Recipe Background
Fa la la la la, la la la let's eat! Deck-the-Halls Cake is a better holiday decoration than mistletoe or holly because it's the prettiest Christmas thing that you can eat! Topped with snowy, creamy, and tangy cream cheese frosting and holiday-red sugared cranberries, Deck-the-Halls Cake certainly makes an impression. And this is all before you actually bite into the tender, sweet, walnut-filled cake! Now you just need to figure out how to sing this cake's praises in carol form!
Fa la la la la, la la la let's eat! Deck-the-Halls Cake is a better holiday decoration than mistletoe or holly because it's the prettiest Christmas thing that you can eat! Topped with snowy, creamy, and tangy cream cheese frosting and holiday-red sugared cranberries, Deck-the-Halls Cake certainly makes an impression. And this is all before you actually bite into the tender, sweet, walnut-filled cake! Now you just need to figure out how to sing this cake's praises in carol form!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups black walnuts finely chopped, plus more, to taste, for garnish
- rosemary leaves optional, to taste, for garnish
For the sugared cranberries:
- 2 cups sugar divided
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 2 (8-ounce) packages plain cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons eggnog
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line the bottoms of three (9-inch) round baking pans with parchment paper.
- Coat the parchment paper with baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, the baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of the salt and whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1/2 cup of the softened butter, the vegetable shortening, and 2 cups of the sugar, creaming them together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add 2 teaspoons of the vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients mixture and the buttermilk to the creamed mixture, alternating between the two and adding about 1/3 of each at a time. Beat after each addition until smooth.
- Fold in 1 1/2 cups of the chopped walnuts.
- Evenly divide the batter among the three prepared baking pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer the cakes from the pans and allow them to cool completely on wire racks.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 1/2 cup of the sugar and the water and cook, while stirring, until the sugar is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cranberries until they are well-coated.
- Using a colander, drain the cranberries.
- Transfer the drained cranberries to a wire rack to dry, about 1 hour.
- In small batches, roll the cranberries in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the sugar until well-coated.
- Let the cranberries dry, about 1 hour.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the softened butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt and beat them together, about 5 minutes, until light and smooth.
- Beat the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the cream cheese mixture.
- Add the confectioners' sugar into the cream cheese mixture, 1 cup at a time, mixing until smooth.
- Add the eggnog to the cream cheese mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you achieve the desired frosting consistency; you may not need to use all 3 tablespoons of the eggnog.
- Level the cakes as needed with a serrated knife.
- Spread 1 cup of the frosting between 2 layers of the cake.
- Spread 1 cup of the frosting between the final two layers of the cake.
- Spread the remaining frosting over the entire cake in a thin and even layer.
- Serve the cake garnished with the sugared cranberries, the extra chopped walnuts, and the rosemary.
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