Winter Cake – Christmas Cake

This Winter Cake is an impressive dessert that everybody will love, perfect for winter holidays, and a great twist to the classic recipes. Almond biscuit crust at the bottom with two layers of moist white cake, filled with raspberry and red currants filling and topped with a delicious sweetened condensed milk buttercream. Beautifully decorated with fresh rosemary, fresh raspberries and red currants, cinnamon sticks and dusted with powdered sugar to get you into the holiday spirit. I found the effect of painting the sides of the cake with a bit of red to be amazing, hope you’ll try it too.

I loved this Winter Cake as it is very well balanced, the sweetness of the buttercream and cake layers is very well balanced by the tart raspberry and currant filling, while the almond biscuit which brings a crispy texture complements so well the soft and tender cake layers. It is so simple, so beautiful, and definitely a must-try recipe.

For other Christmas cake ideas you may also like this Gingerbread Coconut Christmas Cake,  a cake full of flavor and texture. This Triple Chocolate Cranberry Mousse Cake is also very festive with a very nice texture and taste.  This Pistachio Raspberry Lime Mousse Cake is also an impressive and flavorful dessert that will surely impress your guests. This Raspberry Coconut Mousse Cake is an elegant desserts in red and white colors which makes it a great choice for Christmas.

Hope you will enjoy this Winter Cake and Happy Winter Holidays everyone!

winter cake with fresh berries

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winter cake

Winter Cake - Christmas Cake

4.46 from 11 votes
This Winter Cake is an impressive dessert perfect for winter holidays, that everybody will love, a great twist to the classic recipes. Almond biscuit crust at the bottom with two layers of moist white cake, filled with raspberry and red currants filling and topped with a delicious sweetened condensed milk buttercream. Beautifully decorated with fresh rosemary, fresh raspberries and red currants, cinnamon sticks and dusted with powdered sugar to get you into the holiday spirit.
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

Makes about 14-16 servings

    Almond Biscuit

    • 1/4 cup (55g) butter , chilled
    • 1/2 cup (50g) ground almonds
    • 1 tbsp (15g) sugar
    • 1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
    • 1/4 tsp (1g) salt
    • 1 tbsp (15ml) ice cold water

    White Cake Layers

    • 2 â…“ cups (290g) cake flour
    • 3 tsp (12g) baking powder
    • 3/4 tsp (3g) salt
    • 1 ½ tsp (7g) almond extract
    • 1 ¼ cup (250g) sugar , divided
    • 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter , at room temperature
    • 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
    • 5 large eggs whites (150g)

    Raspberry and Red Currant Filling

    • 5 oz (140g) fresh or frozen raspberries
    • 2 oz (60g) fresh or frozen red currants
    • 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
    • 1 tbsp (15ml) lemon juice

    Sweetened Condensed Milk Buttercream

    • 1 â…“ cup (300g) unsalted butter , at room temperature
    • 1 can (14 oz-397g) sweetened condensed milk
    • 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract

    For decoration

    • fresh raspberries
    • fresh red currants
    • cinnamon sticks
    • fresh rosemary
    • powdered sugar
    • red gel food coloring

    Instructions
     

    Prepare almond biscuit dough.

    • In a large bowl combine flour with sugar, almonds and salt. Incorporate chilled butter to the flour mixture, using a pastry blender, a fork or a pastry processor, until crumbs are formed. Add water and stir until incorporated. Wrap it with plastic, shape into a disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
    • Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap until it's about 8 1/2 inch (21cm) in diameter.
    • Use a 8 inch (20 cm) ring to cut a circle. Remove the excess dough.  Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes before baking.
    • Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
    • Prick the circle of dough with a fork and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

    Prepare white cake layers.

    • Grease and line with parchment paper two 8 inch (20cm) pans.
    • In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir to combine.
    • In a large bowl mix butter with ¾ cup (150g) sugar until smooth. Add almond extract and mix to combine. With the mixer on low, alternate adding gradually milk and flour mixture until all is well incorporated.
    • In a separate bowl whip egg whites until foamy. Gradually add ½ cup (100g) sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
    • Gently incorporate whipped whites into the butter mixture.
    • Divide batter evenly into the prepared pans.
    • Bake at 350F (180C) for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes with few moist crumbs attached.  Make sure you don’t overbake.
    • Cool completely.

    Meanwhile prepare the raspberry filling.

    • Place raspberries, red currants,  sugar and lemon juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until thickens. Remove from heat, sieve to remove seeds and set aside to cool until ready to use.

    Prepare sweetened condensed buttermilk.

    • Both butter and sweetened condensed milk need to be at room temperature before preparing the frosting.
    • In a large bowl mix butter until light and fluffy, for about 5-7 minutes.
    • Incorporate vanilla extract.  Gradually add sweetened condensed milk in thirds, mixing after each addition. Once incorporated the buttercream is ready to use.

    Assemble the cake.

    • Place the cooled biscuit onto a serving platter. Spread a bit of buttercream frosting. Top with one white cake layer. Add raspberry filling into the middle. Pipe a border of buttercream on top and spread the raspberry filling inside. Top with the second white cake layer. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top and sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cover with buttercream to create smooth and even edges.Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.

    Decorate the cake.

    • Place a bit of red gel food coloring into a small recipient. Use a brush to paint the bottom side of the cake.
    • Use a small plain tip to pipe some remaining frosting around the bottom of the cake.
    • Decorate the top with fresh red currants, raspberries, cinnamon sticks and fresh rosemary. Dust with powdered sugar for great snowy effect. Enjoy!

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 510kcalCarbohydrates: 53.3gProtein: 6.9gFat: 31.1gSaturated Fat: 18.7gCholesterol: 81mgSugar: 35g
    Calories: 510kcal
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Christmas Cake, Holiday cake, new years eve cake, sweetened condensed milk buttercream, white cake, winter cake, winter holiday cake

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @homecookingadventure on Instagram and hashtag it #homecookingadventure.

    Join the Conversation

    1. I would love to make this cake but I haven’t seen red currant in any of my stores. I like in Orange County CA….

    2. Karen Author says:

      What a beautiful cake. It would definitely be the centerpiece of any holiday table.I am looking forward to the challenge!

    3. heba ahmed Author says:

      hi Ella,

      happy holidays to you and your family,

      kindly advise can I replace the cake flour with all purpose flour
      as for raspberry can be replaced by strawberry
      I like this cake I think it will be nice treat in my daughter’s birth day.

      thank you 🙂

      thank you 🙂

    4. Mary Author says:

      You are so creative. I really love all of your recipes. Simple, nice and delicious. Thank you for all of your tutorials. Could I ask you for unicorn cake tutorial without fondant please? It is a popular cake but I do not like fondant and buttercream. Instead I’m looking for a unicorn cake recipe with whipped cream.

    5. Anita Author says:

      I am not a baker but always get so inspired by your vlog. I tried the winter cake and while it doesn’t look nearly as pretty as yours, the taste is incredible! Could you tell me what brand gel frosting you used? I bought a Betty Crocker tube of red gel frosting and it turned out to be pink! Luckily I had some leftover raspberry filling so I went over the gel with that and it changed the color to red, however it also changed the look, not quite as pretty. Thanks for all your vlogs, I love them!

    6. adriana Author says:

      sorry, my english is not so good…but, if I cover the cake with whipped cream, can I use the brush to paint the bottom side of the cake with gel? or the whipped cream is to soft for?

    7. Archana Author says:

      Hey! Can i use strawberry instead of red currents and raspberry as i could not find those in my place? By the way, the cake looks fantastic.

    8. ????? Author says:

      Hello Ella..!!! you are really amazing!!! congratulations!!! I am preparing my boy’s bday party.. could you please tell me if i can use these cake recipes, such us winter cake, chocolate cake, strawberry cake in order to dress them with fondand? thank you so so much in advance.
      Maria

    9. Punam Paul Author says:

      This is not only a beautiful cake but is too much yummy. When I prepared it in Christmas, every one appreciated its before eating and then start appreciating its yummy taste.

    10. Sharon of Piedmont, NC Author says:

      I made this cake last winter for a church social. It won rave reviews both for it’s natural beauty and taste. Currants and most especially red currants are not available in my area so I substituted cranberries which are tart, unlike currants. To compensate, I added enough Bonne Maman Four Fruits Preserves which do contain red currents, to make the filling sweet enough but still a little tart which I like. I followed the rest of the recipe and decorating the cake as pictured. Exquisite!

    11. what is the mixture she is stirring and straining just before it shows her dump raspberries into a bowl?

    12. Help! I want to make this cake for my younger sister who’s birthday is the 18th of December but I cannot find red currants anywhere. Not even in the frozen food section. The best I could find were seeds to plant! LOL, I don’t have the time for that. Does anyone have any idea where in December you can find red currants on the east coast? Can we substitute anything? Like cranberry? I don’t even know what a Red Currant tastes like. Thanks for the advice! Merry Christmas.

    13. Lisa of Panana City, FL Author says:

      I would love to make this cake this week. Do I ground my own almonds, use almond flour or almond meal? I do not see ground almonds at my grocery story.

    14. Mary-Ann Author says:

      I used red raspberries and pomegranate berries for the top. Worked just as good. You can you raspberry jam for the internal part.

    15. Nancy Author says:

      Help! I tried to make this cake several times. But I failed. It seems that in the middle its still raw. What did I do wrong? Plz help me out. I love this cake!

      1. Ella-HomeCookingAdventure Author says:

        if the middle is still raw.. you need to bake it a bit more.. and make the toothpick test.. thetoothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes with few moist crumbs attached.. if is still liquid keep it fore few more minutes

    16. Thanks for the recipe. It came out perfectly and I got a lot of compliments. The cake texture was really amazing!

    17. David of San Jose, CA Author says:

      Kim,
      You can find dried red currants next to the raisins (in the store)..Not sure where to find fresh either.
      Nice site, Ella.

    18. ANA GERALDO Author says:

      I DID IT, IT’S DELICIOUS … THANK YOU

    19. Lama Author says:

      Hello.. I would like to make this cake but my sister have gluten allergy, so which flour is best to use in the almond biscuit and in the cake ?
      And can I make it with strawberries instead of the raspberries?
      Finally please try to make other cakes for people who have gluten allergy
      Thank you ????

    20. Natthy Author says:

      Help please! I baked this cake today but now the base of the cake is so wet and full of condensed milk. Now the color also mix with it and become so messy. Can you tell me why it likes that? Maybe I didn’t something wrong. Thanks!

    21. Jiayi Author says:

      I’m going to bake this cake for a winter baking challenge, but I can’t find red currants and I only have 6 days left! Should I make it with something else to substitute it?

      1. Ella-HomeCookingAdventure Author says:

        Sorry for the late answer.. this cake can be definitely made with any other berries. 

    22. Julia Author says:

      Do you have to have springform pans or Will a 8″ pie pan work also?

      1. Ella-HomeCookingAdventure Author says:

        Springform pans are easire to use in order to remove the cake from the pan. 

    23. Cristina Author says:

      The cake looks great so I wanted to give it a try but the cream was not ok.I used unsweetend condensed milk because I wanted to use erythrit.The condensed milk I used was 8%fat.What tipe of milk I should use next time for a perfect cream.like your?

      1. Ella-HomeCookingAdventure Author says:

        You need the sweetened condensed milk, the thick one, that comes in cans. You probably used evaporated milk, which is more liquid and not sweetened. 

    24. Hanna Author says:

      Hello,
      I made this recipe today and have a few comments. Red currants was an interesting choice. They are incredibly hard to find so I used additional raspberries instead. Also it’s incredibly misleading that the recipe has a total time of 1 hour 20 minutes. I spent over 7 hours on this cake today. The time listed might be for someone who has made this cake 10 times and makes cakes of this intricacy often but not for someone new to the recipe.

      1. Ella-HomeCookingAdventure Author says:

        It is ok that you substituted with raspberries, any berries will work as good in this recipe. Sorry the recipe took you so long, hope you enjoyed it though. 

    25. Anadil Author says:

      Can I post the picture of your cake on weheartit? Please let me know and I understand if you don’t want to.

    26. Marina Author says:

      Hello, thank you for this recipe! I made this stunning cake for my birthday, I’ve just skip filling step with ready-to-use jam without seed (cause no time to make my own). I also has only 1 spring form so I slightly overbake a batch. Thanks a lot!

    27. Hi, I’m looking forward to making this recipe for one of my family Christmas dinners this year! This might be too close to the date to receive an answer, but can anyone let me know if I can make this in advance, even just one day before I serve it? Thank you!

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