Preheat the oven to
170c. Line 3 x 6” cake tins with baking paper. Mix together the butter and
sugar in a bowl for 2 mins. Add the orange zest, extract, eggs, half the sifted
flour, salt and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and
mix until combined.
Bake the cakes for 20
mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
Chocolate Christmas tree cupcakes
Melt the chocolate
and sugar in a sauce pan, remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 5
mins. Add the sour cream and eggs to the chocolate, mix until combined. Sift
the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder together and stir into the
chocolate mix.
Spoon into small
cupcakes cases or silicone moulds and bake for 12-15 mins @170c. Set aside to
completely cool.
Chocolate orange buttercream icing
Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool for 10
mins. Mix the butter for 2 mins until smooth. Add half the sifted icing sugar,
cocoa powder, salt, orange extract, milk or heavy cream and the melted
chocolate, mix until combined. Add the remaining sifted icing sugar and mix
until combined.
Spread the chocolate
orange buttercream icing on the first layer on the cake, then stack the second
cake on top and repeat. Turn the third cake upside down and stack on top of the
second cake.
Spread the chocolate
orange buttercream all over the cake and smooth the sides with a cake scraper.
Put the cake in the fridge for 30 mins.
Vanilla buttercream icing
Mix the butter for 2
mins until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, green gel food colouring and the
sifted icing sugar, mix until combined.
Pipe onto the
chocolate cupcakes and decorate with sugar balls, snowflakes and top with a
gold star.
White candy melts ganache
Melt the white candy
melts in a bowl with a 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Heat for 10 seconds at a time
until the candy melts have melted. If the candy melts are not runny enough warm
the remaining heavy cream for 10 seconds in the microwave. Add to the candy melts
and stir until combined.
Remove the cake from the fridge and drizzle the
candy melts ganache on the top and down the sides of the cake. Make shorter
drips at the front of the cake as you need space at the bottom of the cake to
add the Christmas sugar decorations. If the ganache is dripping too far down
the side of the cake put it back in the fridge to set for 15 mins.
Decorate
Remove the cake from
the fridge and stick on a variety of Christmas sugar decorations and sugar ball
sprinkles. Stick the larger Christmas sugar decorations on to the cake by
adding a small amount of the melted candy melts to the back.
Add the Christmas
tree cupcakes to the top of the of the cake and your Christmas masterpiece is
finished!
