Easy Reindeer Cake

This adorable reindeer cake is so easy to make! Use chocolate chips, an Oreo cookie and some parchment or wax paper for the decorations.

Bake the reindeer cake layers

I started with my Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe. The ingredients and recipe are in the recipe box at the bottom of this page. I baked the batter in four 6 inch pans to make a nice tall cake. While the layers cool, make your filling and frosting.

Make the filling and frosting

Use chocolate chips and cocoa powder to make a really chocolatey buttercream for the reindeer’s fur. Start by making my 4 Minute Buttercream, which is an easy and delicious base for hundreds of different flavours. In a small bowl mix cocoa powder with hot water to make a thin paste. In another bowl melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or a double boiler. Let the chocolate and cocoa paste cool. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the buttercream in a small bowl to make the reindeer's eyes and nose later. Cover the bowl with cling film or Saran Wrap so the buttercream doesn't dry out and crust.

When the chocolate and cocoa paste have cooled, stir them into the buttercream. Mix it all together by hand or with a mixer. The chocolate buttercream will be smooth and the perfect consistency for frosting!

You can use this for the filling as well as the frosting. Or to add another flavour, scoop out half a cup of buttercream before adding the chocolate. Blend 3 peppermints or any other mint candy to make a fine powder. Or put the mints in a sandwich bag and crush them by banging them with a rolling pin. Add these to the half a cup of buttercream along with a spoonful of cream cheese. This makes a creamy peppermint filling that pairs perfectly with the chocolate!

Assemble and frost the reindeer cake

To assemble the reindeer cake, spread some buttercream onto the middle of a cake board to act as glue. Press your first cake layer down onto it, centering it on the board. The buttercream will attach it there while you frost and decorate the cake.

Spread on a layer of filling and then place another cake layer on top. Layer more cake and more filling, finishing with the final layer of cake. I alternated between the peppermint cream cheese and chocolate buttercream.

Put the cake into the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes. The cold will set the filling to keep the cake stable while you frost it. Spread half of the chocolate buttercream onto the cake, covering the top and the sides. This is a crumb coat and it’s going to be covered up so it doesn’t need to be really neat. It needs to cover the cake so there’s nowhere from crumbs to sneak through. It’s much easier to do this when the cake is cold, so that the layers don’t slide around.

Pop the cake back into the fridge for another 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes. This will set the crumb coat. Then spread on another layer of frosting, which is the final layer. You want to get it as neat as possible so use a straight edged cake comb to smooth it. I have lots of free tutorials on how to get smooth frosting in case you need tips for this part! Put the cake into the fridge and save your leftover chocolate buttercream for later, covering the bowl with plastic wrap.

Make antlers and ears

Now for the fun part - making the reindeer’s face. For the ears, cut an Oreo in half and push a toothpick into the filling in the middle. Spread some of the leftover chocolate buttercream to cover these and smooth it with an offset spatula or palette knife. Then place them on parchment or wax paper and put them in the fridge to harden. When the chocolate frosting is firm, push the toothpicks into the cake to attach the ears.

Draw the antlers onto a piece of paper or print an image to trace. Melt half a cup of chocolate chips in the microwave or double boiler. If you overheat chocolate it will seize or burn or get ugly white markings after the chocolate sets. To prevent this, microwave for 30 seconds at 60% power, stir, and repeat. This heats the chocolate gently and gradually.

Spoon the chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut a little piece off one corner. Put a piece of parchment or wax paper over the antler outline and place these on a cutting board or tray. This will make it easier to lift the antlers up later. Squeeze the chocolate through the hole you cut to trace the antlers and fill in the outline. Use a spoon to smooth the chocolate and then push a wooden skewer into the bottom of the antler. It should go up a few inches into the antler and the rest will stick out the bottom of the antler. Cover the part within the antler with more chocolate.

Put the antlers into the fridge to set. When they have hardened after about 30 minutes, lift them up and push the wooden skewers into the cake.

Add details to the reindeer's face

Next, make stencils for the eyes. Trace around something round like a large piping tip onto parchment or wax paper. Cut out the circle leaving the paper around it intact. Leave a bit of space around each eye for your stencils.

Put about 2 tablespoons of the leftover chocolate buttercream into a bowl and add some black gel colouring. When the frosting on the cake has set in the fridge, take the cake out. Press the eye stencils against the cake and spread the black buttercream over them. Scrape the black buttercream to take off the excess to leave a thin, smooth layer behind. Then peel off the stencil. Do the same for the other eye. You can touch up any smudges around the edges of the eyes with a toothpick.

Next you'll need the 2 tablespoons of white buttercream you set aside earlier. Spoon it into a piping bag with a small or medium round piping tip. Pipe a little white dot in the same place on each eye.

Squeeze the rest of the white buttercream out of a piping bag into a bowl. Add red gel to tint it red for the nose. (If you prefer a brown nose, melt a spoonful of chocolate chips and mix it with a spoonful of the leftover chocolate frosting instead.) Make another stencil for the nose that's oval shaped instead of round. Press the stencil against the cake and spread the red buttercream over it. Smooth the buttercream and peel the stencil off.

For the mouth, carve a smile using a petal piping tip. You could pipe it with black buttercream but my hands are too shaky to do that neatly! If you carve it, a toothpick is great for picking off any crumbs of buttercream along the carved lines.

Put the rest of the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag with a star piping tip. I used a 1M. Pipe a few rosettes or swirls onto the top of the cake to make a mane.

How to serve this reindeer cake

The cake is safe to transport because the ears and antlers are secured with skewers so they won’t topple over. I do recommend storing this cake in the fridge to keep everything fresh and stable. Take it out of the fridge two hours before you serve it, so the cake and filling and frosting come to room temperature. That’s when they taste the best!

This reindeer is so cute and also so delicious! If you have any leftovers, press plastic wrap against the cut surfaces to seal them so they don’t dry out. Then put the cake into the fridge and it will stay moist for up to a week!

Watch a video showing how to make this reindeer cake:

Save this tutorial for later by pinning this to Pinterest:

Easy Reindeer Cake

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• Author: Emily
• Yield: a four layer 6" cake 1x

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Description

This adorable reindeer cake is delicious and so easy to make!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the cake layers:

• 2 cups hot water
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling and frosting:

• 2 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 lb powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 5 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 3 peppermint candies

For the decorations:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 Oreo cookie

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Instructions

To make the cake layers:

1. In a bowl, whisk together hot water and cocoa powder until the cocoa has dissolved. Set aside to come to room temperature.
2. In a mixer with a beater (paddle) attachment, mix butter with sugar on medium speed until pale and creamy, about two minutes. Scrape down to the bottom of the bowl once during mixing to make sure no butter is stuck at the bottom.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on the lowest speed after each addition until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
4. Add vanilla and mix on lowest speed for about 30 seconds to combine.
5. In a bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix on lowest speed to incorporate.
6. Add half of the cocoa mixture to the mixing bowl and mix on lowest speed to incorporate. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining cocoa powder mixture, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
7. Grease the inside (base and sides) of four 6" pans with non-stick spray, butter or oil. Divide batter between the cake pans.
8. Bake at 160ºC or 325ºF for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
9. Let cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to loosen cake from the edges of the cake pan and then turn onto a wire cooling rack. Leave to cool completely.

To make the filling and frosting:

1. Sift the sugar to remove any lumps and check that the butter is at room temperature - you should be able to slice through it easily with a spatula.
2. In a mixer with a beater (paddle) attachment, mix butter for a few seconds until smooth. Add a quarterof the powdered sugar and salt (if using) and mix on the lowest speed until incorporated, about one minute.
3. Scrape down to the bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to loosen any butter and sugar and add the next quarter of powdered sugar and mix for another minute on low.
4. Scrape down to the bottom of the bowl, add another quarter of the powdered sugar, mix for one minute on low, scrape, and add the final quarter of the powdered sugar. Mix for one more minute on low, adding the vanilla once everything is mixed together and continuing to mix until it's incorporated.
5. Set aside 2 tablespoons of buttercream to for the eyes and nose later, adding a few drops of milk to thin it out slightly.
6. Optionally, set aside 1/2 cup of buttercream. Blend peppermints in a mixer or food processor or put them into a sandwich bag and bang them with a rolling pin to crush them. Add them to the buttercream along with the cream cheese and stir to combine. Set aside to use for the cake filling.
7. Pour chocolate chips into a small, microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at 60% power. Stir and repeat until the chocolate is smooth. Let is cool to room temperature.
8. In another small bowl, mix cocoa powder and hot water to make a thin paste. Leave to cool.
9. Add melted chocolate and cocoa mixture to the remaining buttercream and stir to combine. This will be your filling and frosting.

To put the cake together:

1. Spread some buttercream onto the middle of a cake board and press your first cake layer down onto it to attach it.
2. Spread on a layer of peppermint cream cheese filling and then place another cake layer on top. Spread on a layer of chocolate buttercream and then place another layer on top. Finish with another layer of peppermint cream cheese filling and then the final cake layer.
3. Put the cake into the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes to set the filling.
4. Spread half of the remaining chocolate buttercream onto the cake as a crumb coat.
5. Return to the fridge for another 30 minutes or the freezer for another 15 minutes.
6. Spread on another layer of chocolate buttercream. Smooth the frosting, saving the leftovers by covering the bowl with cling film until later. Put the cake Ito the fridge to set the frosting while you make the decorations.

To make the decorations:

1. For the ears, cut an Oreo in half and push a toothpick half way into the filling in the middle. Spread some of the leftover chocolate buttercream to cover the Oreo halves, smoothing it. Then place on a cutting board or plate lines with a piece of parchment or wax paper and put into the fridge to chill and harden.
2. Draw an antler onto a piece of paper and trace it to make a reverse image. Cover with a piece of parchment or wax paper. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds at 60% power. Stir and repeat until smooth. Spoon into a ziplock bag and cut a small piece off one of the bottom corners. Squeeze the chocolate through the hole to trace the outline of the antlers onto the parchment or wax paper. Fill in the antlers with more chocolate and use a spoon or offset spatula or palette knife to smooth the chocolate. Press a wooden skewer into the bottom of each antler so that about 2 inches of the skewer is over the chocolate and the rest is sticking out below. Cover the top part of the skewer with more chocolate. Put into the fridge to chill and set.
3. When the ears and antlers have set, lift them off the parchment or wax paper and push the wooden skewers of the antlers and toothpicks of the ears into the top of the cake.
4. Make stencils for the eyes and nose by cutting three squares of parchment or wax paper about 6 inches wide. Draw or trace a circle (about 1 1/2 inches wide) onto the middle of two pieces of paper and an oval (about 2 inches wide) onto the other. Cut out the shapes leaving the paper around them intact.
5. Put about 2 tablespoons of the leftover chocolate buttercream into a bowl and add some black gel colouring.
6. When the frosting on the cake has set in the fridge, take the cake out. Press the eye stencils against the cake and spread the black buttercream over them. Smooth the black buttercream to take off the excess, leaving a thin, smooth layer behind. Then peel off the stencil. Do the same for the other eye. You can touch up any smudges around the edges of the eyes with a toothpick.
7. Find the 2 tablespoons of white buttercream you set aside earlier. Spoon it into a piping bag with a small or medium round piping tip. Pipe a little white dot in the same place on each eye.
8. Squeeze the rest of the white buttercream out of a piping bag into a bowl. Add red gel to tint it red for the nose. Press the oval stencil against the cake and spread the red buttercream over it. Smooth the buttercream and peel the stencil off.
9. For the mouth, carve a smile using a petal piping tip. Use a toothpick to pick off any crumbs of buttercream along the carved lines.
10. Put the rest of the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag with a star piping tip like a 1M. Pipe a few rosettes or swirls onto the top of the cake.

To store and serve this cake:

Store the cake in the fridge for up to a week. Take it out of the fridge 2 hours before you serve it to let the cake and filling and frosting come to room temperature. This tastes best and makes it easiest to serve!