Red Velvet Christmas Tree Cakes

One more sleep left till Christmas and so much cooking to do! 

At least we have our desert sorted. We are making these cute little Christmas tree cakes, made from a red velvety cake mixture and luscious cream cheese frosting (see recipe below). 

We wish you all a very Merry GF Christmas and Happy New Year! 

RED VELVET CAKE 

2 1/2 cups GF plain flour, sifted* 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon xanthan gum 

1 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened) 

50ml red food colouring 

1/2 cup (approx 113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 1/2 cups caster sugar 

2 eggs, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon white vinegar 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

Cream Cheese Frosting 

250ml cream cheese, softened 

50g unsalted butter, softened 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups GF icing sugar mixture*, sifted 

pinch of salt 

1. Preheat oven to 180°. Butter and flour 6 Christmas Tree cake moulds. 

2. Sift together the GF flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix food colouring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside. 

 

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. 

4. Make sure you have cake moulds nearby. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake moulds and place them immediately in the preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. 

5. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. 

6. To make the cream cheese frosting, blend together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in icing sugar mixture, salt and vanilla extract. Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. Spread over cakes. Use immediately. 

*TIP: Sift cake flour once before measuring, then sift again with the other dry ingredients per recipe instructions. 

If you prefer a sweeter and/or stiffer frosting, more icing sugar mixture can be added (up to four cups). But remember, the more sugar you add, the less you’ll be able to taste the cream cheese.