White Christmas Cake with Cranberry Orange Filling and Whipped White Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Your Christmas menu NEEDS this White Cake with Cranberry Orange Filling and Whipped White Chocolate Ganache Frosting. Three layers of light and fluffy vanilla cake with hints of orange zest running throughout, baked to perfection, and topped with a spiked homemade cranberry orange jam. Sweet, tart, bright, and SO. GOOD. Each cake layer is then frosted generously with a super simple whipped white chocolate ganache made from TWO ingredients to achieve that stunning snow white look! Trust me, this cake is mouthwatering and so delicious. Every bite tastes just like Christmas! With fresh cranberries, hints of orange, subtle vanilla, and finished with the creamiest white chocolate frosting… it does not get more festive than that! This is the perfect Christmas cake for any and all occasions. Oh, but the best part? It’s actually so much easier to make than you’d think, and absolutely stunning with barely any added effort! Which means, not much time taken away from making Christmas dinner. Truly the perfect cake!

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Christmas Cake

About The Recipe

Happy December 1st, everyone!

It’s finally the count-down to Christmas and we couldn’t think of a better way to start the month than with a stunning Christmas show-stopper. If you’re looking for a dessert that everyone will love, then you NEED to bake this cake!

I’ll be the first to admit it. I absolutely adore Christmas. My whole family does! There’s nothing better than Christmas carols playing while cookies (or cake!) bake in oven. Oh, and decorating the tree? There is nothing better!

When baking this recipe, my mom and I would take turns decorating the tree. No joke.

While waiting for the cake to bake and the ganache to chill, we made some Mulled Wine and started decorating. It was genuinely so much fun and a great kick-off to the Christmas season!

Not to mention when testing this cake recipe, everything worked perfectly the first time! Which was AWESOME because, if you’ve been reading our blog the past week or so, you’ll know my mom and I have had a bit more tweaking to do than usual when it comes to our recipe testing.

I guess this cake was a little bit of a Christmas miracle!

It definitely tastes like a Christmas miracle. Every bite of this cake goes together in perfect harmony. From the simple vanilla cake to compliment the sweet and tart cranberry jam, as well as that luscious white chocolate ganache frosting!

From top to bottom, this cake is SO delicious and much easier to make than you might think. It’s the ultimate dessert for the holidays!

Ingredients

For The Cake:

• Egg Whites – Adding volume and creating a bit of lift are the primary purposes of egg whites in this cake. The bonus is that because there are no yolks used, the cake stays white.
• All-Purpose Flour – We wanted a moist, tender cake but one with enough structure to hold up against a heavy filling. That’s where the all purpose flour comes in. It has the perfect amount of protein to create that structure.
• Baking Powder – The leavening agent responsible for the rise in this cake.
• Salt – Just a bit of salt enhances the flavor and balances the sweetness.
• Vanilla Powder – All the subtle undertones and flavor enhancing abilities of vanilla extract, but vanilla powder doesn’t add color to the cake.
• Granulated Sugar – While adding the perfect amount of sweetness, it also helps with the texture and structure of the cake.
• Vegetable Shortening – We wanted a cake that was soft, tender, light, and fluffy, as well as white, making vegetable shortening the perfect choice.
• Whole Milk – The higher fat content in whole milk is ideal for helping to tenderize this cake as well as contributing to the structure and helping keep it moist.

For The Filling:

• Fresh Cranberries – Because they have a brighter, more intense flavor and a better texture than frozen or canned are the reasons we chose to use fresh cranberries.
• Granulated Sugar – Adding just the right amount of sweetness, granulated sugar is neutral in flavor allowing the other ingredients to shine.
• Fresh Orange Juice – For the brightest pop of flavor, fresh orange juice is always better than canned or bottled.
• Orange Zest – Enhancing the flavor of the orange juice and giving this cranberry filling a bit more depth and complexity are the reasons we added orange zest.
• Orange Liqueur – The alcohol in orange liqueur cuts through the sweetness while the orange intensifies the flavor of the filling.

For The Frosting:

• Heavy Cream – A necessary component in ganache, heavy cream is what keeps the chocolate from hardening as it cools, keeping it rich and creamy.
• White Chocolate – Rich, creamy, and sweet, white chocolate is a perfect match for the flavors in the cake.

Instructions

Heat the heavy cream until it is just starting to bubble around the edges. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and let stand until the chocolate has melted, about 10-15 minutes. Stir gently to combine.

Cover the mixture with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the surface of the liquid. Refrigerate overnight, or until it’s completely cold. Remove from refrigerator and beat mixture until medium-stiff peaks form and refrigerate until needed.

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Set aside.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla powder. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the vegetable shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the flour mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Fold in the egg whites.

Spoon the batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes test done.

Allow to cool at least 10 minutes in pans before turning out.

While the cakes finish cooling, combine the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until cranberries pop and sauce thickens, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in orange liqueur.

After the cakes have cooled, level them with a sharp knife.

Place one layer on a cake plate. Pipe a ring of frosting around the outer edge of layer. Fill with cranberry jam. Top with another cake layer and repeat.

Spread half of the remaining frosting around the cake as a crumb coat. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

After the crumb coat is set, spread remaining frosting around the cake. Decorate as desired.

How To Make A Mini Sugared Rosemary Wreath (Crown) For This Christmas Cake

This is one of my favorite decorative elements for this cake! It’s something so simple, but so gorgeous. Just remember that, if you do the crown, it will have to come off the cake before serving. The rosemary does not cut.

• Start with 3-4 large sprigs of rosemary. This is important! I used three long, super fresh sprigs of rosemary I cut off our rosemary plant in the garden. Totally safe for human consumption and it was just the right amount for this 6 inch cake.
• Gather some thin floral wire and a sharp pair of snippers. This is my little secret! Use thin, green floral wire to tie the ends of the rosemary together. Make sure the rosemary all follows the same direction so it looks more organic and natural! You should need to snip about 1-2 inches of floral wire to properly tie the rosemary together. Also, feel free to snip the excess floral wire off so the crown looks a little more natural.
• Dampen the rosemary and toss it in sugar. This is the important part to achieve that sugared look. Once your crown is tied together in a circle, lightly sprinkle some water over the rosemary. Shake off any excess. Then, place on a plate (or small sheet pan!) and pour about 1/2 cup of sugar over the rosemary. Press the sugar to the rosemary and you’re done!

Other Decorating Ideas

While the rosemary crown is gorgeous, it’s super simple and may not be what you want to do! Here are a few other ideas.

• If you have rosemary, use it as Christmas Trees on top of the cake! Be sure to wrap the ends of the rosemary with a little bit of plastic wrap so they don’t impart any unwanted flavors. You could also sugar them for a more cozy-snow feel.
• Use edible decorations that are available to purchase at the grocery store! This could be small fondant holly leaves or marshmallows decorated to look like snowmen.
• Decorate the top with sugared cranberries!
• Feel free to whip up a bit extra frosting to have a little more room for fun decorations! Remember, the frosting is actually just a whipped ganache. So, if you would rather, use our American Buttercream to frost and decorate this cake to the height of it’s fun Christmassy potential!

4 Quick Tips For The Cranberry Jam

• 3 cups of cranberries is one 12 ounce bag.
• The jam will thicken as it cools, so keep this in mind when cooking! Follow the directions for best results.
• This sauce can easily be made in advance and freezes well.
• Overcooked the jam? No problem! You can add a few Tablespoons of orange juice or water to loosen it.

How To Store

With this cake, you have a few options!

First, you can make the cakes and the jam ahead of time. After baking (and cooling!) store the individual cake layers in freezer-safe zip top bags and freeze for up to a month. The jam needs to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for about a month. So, if you have a lot to do, make the two elements ahead of time and the ganache the day before you need it.

If the cake is already assembled, no worries! The cake stores great. You can leave this cake out on the counter, covered, at room temperature for about a day, but it’s really best kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Another option is freezing the cake! You can freeze the cake as a whole or as individual slices. Just make sure to cover it and get it out a few hours prior to serving.

When you make this White Christmas Cake with Cranberry Orange Filling and Whipped White Chocolate Ganache Frosting, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

– Still Hungry? –

Here are a few recipes may like!