The Easiest Holiday Cake Ever (That'll Still Impress)

The holidays are almost here! Can you believe? Literally I was just finishing my last halloween candy when I realized I gotta get started on my holiday planning. That got me thinking about how to save time on a few key things, mainly, the feast at the table, mainly, the cake!

I was thinking the other day, what if I want to make an epic cake but don’t really have the time or feel confident enough with my baking skills to pull it off? Let’s be real, an epic cake (like the ones on Pinterest with layers upon layers of fun) are not easy to make, and you don’t want to add stress to your holiday shopping list, so, how can we do this with minimal effort but amazing results? Well friend, I got you covered! Cue: the easiest holiday cake.

The cake basically is almost a small DIY project that uses a cake mix, truffles, and chocolates all store-bought, and the buttercream gets made at home. At the end, all you gotta do is put it together! Easy.

With this idea in mind you could literally swap the cake mix and frosting and decorations in any way you want: coconut cake with coconut frosting and white chocolate truffles or mexican wedding cookies, what about red velvet with chocolate dipped cherries? Anything goes!

Here you have the main instructions and how to to put it together:

The Easiest Holiday Cake:

Makes a 3 layer cake, you can choose to make 2 layers if you want to though!

You’ll need:

• 3 boxes chocolate cake mix (use your fave brand)
  10-15 ferrero rocher (or other similar crunchy wafer chocolate of your choice)
  8 chocolate truffles
  1 box blackberries
  Gold foil and gold dust

For the icing:

• 2 cups room temp unsalted butter
  3 ½ cups icing sugar ( ½ a cup more if you like it sweeter)
  ¾ cup cocoa powder (dutch-process or natural)
  ¼ cup heavy cream
  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  ¼ tsp sea salt

Instructions:

• 1. Start with the icing: Using a mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand blender, beat the butter until fluffy and glossy, about 4 min. With the mixer on low speed start blending in the icing sugar, cocoa, heavy cream, vanilla, and sea salt. If the frosting is too thick add a bit more cream, if it’s too lose add a touch more cocoa or sugar (more cocoa is less sweet). Set frosting aside.

  2. Bake each box of cake mix on a separate 7 inch cake pan. Follow the instructions on the box to bake it. Once it’s done, let the cake cool down, and level them (cut the tops off so they’re flat).

  3. Now let’s layer it: add a bit of frosting at the bottom of your cake stand or plate so it doesn’t slide and place the first cake on it. Add butter cream on top, then crush some of the ferrero and add them to the frosting. Stick a couple chopsticks or skewers off center, and pierce the next cake layer through them, this will keep your cake from sliding. Frost and repeat the same process with the other layer. Any leftover ferrero can be added as decoration on the sides of the frosting (to give it a rustic look).

  4. To garnish the cake, use a piping bag with the star tip to pipe some nice dollops, make sure to pipe them onto a plate, then freeze them for 5 min. Remove from the freezer and using a knife remove them from the plate and place them on top of the cake (freezing makes it easier to control, plus you can repeat if you screw it up). Now add the truffles and berries and dust them with gold foil and gold dust.

And that’s it! A 3-layer cake with homemade frosting and decorations that will surely make your guests gasp.

about the author

Gabriel Cabrera is a Photographer and Stylist living and working in Vancouver, Canada. He's a travel addict with a penchant for Nordic design, Latin Food, and French pastries. When he's not testing recipes at home, he can be found sipping one or two cocktails while brunching with friends. He believes chocolate can always save the day. You can follow along his food adventures on Artful Desperado and Instagram.