Mini Christmas Cakes Recipe

"Christmas cake" could refer to plenty of sweet, seasonal treats. It could mean a yule log. Perhaps more commonly, it might refer to a fruitcake. In fact, "Christmas cake" could refer to any cake that is or could be enjoyed in the context of Christmas or during this very festive time of year. But when we think of "Christmas cake," what we're picturing is something that's like a fruitcake, but next-level good — and so aesthetically pleasing. That is precisely what we have in this recipe for mini Christmas cakes, which comes to us from recipe developer Stephanie Rapone of Pantry to Plate Meals.

"I love these mini Christmas cakes for so many reasons," Rapone says. "The cake itself tastes like the holidays with the spices and dried fruit, but it is super light and fluffy (unlike typical fruitcake)." Further, as Rapone points out, these two-tiered cuties don't even require cake decorating talent. This recipe makes, as Rapone promises, "something yummy and beautiful without a bunch of special equipment or skills."

Rapone's recipe for mini Christmas cakes begins with a butter and sour cream-enhanced batter made with all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, milk, three large eggs, and salt, as well as granulated sugar and brown sugar. (You'll also need nonstick cooking spray for the baking pan.) That essential fruit-and-spices Christmas cake flavor comes from candied fruit soaked in ¼ cup of orange liqueur, as well as ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, and vanilla bean paste.

The cream cheese frosting is made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, a small amount of milk, and a pinch of salt. For garnishing your mini Christmas cakes, in addition to the cream cheese frosting that you will make, you will also need some more powdered sugar, 10 candied cherries (which you'll roll in granulated sugar), and four sprigs of rosemary (from which you'll take some of the needles).

Since this recipe calls for a bit of simple cake decorating, you'll need a piping bag and a star piping tip such as the Wilton 21 tip, which Rapone favors. Other tools you'll need include two 12x18-inch (½-inch-deep) rimmed baking sheets (one for baking and one for the cutting and assembling your mini cakes), as well as a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter with a diameter of around 2 ½ to 3 inches. Rapone also recommends having a couple of sheets of parchment paper, an electric mixer, and a mesh strainer on hand.

At least two hours before you plan on getting started with these mini Christmas cakes, you'll want to mix the candied fruit and the orange liqueur in a small bowl. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, and set it aside. No more than two hours before you plan on getting started, remove the butter and the cream cheese from the fridge to allow them to come to room temperature. 

When you're ready to start prepping your cake batter, set your oven to 350 F. Spray one of your baking pans with nonstick cooking spray, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. This would also be a good time to whisk together the dry ingredients (i.e., the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger). Use a medium-sized bowl for this, and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and ½ cup of the milk until smooth. Set this mixture aside. Then, in the bowl of your stand mixer or another large bowl, beat together 8 tablespoons of butter, the brown sugar, and 1 cup of granulated sugar (using the paddle attachment if you have a stand mixer). It should take about two minutes at medium speed until the mixture is fully combined, light, and fluffy. Then, add the eggs and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla bean paste, and continue beating for one more minute. Everything should be fully combined before you get to the next step.

Now it's time to stir in both the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture. Start with ⅓ of the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Then add half the sour cream mixture and another ⅓ of the flour mixture, and continue mixing until just incorporated. Finally, add the remaining sour cream mixture and the remaining flour mixture. Mix until everything is incorporated and all lumps are gone. 

All that's left to do now to finish preparing the Christmas cake batter is to add the dried fruit, which you have been soaking in orange liqueur. Strain the dried fruit from the liqueur (You can discard the liqueur or save it for a fruity cocktail!), and use a spatula to fold the fruit into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, using a spatula to distribute evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan (front to back), and bake for another five minutes. At that point, check for doneness using a toothpick in the middle of the cake. If the cake is finished baking, the toothpick should come out clean. If that's where it's at, it's time to remove the cake from the oven. If not, give the cake another five minutes. In either case, once the cake is finished baking, remove it from the oven, and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.

While the cake is cooling, mix together your cream cheese, the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter, the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, using your stand mixer, or an electric mixer and a large bowl. Then, add 1 cup of the powdered sugar at a time, passing it first through your mesh sieve and beating on medium speed until well-combined. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the remaining milk by single tablespoons. For optimal cake decorating, you'll want your frosting to have a fluffy consistency that nevertheless holds the shape of the trail left by the beaters. That means you may or may not use all the remaining milk.

Using a spatula, transfer the cream cheese frosting into your piping bag, fitted with the star tip. To make the transfer easier, open your piping bag up inside a drinking glass, and fold the edges over the top.

To prepare for cake cutting and assembling, grab the other baking sheet, and invert it on your counter so that it is rim-side down. Once the baked cake has cooled for at least 20 minutes, carefully invert it onto the inverted baking sheet, and peel the parchment off the top. Use your cookie or biscuit cutter to cut circles from the cake, minimizing the space between them. Using your piping bag, pipe frosting onto half of the circles. Top each frosted circle with an un-frosted circle to create two-tiered cakes.

For half of these two-tiered mini Christmas cakes, you'll be dusting the tops with powdered sugar. It's perfectly fine to simply sift the powdered sugar onto those cakes, using your mesh strainer. However, for a presentation similar to Rapone's, you'll want to create a snowflake template as follows: Cut a 3-inch square from the parchment paper, and fold it into two triangles, then repeat three more times. Use sharp scissors to create a circle out of the triangle shape. Then, cut notches and holes to make a snowflake. 

"Keep it simple," Rapone recommends. Also, if the snowflake doesn't want to lay flat, Rapone suggests wetting it gently and smoothing it onto the counter to dry. To create your snowflake pattern, simply place the snowflake template on top of a mini cake, sift the powdered sugar on top, and then remove the template.

For the other half of the mini Christmas cakes, Rapone offers another, slightly more elaborate decorating alternative, using candied cherries, rosemary sprigs, and a dollop of the cream cheese frosting. Start by putting the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar into a small bowl. Place the candied cherries into the bowl, a few at a time, gently tossing them to coat. Then on each cake you're planning to decorate this way, pipe one single rosette, and garnish with a couple of candied cherries and a few rosemary leaves. And you're ready to serve!