Christmas Wreath Cake

The first thing I notice when a Bundt cake comes out of the oven is how the ridges have browned while the center still feels tender. That contrast is part of what makes this Christmas Wreath Cake such a lovely centerpiece: the cake is rich and soft, and the ring shape gives the green frosting a natural place to become a wreath. Red cinnamon candies add the bright little accents.

Sour cream keeps the cake moist, while creaming the butter and sugar first gives the batter a light start. I take care not to overwork it once the flour goes in; a few careful additions are easier to control than one long mix. Once the cake is completely cool, the cream cheese frosting pipes into distinct stars that hold their shape around the crown, turning a simple Bundt into a festive green wreath.

Why This Bundt Batter Needs Flour on Both Ends

Alternating the flour mixture with the sour cream is more than a tidy way to combine ingredients. The flour brings structure, and the sour cream adds moisture; adding all the flour at once makes a thick batter that takes more mixing to smooth out. Too much mixing after flour is added can develop extra gluten and leave the finished cake heavy rather than tender.

I add the flour mixture in three portions and the sour cream in two, starting and finishing with flour. That order lets each addition blend in before the next one goes into the bowl, and it keeps the batter from becoming either overly stiff or loose. Keep the mixer on low and stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour. A few small streaks will disappear when you scrape and fold the batter into the pan; beating until it looks perfectly glossy is where a tender cake can turn dense.

The mixing stage before that matters, too. Butter and sugar need 3 to 4 minutes on medium until pale and fluffy, not just until they look combined. That aerated base gives the cake a lighter crumb, while room-temperature eggs and sour cream blend in more evenly than cold ingredients.

What Sour Cream and Full-Fat Cream Cheese Do in This Wreath Cake

• All-purpose flour — Spoon it into the measuring cup and level the top rather than scooping directly from the bag. Scooping packs in extra flour, which can make this cake dry and dense. The flour gives the Bundt enough structure to hold its shape when turned out.
• Sour cream — Its richness brings moisture and a slight tang that keeps the sweet cake from tasting flat. Bring it to room temperature so it incorporates smoothly with the other batter ingredients; a cold scoop can make the mixture harder to combine evenly.
• Unsalted butter and granulated sugar — These are creamed together to build the batter’s airy base. Softened butter should give when pressed but still hold its shape; butter that is melted won’t cream properly. There isn’t a useful shortcut for the creaming stage, so give it the full mixing time.
• Eggs — Room-temperature eggs blend into the creamed butter and sugar more readily. Add them one at a time, letting each become incorporated before adding the next, so the batter stays cohesive.
• Full-fat cream cheese — It gives the frosting its tang and enough body for piped stars. Use it softened so it beats smooth; lower-fat cream cheese has more moisture and can leave the frosting softer.
• Powdered sugar and green gel coloring — Powdered sugar thickens the cream cheese into a pipeable frosting, while gel coloring gives it a green shade without adding much liquid. Add the coloring gradually until the color looks right; gel is more concentrated than liquid coloring.
• Red cinnamon candies — Their firm texture and bright color stand out against the green frosting. Add them after piping so they sit on top of the stars instead of getting buried.

From Fluffy Batter to a Piped Wreath

Get the Bundt pan and dry mix ready

Heat the oven to 350°F and coat a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan thoroughly with baking spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl so the leavening is distributed throughout the flour. Set the bowl nearby before you start mixing the wet ingredients. Having both mixtures ready keeps you from leaving creamed butter and sugar sitting while you measure.

Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs

Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture looks pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. If the mixture looks a little uneven after an egg goes in, keep mixing until it comes together before adding the next. Scrape the bowl if butter or sugar is clinging to the sides.

Alternate the flour and sour cream

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions. Begin and end with flour, and let each addition mostly blend in before adding the next. Stop as soon as the batter is combined; a few small lumps are preferable to beating it until smooth at all costs. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and level it gently.

Bake, cool, then pipe the wreath

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If wet batter clings to the tester, give the cake more time and check again. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack and cool completely. Beat the cream cheese smooth, gradually mix in the powdered sugar on low until thick, then tint with green gel coloring and refrigerate for 20 minutes; pipe stars around the cooled cake with a star-tip piping bag and finish with the red cinnamon candies.

Two Easy Ways to Change the Wreath Cake

Questions That Come Up When Baking This Bundt

Christmas Wreath Cake

Christmas wreath cake is a festive Bundt cake topped with green cream cheese frosting and red cinnamon candies. The tender sour cream cake is baked until a tester comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, then decorated with piped frosting stars.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

cooling and chilling 35 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 680

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 1 nonstick baking spray with flour as needed for the pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp table salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs large, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting and decoration

• 1 package (8 oz) full-fat cream cheese softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 green gel food coloring as needed
• 0.33 cup red cinnamon candies

Equipment

• 1 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan
• 1 electric mixer
• 1 piping bag fitted with a star tip

Method

 

Make the cake

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Thoroughly coat a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and table salt.
4. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
6. Mix in the vanilla extract.
7. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions and beginning and ending with the flour; mix just until combined.
8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
10. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
11. Invert the cake onto a rack and cool completely.

Make the frosting and decorate

1. Beat the softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth.
2. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar on low until thick and smooth.
3. Mix in green gel food coloring until the frosting is the desired shade.
4. Refrigerate the frosting for 20 minutes.
5. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe stars around the cooled cake to resemble a wreath.
6. Arrange the red cinnamon candies on top.

Notes

For neat frosting stars, make sure the cake is completely cool before piping. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days; freezing is suitable, preferably before decorating. For a gluten-free variation, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend.