North Pole Cake.

Sharing my most festive holiday cake yet, the North Pole Cake. Three layers of buttery chocolate cake, layered with sweet chocolate ganache, and frosted generously with a browned butter vanilla frosting. Finish the cake off with a frosting dipped candy cane “north pole” and you’ll have the cutest holiday cake, that’s beyond delicious too.

{This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes}

I couldn’t let December pass by without sharing a festive holiday cake that’s both cute and delicious. As you can tell by now, I really like to do it up with the Christmas recipes. I have so much fun playing around with whimsical desserts.

Enter the layer cake, one of my favorite recipes to date.

I had two goals for this cake.

First, make it good. Chocolatey on the inside, but with a nutty vanilla frosting on the outside.

Second, make the cake feel as though you’ve entered the North Pole. Meaning, create a winter wonderland cake that’s just as fun to make as it is to eat.

For the base of the cake I actually tried a few different recipes before landing on a more simple chocolate cake. I really wanted my cake to be moist, chocolate filled, and have hints of sweet Land O Lakes® Butter. There’s nothing worse than a dry cake, so I love using Land O Lakes® Butter to keep my cakes extra light, moist, and flavorful.

I baked my cake into three (6-inch) layer cakes. If you don’t own a 6-inch cake pan, you can also bake the cake in two (8-inch) cake layers. This works just as well, but you’ll have a shorter and wider cake, versus tall and skinny.

For the filling, I debated on whether to simply frost the entire cake with frosting or to add a chocolate filling. Since it’s December, and this is a Christmas cake, I went with the chocolate filling! When in doubt, always add more chocolate…

I made a lusciously smooth chocolate ganache with semi-sweet chocolate and a touch of cream to spread between the cake layers. When you look at the cake, you’d never guess there’s so much chocolate inside, but when you cut the first slice, you’re pleasantly surprised to find multiple layers of chocolate deliciousness. I love this little surprise hidden inside…so fun!

And then there’s the frosting.

Oh, this frosting, it’s become my new go-to. Browned butter, a touch of mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, and a splash of vanilla.

Simple ingredients, but put them together and they make something incredibly delicious. This frosting is smooth, creamy, a little nutty from the browned butter, and perfectly sweet. Honestly, it doesn’t get any better.

It’s important for me to make recipes that not only look good, but taste just as delicious, if not better. And trust me, there’s so much to love about this cake. It is a chocolate lover’s dream cake. But it’s also very much a cake for anyone who loves vanilla.

To make the “North Pole” I just used a thick candy cane. I broke the rounded tip off, and then dipped it through a little of the frosting to make the top of the pole. I added some pearl sugar for a snowy effect, and pushed it directly into the top of the cake.

Nothing fancy, but so special and cute.

If you’d like to take the decorations a step further, you can make sugar cookie cut outs. I made reindeer sugar cookies. I sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar, and used a little melted white chocolate for their eyes and tail. It was important to me to keep the scene simple though, so that the cake would be the star.

If you’re looking for a fun Christmassy weekend project, or need a show stopping cake for your next holiday party, this is definitely that cake! I’ll be making it for my family’s Christmas Eve and I’m already so excited.

If you make this North Pole Cake please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

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{This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}