Dave's joke in the cookie thread had a twinkle of an idea—Trix and Froot Loops are little colorful tree bobbles and rings. They might bleed color into the frosting, however.

My last Christmas cake that was a big hit was a yellow sheet cake/ poke cake made with cranberry jelly and topped with whipped cream. No fancy decoration, but so pretty when cut, and everybody loved it.

My chocolate cake recipe is easy and moist. Years ago we had a housewarming party and I couldn’t find the cling wrap anywhere so the leftover chocolate cake sat uncovered for a few days until we finished it. It was still moist.

Colleen's Chocolate Cake

1 Cup caster sugar
1 Cup brown sugar
2 eggs
250 g margarine (8 ounces)
2/3 Cup cocoa
1 Cup sour milk*
2 Tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 Cup boiling strong coffee
3 Cup plain flour
2 Tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 170C (325F), grease and line two 20cm (8") round cake tins.
Put ingredients into mixing bowl in order listed and turn on mixer. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared tins and bake 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave to stand in tins for 20 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

*Make your own sour milk if you don't have any that's just on the turn, by adding a tablespoon or so of lemon juice or vinegar and leaving it to stand for a few minutes.

Colleen, do you have that recipe with weights rather than cups?

@floraluk2, sorry, I don't as it's originally an American recipe. But if you don't have measuring cups, you could get a disposable cup, put it on the scales and pour in enough water to weigh 250g. Make a mark on the cup along the waterline. Tip out the water, dry the cup and then up to the waterline is one cup :-)

Those red velvet cakes are beautiful! That was the last cake I made in 2002. Not fancy, but it was delicious.

@carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b, Oops! I've edited it to say "2 tsp bicarbonate of soda".

You might find some insiration here https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=591445850&rlz=1C1ASVC_enFR990FR990&sxsrf=AM9HkKlhc7EBka3AkyvB9TBE_K05r_Xiuw:1702713206273&q=recettes+buche+de+noel&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwo8H-vJODAxXSRqQEHUYBAfwQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1536&bih=855&dpr=1

If you want a chocolate cake that is simple and almost fool proof, try the recipe on the back of the Hersheys box. For all the fancy and convoluted ways you can put a cake together, this recipe makes a daned good and respectable cake and it is SOOOOO simple! If you are unsure of your decorating skills I suggest that you keep it simple in any decoration . A beautifully swirled frosting will go a long way to making a cake that will induce anticipation for. Keep it simple, and lucious looking and the decoration small and simple. Even just a dusting of red sprinkles can be elegant. Sometimes less is more.

My own addition to a chocolate cake for the holidays is to use a filling of sweet black cherries or delicate raspberries. But, just a beautiful swirl of generous frosting goes a long, long way.

I make chocolate cake a few times a year but I would like to do something to make it special.

If I made a cherry filling, it would be like black forest cake. I thought I might try that but I didn't realize that it's frosted with whipped cream. I make 6" layer cakes, which lasts us 3-4 days, so whipped cream is out.

My grandmother used to make a German Chocolate Cake for Christmas, and it had coconut and pecans on top and in the frosting.

Here's a recipe for the cake.

Here's a recipe for the frosting.

I haven't made this, but the recipes look right. This cake is very popular in Texas because there are so many pecans there.

“If you want a chocolate cake that is simple and almost fool proof, try the recipe on the back of the Hersheys box.”

An old favorite!😃

I appreciate all the ideas!

I'm thinking about a dark chocolate semi-naked cake and peppermint ice cream.

I also like this idea of a red velvet layer between two chocolate layers. I'm reluctant to make an entire red velvet cake because my only experience was a dry cupcake.

Siirley's red velevt is not dry. am going to have to make it this year even if the oldest grandson cannot eat it, milk.

Eileen, that photo looks so pretty! For a single red velvet layer, the recipe I posted from Sally’s Baking Addiction would be very easy to halve for one 9-inch layer. I’ve not tried it but would be surprised if it was dry based on the ingredients.

Since I will be making a 6" cake, I think I'd halve a cupcake recipe for the red velvet layer. Most cupcake recipes that make a dozen make two 6" layer cakes.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/red-velvet-cupcakes/

Good idea! Ina Garten also has a recipe, FWIW.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/red-velvet-cupcakes-recipe-1924412

FWIW, I make whipped cream as frosting for cakes a lot because it's my fave, and it keeps for days in the fridge if you whip it very stiff. I use powdered sugar to sweeten, and I think the cornstarch in that helps. I believe some people add gelatin. Cake is usually eaten within 3 days in our house, so I can't attest to a longer timeframe.

Black forest cake used to be my absolute favorite cake - I recall it being pretty popular in the 80s.

This is wickedly delicious. I only made it once in 2002 for Valentines Day. That seems to be the year I stopped baking most cakes. To make it even more decadent you can serve over creme anglaise.

Anyway, here's the recipe.

Chocolate Decadence Cake with Raspberry Sauce

http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/desserts/cakes07.htm

I have a plan for decorating if I do the three layer chocolate and red velvet semi-naked cake. I have the piping tip that makes these kisses and I would combine the white and red frosting to swirl it to look like peppermint drops. However, I don't want peppermint flavored cake or frosting. The ice cream would be peppermint.

Eileen, don't sell yourself short - your 'basic decorating skills' are well beyond mine!

I'm going to practice the kisses on parchment and refrigerate the good ones and transfer them to the cake.

This was my previous attempt with that tip. Not a proud moment!

“I would combine the white and red frosting to swirl it to look like peppermint drops.”

So pretty!

Your previous attempt looks great! Good idea to make the kisses ahead for the fridge.

I use UHT cream for cakes and always have some chilled in the fridge. It doesn't break down after whipping and doesn't weep and crack after several days on a cake. Plus to me it has a better mouth feel than regular whipped cream, which can feel kind of grainy and fatty.

Colleenoz do you mean those little boxes of long life cream labelled Whipping cream.? I have used them but they have always seemed very light and airy. Maybe I just haven’t whipped it long enough.

@User, yes, the long life cream. I don’t find ours is any lighter than regular cream. The kind we have is pretty well impossible to overwhip, which is another thing I really like about it. You can get it very stiff for piping but it still tastes good. I’ve actually tried to overwhip it into butter as an experiment and didn’t succeed.

A flourless chocolate cake is decadent enough for special cake status and can be a cinch to decorate with just a snowflake stencil and sifted powdered sugar. At least, it works for me!

Colleen, that's fascinating about the ultra-high temperature cream. I've only used the UHT (shelf stable) milk, decades ago, when I couldn't get fresh. It worked fine in cooking/baking, but there's a lifelessness to it. It can't be cultured, even with yoghurt added. Which is why the cream works for the stable cake, I'm sure! We must have it....(search)...okay, my usual store has ultra-pasteurized organic in the dairy case, but not UHT shelf stable. So I checked Amazon. They have some loco stuff, including Italian UHT cream. And a listing for Trader Joe's. Someone buying TJ's and marking it up for sale where there's no store, I presume, but there are a couple of TJ's in walking distance here. :D I wonder if cream powder would work? can it be whipped? I'm used to using it as is as a powder ingredient, not reconstituting it. I'm not fond of whipped cream frosting, but the UHT option, especially eliminating the need to over sugar it as a preservative, is intriguing! Thank-you!

Does anyone have experience with white chocolate frosting? I don't want cream cheese frosting, the go-to for red velvet cake.

I've read that some think it's very sweet but that could be an advantage on a semi-naked cake. Recipes use about 5-6 oz. of chocolate to 2 cups of confectioners sugar. It's also supposed to pipe well. It may be the answer to making pointy tops on my frosting kisses.

Eileen, I don’t have experience with white chocolate frosting. I’m guessing you saw this one? She mentions it holds its shape well when piped. It does sound sweet but might be okay with less icing on the cake.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/white-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/

Yep, I have that recipe written down as a possibility. I think I'll need to make a dark chocolate cake so it's less sweet.

I don't think a center layer of red velvet cake will do much for flavor but it will provide color. I wouldn't bother if it wasn't Christmas--I'd just use a white cake layer. One of my concerns of combining cake recipes in one cake is that the texture of the cakes will be so different that it may seem a bit odd.

Going off topic slightly, when I get the chance to make a cake for an event, I like to make a bundt cake because otherwise I almost never am able to finish a whole cake at home, and half a bundt cake, while it can be frozen, ruins the look. Here's a recipe that I think I had once. There are lots of recipes for pistachio frosted cakes or pistachio poke cakes too.

Easy Chocolate Pistachio Bundt Cake

Because of the stigma, I rarely make box cakes, but actually each time I do, I usually get raves. If you make the kind with pudding it's usually moist enough. The other kind of boxed cake I make is Pig Pickin' cake and that's made with syrup and fruit and a whipped cream frosting, so is usually very light but moist. You could make the chocolate part from scratch but pistachio cake without pistachio pudding would be way too much work for me. Besides, the pudding mix gives it the green color . . .

“I don't think a center layer of red velvet cake will do much for flavor but it will provide color.”

Also pretty based on the pic you posted.

“One of my concerns of combining cake recipes in one cake is that the texture of the cakes will be so different that it may seem a bit odd.”

Eileen, you know your people. Do they think they're the judges on Chopped? Or are they the ”Oooh! Cake!” variety? Or are they comparing you to restaurants because they don't get enough homemade to value it? If the last, make it easy on yourself and buy mixes. From what people have said here, people used to mixes/store-bought think the metallic tang of too much baking powder, etc., expect and prefer it. If they're judgmental and care more about the details and instagram-worthiness than the love, buy a cake from a good bakery. If they're happy about being fed cake and that you care about them enough to bake it, stop worrying. Make it the way you think it'll taste and look good.

So, if you think the red velvet layer texture will clash with the chocolate, there are many options: Emphasize the difference by using texture in the frosting between layers, anything from roasted and chopped nuts, to feuilletine (very trendy), to bits of candy, to fruit, Or bake some crunch right into some layers. Or use the same basic batter for all layers and make one layer using less cocoa plus some red food dye (or concentrated pomegranate or beet juice) instead of making a velvet layer. Or slice the center layer into thirds horizontally (use books or blocks on either side of the cake to guide a level cut if you don't have an official tool), and add a little something between center layers—or just use thinned, but not watery, jam.

It's cake! If you aren't making it for biased judges, you can do just about anything that catches your fancy and it'll be good. Just don't forget the baking powder, don't bake at too high a temperature, and make sure it's done in the center. That's the skill part. The rest is interpretation.

Gingerbread Yule Log

Haha! I'm the judge. Too much of a perfectionist!

Apparently there are white velvet cakes so I might go that route. I also found a recipe from Southern Living for white chocolate cream cheese frosting that they thought was so good that they said to use a boxed mix for the red velvet cake.

That looks like a better way to serve gingerbread than the standard whipped cream. I could make those white chocolate shards to decorate my layer cake.

Eileen, I saw the frosting recipe from Southern Living but didn’t think you wanted a cream cheese frosting...? It sounded good to me!

Regarding boxed cake mixes, my vote used to go to Duncan Hines but it’s been a long time.

I didn't want cream cheese but if I end up making white velvet cake layers instead of chocolate to go with the red velvet, it may need the flavor from the cream cheese. I know I can pipe cream cheese frosting despite it being softer than buttercream. I think it's what I used in my lemon cake photo. The white chocolate should make it a little firmer.

I can't even remember when I last made a cake mix. I only started baking layer cakes again a few years ago. Cakes are too big for two, but now I make the 6" cakes and get six slices from them.

My 6" walnut spice, chocolate mocha, and raspberry coconut cakes.

There's no need to use a mix unless you want to, and no shame in it if you want to. OTOH, while the SL recipe I looked at isn't my thing, it reads like it'll be successful. https://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/red-velvet-cake-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-frosting-improvchallenge/

I like the sound of this white velvet cake, and the blog has good recipes: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/white-velvet-cake-recipe/

I think your white and red with white chocolate shards sounds lovely! You could decorate with peppermints and/or candy canes, as well.

What a coincidence! That's the white velvet cake I found too! I think I will stick with red and white.

Just wanted to say Liz (“from that skinny chick” link plllog posted) used to join in on another cooking forum I enjoyed. She’s a good resource!

That's interesting! I'll look through her blog.

I saw this cake where you mix together decorator sugar and granulated sugar and "throw" it on the cake. I like the sparkly effect. I might try it just on the sides of my cake. I think there's enough icing on a semi-naked cake for it to stick.

Eileen, totally off topic but check out Liz’s Roast Pork With Plum Sauce sometime. Tasty stuff!

I didn't see your post till now, chloebud. I'm making an apple cranberry stuffed pork roast for Christmas so that sounds like something I'd like!

I can't believe the amount of time I've spent planning this cake! But both the white velvet and red velvet recipes are new to me and I've never made white chocolate frosting.Everything needs to scale down for a 6" cake. I've never made a three layer cake so I have to figure out how much frosting I need for a 6" semi-naked cake. I may be short because I only bought one 4 oz. bar of chocolate but I can make regular buttercream for the sides and any piping I may do. I had melted white chocolate seize up on me once so that's another concern.

Chloe, I sent you a message. I know that the notification system isn't reliable here so I hope you receive it.

Hi Eileen, I just replied to your nice message.😀

YUM, that stuffed pork roast sounds wonderful!👍🏻

It is good. I've made it a few times.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_cranberry_stuffed_pork_roast/

Thanks!