Christmas Cakes

I love to make cakes, but rarely do because of the time and cost that it takes. So at Christmas, I try really hard to make at least one for some special occasion. The two that I have made the most are the hummingbird cake and caramel cake. They are both delicious and usually turn out to be pretty tasty. What is probably one of the highest compliments that I ever received is many, many years ago, my father-in-law told me that my caramel cake tasted just like his mother used to make. I'm not sure about that, but it certainly encouraged me to keep making it. It has been requested so much that we kind of got tired of it.

I made two completely different cakes this year and both had the huge "wow factor"because they were so pretty. (But definitely not as pretty as the picture in the magazines that I got the recipe from.)

This is the peppermint, white chocolate cake that was featured on the cover of the Paula Deen magazine. The white chocolate layers were amazing, but I didn't love the buttercream frosting. If I make it again, I will try to find a great way to crush peppermint candy. 

Southern Living featured the red velvet white chocolate cheesecake and it certainly looked impressive when it was cut! The alternating layers of red velvet cake and cheesecake were beautiful and the white chocolate icing was delicious! 

I think the conclusion of cake making this year is that I need to make the white chocolate layers and cover the cake with the white chocolate icing.