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Jessica’s Magical Christmas Cake Recipe

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★★★★★

4.6 from 99 reviews

Jessica’s magical Christmas cake is an impressive multi-tiered celebration cake featuring a rich dark chocolate brownie base, a zesty lemon middle tier, and a fruity blueberry top tier. Each tier is layered with complementary buttercreams and decorated with colorful sugar pastes and charming handmade sugar decorations, including a snowman and festive stars. This show-stopping cake combines multiple baking techniques, detailed decoration, and layers of flavor perfect for the festive season.

Ingredients

Scale

Brownie Tier

  • 500g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for the tins
  • 700g light muscovado sugar
  • 10 medium eggs
  • 400g dark chocolate, melted and cooled
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 340g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp smooth apricot jam

Middle Lemon Tier

  • 200g unsalted butter, softened
  • 200g golden caster sugar
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 200g self-raising flour, sifted
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • Zest of 5 lemons
  • Juice of 4 lemons
  • 1 tbsp raspberry jam
  • Pink and red food colourings

Blueberry Tier

  • 100g unsalted butter, softened
  • 100g golden caster sugar
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 100g self-raising flour, sifted
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 120g blueberries, tossed in a little plain flour
  • 1–2 tbsp lemon curd
  • Dark and light blue food colourings

Ganache & Buttercream

  • 200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), chopped
  • 100g double cream
  • 800g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1.6kg icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Decorations & Assembly

  • 2 rice crispy squares
  • 150g white sugar paste, plus extra for clouds
  • Black, green, brown, orange and other coloured sugar pastes
  • Black edible writing pen
  • Edible glue
  • 150g yellow sugar paste, plus extra for stars
  • Edible silver balls (optional)
  • 2 chocolate-coated biscuit sticks
  • 26cm, 18cm and 10cm cake drums
  • Cocktail sticks
  • 8–10 cake dowels
  • Cloud-shaped cutters and star-shaped cutters in different sizes

Instructions

  1. Prepare Brownie Tier: Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3. Butter and line three 26cm loose-bottomed cake tins with baking parchment. Beat 500g softened butter, 700g light muscovado sugar, and a pinch of salt for 7 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add 10 eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in 400g melted cooled dark chocolate and 1 tbsp vanilla extract, then 340g plain flour. Spoon batter into tins and bake 40 minutes until edges have a brownie crust and center is set with no wet crumbs. Cool completely in tins.
  2. Prepare Middle Lemon Tier: Increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Butter and line two 18cm loose-bottomed cake tins. Beat 200g softened butter, 200g golden caster sugar, and a pinch of salt for 7 minutes until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in 200g sifted self-raising flour, ½ tsp baking powder, zest of 2 lemons, and a quarter of the lemon juice. Divide batter into tins and bake 25-30 minutes until lightly golden and firm to touch. Cool 5 minutes in tins, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
  3. Prepare Blueberry Tier: Butter and line two 10cm round cake tins. Beat 100g softened butter, 100g golden caster sugar, and a pinch of salt for 7 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add 2 eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in 100g sifted self-raising flour, ¼ tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp milk, and 120g blueberries tossed in plain flour. Divide batter into tins and bake 20-25 minutes until light golden and firm. Cool 5 minutes in tins, then transfer to wire racks to cool.
  4. Make Ganache: Place 200g chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring 100g double cream to boil over medium heat, pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly.
  5. Make Buttercream: Beat 800g softened butter, 1.6kg icing sugar, and 2 tbsp vanilla extract for 10-12 minutes until pale and fluffy. Set aside 850g buttercream and fold in ganache to make chocolate buttercream.
  6. Assemble Brownie Tier: Spread a small blob of chocolate buttercream onto the 26cm cake drum. Place one brownie sponge on top, spread 2-3 tbsp chocolate buttercream over it, then add second sponge. Repeat with third sponge. Cover top and sides with remaining chocolate buttercream using a palette knife, then chill for at least 1 hour.
  7. Assemble Lemon Tier: Mix remaining lemon zest and juice into plain buttercream. Spread a small blob on the 18cm cake drum. Place one lemon sponge, spread with 2 tbsp lemon buttercream and 1 tbsp raspberry jam, then add second sponge. Cover top and sides with 400g lemon buttercream. Chill for 1 hour.
  8. Assemble Blueberry Tier: Spread a small blob of lemon buttercream on the 10cm cake drum. Place one blueberry sponge, spread with lemon curd and 1 tbsp lemon buttercream, then second sponge. Cover top and sides with 200g lemon buttercream. Chill for 1 hour.
  9. Finish Blueberry Tier: Dye 250g of remaining buttercream deep grey/blue using blue food colourings. Spread evenly over blueberry tier and chill for 1 hour.
  10. Finish Lemon Tier: Dye remaining buttercream deep red with pink and red food colourings. Spread over lemon tier and chill for 1 hour.
  11. Cover Brownie Tier with Fondant: Warm apricot jam, cool slightly and brush over brownie tier top and sides. Roll out 750g sky blue sugar paste on icing sugar-dusted parchment to 40cm diameter at 5mm thickness, cover cake smoothing sides. Chill overnight.
  12. Make Snowman Decoration: Roll one rice crispy square into a large ball, two-thirds of second square into medium ball, remainder into small ball. Cover each with rolled white sugar paste, smoothing by hand. Fashion a hat from black and green sugar pastes. Shape twig arms with cocktail sticks and brown sugar paste. Let set 1 hour at room temperature. Draw face with black edible pen; create carrot nose from orange sugar paste. Assemble snowman and fix parts with edible glue and cocktail sticks. Add buttons with edible pen.
  13. Stack Cake: Measure and cut cake dowels for bottom and middle tiers to their respective heights. Insert dowels into centers for support. Carefully stack tiers largest to smallest.
  14. Decorate Cake: Cut stars from colored sugar pastes, clouds from white sugar paste. Attach stars in rainbow pattern to bottom tier using edible glue if needed; affix clouds to sides. Attach yellow sugar paste stars to middle tier. Shape a green sugar paste tree with brown stand, decorate with sugar paste off-cuts and optional edible silver balls. Make two small flags from sugar paste, wrap around chocolate biscuit sticks, write messages with edible pen, insert into middle tier. Top cake with snowman, securing with cocktail stick.
  15. Storage and Serving: Best eaten within a day of decorating. Will keep for up to five days when stored properly.

Notes

  • Ensure all butter is softened for smoother mixing and better texture.
  • Use loose-bottomed cake tins for easier removal of delicate layers.
  • Cool cakes completely before applying buttercream or fondant to prevent melting.
  • Dice blueberries lightly coated with flour prevent them from sinking in the batter.
  • Chilling between coatings helps set layers and makes stacking easier.
  • Use food coloring sparingly, adding gradually to achieve desired shades.
  • Allow adequate setting time for sugar paste decorations to prevent damage during assembly.
  • Supports provided by dowels are essential for tiered cake stability.
  • Store cake in a cool place, but avoid refrigeration once fondant is applied to prevent sweating.

Keywords: Christmas cake, multi-tiered cake, chocolate brownie, lemon cake, blueberry cake, buttercream, ganache, fondant decoration, festive cake

Find it online: https://dinewithdylan.com/jessicas-magical-christmas-cake-recipe/