Christmas village cake

Step 1

Prepare the pastry for the houses and trees: in a bowl (or planetary bowl) arrange the flour, butter, sugar, a pinch of salt and work until a sandy mixture is obtained. Combine the vanilla extract and the milk, knead the time enough without heating the mixture. Divide the shortcrust pastry into 3 equal parts and add respectively the red gel colorant, the green gel colorant, the gold / brown colorant in the necessary quantity according to the desired color, mix well. Shape into loaves and wrap each different colored dough in plastic wrap, let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour (or even overnight).

Step 2

Roll out the red shortbread dough with a rolling pin on the non-stick silicone mat, until you get a sheet of 4 mm. With the house cutter, cut out the biscuits for the houses. Repeat the same procedure with the gold / brown shortbread dough for the houses and with the green shortbread dough cut out the cookies with the Christmas tree pastry cutter.

Step 3

Place the biscuits on the rectangular baking tray lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 170 ° / 180 ° C and cook in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes, being careful not to darken them. Remove the pan from the oven, place the biscuits on a wire rack and allow to cool.

Step 4

Meanwhile, in a bowl put 50 g of ice and beat with the necessary dose of cold water for an average consistency, suitable for decorations. Transfer part of the royal icing to the pastry bag with adapter equipped with a smooth croissant. Draw the door and windows, define the snow on the roof. Also refine the contours of the saplings. Add some green gel color to the remaining royal icing and add the details of the herb to the windows and base of the houses. Leave to dry.

Step 5

Prepare the base of the cake: put the eggs with the sugar in a bowl, whisk with the electric mixer (or planetary) for 15 minutes, until the mixture is white and fluffy. Add the oil and milk slowly, the aroma, the brandy, gently add the sifted flour and starch by hand, finally the yeast.

Step 6

Pour the mixture into the mold greased with the release agent and line the base with baking paper; cook in a hot oven at 170 ° / 180 ° C for about 50 minutes, doing the toothpick test. Remove the cake base and place on a wire rack to cool. D.iI saw the cake in two parts and also cut the cap, place the cake upside down on a cake board.

Step 7

Prepare the white chocolate filling, whip the cream in a bowl. Separately, melt the white chocolate in a water bath (it must not exceed 45 ° C), add the white chocolate to the cream and mix well to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Stuff the first disk of cake and place on top of the other disk. Also prepare the cover, whip the cream with the icing sugar in a bowl. Spread the cream on the surface of the cake with a spatula and cover the edges smoothing well.

Step 8

Place the houses and trees around the cake, even on the surface. Transfer the leftover cream to the pastry bag equipped with a star-shaped croissant and curl shape decorative on the edges of the cake surface and at the base of the cottage and tree. If desired, sprinkle with icing sugar.