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5 from 7 votes

Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake (Italian Christmas Cake)

A beautiful Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake made with Pistachios and White Chocolate. This festive Christmas tree shaped cake is a super fun and impressive Italian dessert yet it won't take you longer than 15 minutes to make! Spend less time in the kitchen and more time celebrating the festive season!
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 464kcal
Author: Emily Wyper

Ingredients

  • 1 large Pandoro cake
  • 2 cups Mascarpone (17.5 oz/500g)
  • 1 fl oz Vin Santo or liqueur of choice (30ml)
  • ½ cup powdered sugar (icing sugar) plus 1 tablespoon for dusting (70g)
  • ¼ cup pistachios plus a few extra to decorate (25g)
  • ½ cup white chocolate finely chopped (50g)
  • ½ cup Red currants or pomegranate plus extra for decoration (3.5 oz/100g)

Instructions

  • Put the mascarpone in a large mixing bowl with the vin santo and powdered sugar and whisk together for 1 minute. Add the chopped white chocolate and pistachios and stir through, set aside.
  • Cut the pandoro in five slices from bottom to top. Spread each layer evenly with the mascarpone mixture making sure to scatter a few red currents on each layer.
  • Lay each slice of pandoro on top of each other so the points don't match to resemble a Christmas tree as you are layering the mascarpone mixture.
  • Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and some more red currents and pistachios.

Notes

  • Use a serrated bread knife to cut the cake into sections
  • Pistachios give a fun festive green colour to the cake but you can swap them for other nuts if you prefer.
  • You can also swap the white chocolate for milk or dark chocolate.
  • If you're freezing leftover cake then make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil.
  • You can follow this recipe with panettone instead (it'll be delicious) but you won't get the same Christmas tree effect.
  • Pomegranate can be used instead of red currants.

Nutrition

Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 26mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 532IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 1mg