Pine Tree Forest Cake

Guess what??? Over the weekend, Seattle finally saw some snow! One of my goals this year is to bake more often, so I thought this would be the perfect time to try a winter-themed dessert. I found the idea for this pine tree forest cake on Pinterest and knew I had to give it a shot.The recipes I used for the cake and frosting are thanks to Country Living, though I adjusted the frosting recipe just a little bit and added mini chocolate chips. (Unfortunately, I'm not sure where the original inspiration photo for the pine tree cake came from.)Cake Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1 (4-oz.) bar semisweet chocolate broken into pieces
• 3 1/3 c. cake flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 1/2 tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1 3/4 c. milk
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/4 c. sugar
• 6 large egg whites

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (8") round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Pulse chocolate in a food processor until finely chopped, 12 to 14 times.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir together milk, lemon juice, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition.
4. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture and milk mixture alternately, starting and ending with the flour mixture, just until incorporated. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide batter among prepared pans; smooth tops.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks, 10 minutes, then invert onto racks to cool completely.

Frosting Ingredients:

• 2 c. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 c. mini chocolate chips
• 6 c. sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• Pinch kosher salt

Frosting Directions:

1. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well and scraping down sides of the bowl after each addition.
3. Beat in vanilla and salt.
4. Mix in mini chocolate chips with a spatula until evenly distributed.

Candy Pine Tree Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. each green, vibrant green, blue, and turquoise candy melts
• 12 (6") bamboo skewers
• White sugar pearls, white nonpareils

Candy Pine Tree Directions:

1. Melt candy melts in separate glass bowls in the microwave. Mix together some of the colors to make different shades of green and greenish blue. Spoon colors into separate small zip-top bags and snip a 1/8-inch hole in one corner of each bag.
2. Place bamboo skewers, 3 inches apart, on parchment- lined baking sheets. Working in a back and forth motion, drizzle melts over the skewers to create trees (be sure to leave 3 inches of the skewer uncovered). Repeat with all colors until you have 12 trees, all different sizes and colors.
3. Immediately decorate trees with candy. Chill until set, 25 to 30 minutes.

Assembling the cake:

1. Make the cake according to the recipe. Trim domed tops of two of the layers. Place one trimmed layer on a cake stand or serving platter and top with 2/3 cup frosting. Repeat, then place the domed layer on top.
2. Spread frosting on the cake.
3. Gently lift trees from parchment and paper insert skewers into the cake to create a forest.

Whew! It's a lot, I know. It took me a long time and our kitchen was a disaster afterward! But it was fun at least! The trees came out a little wonky, but this was my first time experimenting with candy melts, so I decided to not be too hard on myself. ;-)Let me know if you give this cake or trees a try - I'd love to see your photos! Now Adam and I have to spend the rest of the week eating the cake! We're not complaining... As always, thanks for reading! xo