a large mixing bowl combine butter, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Thin with buttermilk or milk to desired consistency.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

440 Calories
31g Fat
37g Carbs
4g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 440
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 31g 40%
Saturated Fat 16g 80%
Cholesterol 128mg 43%
Sodium 247mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 37g 13%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 21.6mg 108%
Calcium 114mg 9%
Iron 0.7mg 4%
Potassium 139mg 3%
Fatty acids, total trans 1g
Folate, total 35.6mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg
Vitamin B-6 0mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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