Holiday Pom Pom Polka Dot Wreath Cake 🎁🎄 -

If ever there was a day to bring it, it’s Christmas Day! So instead of a boring cake, I did my second Pom Pom cake for the special day. But I couldn’t stop there. It’s also a Polka Dot cake–a cake with colorful cake polka dots within. I never made one of those before, but I know that I will soon try it again. Because this came out so darling. Here’s what I did…

Step 1: The Polka Dot Cake

I N G R E D I E N T S
Ingredients for two batches of vanilla cake
Red and green gel food coloring

E Q U I P M E N T
Two 1″ Half sphere silicone molds or Cake pop pan

1.) Prep your silicone molds or cake pop pan by spraying with oil. Set aside.

2.) Make a batch of your favorite vegan vanilla cake. I used VCTOTW’s Golden Vanilla cupcake recipe.

3.) Divide batter equally in two bowls. Color one bowl red, the other green.

4.) I used the silicone molds, because I don’t do cake pops. Fill the molds to the top and cover with the second mold, lining up balls as best you can.

5.) Bake for 15-20 or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them sit out of the oven for 10 minutes before carefully removing them from the molds. They are now your cake polka dots.

6.) Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place the polka dots on the sheet. Put it in the freezer as you move forward.

7.) Now make that second batch of vanilla cake. Next time I would do 1.5 of the recipe as I couldn’t cover all my polka dots).

8.) Pour some batter down on a greased and floured bundt pan, then place some of the polka dots in the batter. Cover with batter and add the remaining polka dots.

9.) I had to use a serrated knife to trim the polka dots to be even with cake. But all’s well that ends well.

10.) Remove from pan carefully and allow to cool completely.

Step 2: The Marshmallow Pom Poms

E Q U I P M E N T
Stand-up mixer
Half sphere silicone molds of various sizes
Large piping bag (I didn’t use a tip)

I N G R E D I E N T S
3/4 cup plus 6 TB of water
3 teaspoons agar powder (not agar flakes)
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup aquafaba (from one can of chickpeas)
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2 and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
green gel food coloring
2 cups dried coconut

To line the molds:
Non-stick spray

1.) Plug the stand-up mixer in and put on the whisk attachment. Make sure there is no debris in the heat-save bowl. You want smooth marshies.

2.) Put two small saucepans on the stovetop. Affix one of the saucepans with a candy thermometer.

3.) Drain a can of chickpeas so that brine collects in a liquid measuring cup. Use the chickpeas for something else. You should get 3/4 cup of aquafaba from the can.

4.) Put all ingredients out on the counter. Group them like this:

Agar powder, green gel food coloring
Corn syrup and sugar
Aquafaba, xanthan gum, lemon juice, vanilla

5.) Prep your molds. I used 3 different half-spherical molds. Coat interior of molds with a light mist of coconut oil spray, then wipe down with a paper towel. You don’t want to jeopardize the texture of the marshmallows with too much oil.

6.) Now you want to get the three bowls you’ll be handling at once all set. Add the agar powder with 3/4 cup of the water in the small saucepan. Mix until dissolved. Then mix in a few drops of the green gel coloring and mix until uniform. Leave on the burner but don’t start the flame yet.

7.) Then, in the saucepan with the candy thermometer, add sugar, corn syrup and the rest of the water (6 TB). Let that sit for a few moments while you prep the stand-up mixer bowl.

8.) Combine aquafaba, lemon juice and xanthan gum in the stand-up mixer bowl and get it ready to go.

9.) Now start everything. Turn on both burners to medium heat and the mixer to high speed. You’ll let the mixer whip up the aquafaba mixture for 2 minutes. Then stop it and add the vanilla.

10.) Watch the agar mixture, stirring occasionally until it’s boiling. Then lower the heat. Turn it up again when the candy mixer is almost done (see below) to bring it back to a rolling boil. It should be thicker and show signs of getting gelatinous.

11.) Bring the candy to a wild boil and keep it going until it reaches 120 degrees C (248 F). Don’t get impatient!

12.) Once sugar syrup mixture is at 120 C (248 F), lower the speed of mixer, take pan off heat and add to the chickpea mixture. Use a small rubber spatula to get all that sweetness in there. Let it whip 2 minutes and then add the agar mixture.

13.) Now let it whip well to combine, scraping down sides as necessary. After 5-7 minutes it should look ribbony and delicious.

14.) While marshmallow is whipping, prepare large piping bag.

15.) Next, transfer marshmallow into piping bag. Do it quickly, but don’t rush. When the bag is full, pipe marshmallow into prepared molds.

16.) Let them set for an hour at room temperature, uncovered. Then release them from the molds. They should release easily. Roll them about in the dried coconut.

Step 3: Cream Cheese Frosting

(adapted from here) This stuff makes the cake, despite all its bells and whistles. Sweet and tangy–it’s like magical spackle.

E Q U I P M E N T
Hand mixer

I N G R E D I E N T S
8 oz package of vegan cream cheese
1 cup Earth Balance
3 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
Green gel coloring

1.) With handheld mixer, beat cream cheese and Earth Balance until smooth and incorporated.

2.) Lower the speed and add half the powdered sugar. Turn up blender once it’s incorporated and beat until smooth. Then add the remaining sugar and, once again, beat until smooth.

3) Add the vanilla and gel coloring and beat until well incorporated.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

1.) Frost the cake thickly. You want to have a nice sticky surface for pom poms to adhere to. Plus, it is delicious.

2.) Cover your the frosted cake with marshmallow pom poms. I put the little ones on the inside of the wreath first, then scattered the different sizes randomly. As you can see there are some gaps.

3.) Put some frosting in a pastry bag with a small star tip and fill in the cracks! This small step really makes it much more beautiful. And you’re done! Now take a lot of pictures and serve it to your loved ones on Christmas Day.