The Christmas Holly Cake Roll takes a classic Red Velvet Cake Roll and covers it with smooth buttercream and simple holly-inspired accents. With clusters of green leaves and sugared cranberries, it brings a special holiday touch to your dessert table without requiring advanced baking skills. It’s elegant, seasonal, and surprisingly easy to make, perfect for holiday gatherings of any size.
December is one of those months that makes me want to slow down and create things, like little moments, little memories, and little treats. This Christmas Holly Cake Roll ended up being one of those projects. It started because I needed a quick dessert for a last-minute family get together, and with three kids, a busy holiday schedule, and a to-do list a mile long, “quick and festive” is really the sweet spot.
Using a Dutch Apron® Bakery Red Velvet Cake Roll as the base meant I could skip straight to the fun part: decorating. The simple buttercream frosting and holly design make it look like you put in way more effort than you actually did (always a win), and it fits right in with all the cozy winter flavors everyone loves this time of year. If you’re looking for a Christmas dessert that’s both doable and eye-catching, this one checks all the boxes.
Other Holiday-Inspired Recipes
Baked Alaska Christmas Tree
Featuring layers of chocolate and peppermint ice cream wrapped inside a rich, chocolatey base and topped with snowy, toasted meringue, this dessert is crafted to delight guests and elevate any holiday celebration. It’s elegant, memorable, and the perfect centerpiece for a season filled with sweet moments.
Eggnog Custard Tart
The holidays are here, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with a dessert that’s both elegant and festive. The crust is made from a Pumpkin Cake Roll which pairs beautifully with the eggnog filling and enhances its blend of holiday flavors. Topped with sugared cranberries, rosemary sprigs, and a few gingerbread cookies, this tart is a decadent addition to your traditional holiday spread.
Yule Log Cake Roll
A twist on the traditional Christmas dessert, this Yule Log Cake Roll is full of chocolatey goodness and covered in buttercream frosting to make it look like a classic yule log. It’s the perfect dessert to help celebrate this wonderful time of year with family and friends.
What You’ll Need
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Small mixing bowl
- Cake board
- Turntable
- Piping bag
- Bench scraper
- Small palette knife or offset spatula
Storage Information
A frosted cake can last up to a week when stored in the refrigerator. The frosting helps to lock in the moisture of the cake, keeping it fresh while you wait to serve. If you cut the cake first and then want to store it, put the pieces in an airtight container or cover the cut sections with any leftover frosting you may have. The cake can be stored like this for a week in the refrigerator.
You can make this buttercream the day before you assemble your cake roll and refrigerate it overnight. Then, when you’re ready to start decorating your cake, take it out and let it come back up to room temperature. You may need to mix it again for a few minutes before applying.
Tips for Making a Christmas Holly Cake Roll
- Don’t take your cake roll out of the freezer until you are ready to start putting on the frosting. A cold cake is easier to decorate as it is less delicate. A room temperature cake is tender and fragile which means it is more likely to fall apart.
- Make sure the green-tinted frosting is soft but not runny. If needed, stir to loosen it up.
- For the most realistic leaves, keep your strokes short and confident. Press, pull, lift. Wipe the blade clean every few leaves so the edges stay crisp.
- Want to make your sugared cranberries yourself? Check out our recipe!
How to Make a Christmas Holly Cake Roll
Christmas Holly Cake Roll
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Moderate7-8
servings300
kcal8
The Christmas Holly Cake Roll takes a classic Red Velvet Cake Roll and covers it with smooth buttercream and simple holly-inspired accents. With clusters of green leaves and sugared cranberries, it brings a special holiday touch to your dessert table without requiring advanced baking skills. It’s elegant, seasonal, and surprisingly easy to make, perfect for holiday gatherings of any size.
Ingredients
- Cake:
1 Dutch Apron® Bakery Red Velvet Cake Roll
- Buttercream Frosting:
2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
7 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream
- Decorations:
Green gel food coloring
Sugared cranberries
Directions
- Make the Buttercream Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 2 c. unsalted butter on medium speed until smooth, lighter in color, and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add 7 c. sifted powdered sugar, about 1 c. at a time, until fully incorporated.
- Add 1 tbsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. salt, and 2 tbsp. heavy cream. Mix on low until combined then scrape down the bowl.
- Increase speed to medium and beat an additional 1-2 minutes until the frosting is smooth, light, and fluffy.
- Scoop about 1-1 1/2 c. of frosting into a small mixing bowl and tint with green food coloring. This will be for the holly leaves. Leave the remaining frosting white/cream colored to frost the cake.
- Optional: Make the Sugared Cranberries
- You can always buy sugared cranberries from your local grocery store. However, if you’d like to make them for yourself, check out our recipe for sugared cranberries linked above under “Tips”.
- Frost the Cake Roll
- Remove the Red Velvet Cake Roll from its packaging. Place a small dollop of the white buttercream in the center of a cake board. Stand the cake roll vertically on one end of the frosting dollop. This helps “glue” it in place.
- Carefully, set the cake board on the turntable.
- Fill a piping bag with white buttercream frosting. Starting at the bottom of the cake roll, pipe a ring of frosting all the way around. Continue piping rings upward, stacking them on top of each other until the entire cake roll is covered including the top.
- Hold a bench scraper gently against the side of the cake while slowly spinning the turntable. Scrape off any excess, wiping the scraper clean between passes until you have smooth, even sides and top.
- Chill for 10-15 minutes to let the frosting firm up slightly.
- Decorate the Cake Roll
- Using a small palette knife or offset spatula, pick up a small amount of green frosting on one side of the blade.
- Touch the palette knife to the cake near the top or sides where you want a holly leaf.
- Gently press the palette knife to the cake then pull away in a short, curved motion, so the frosting stretches into a leaf shape with a slightly pointed end.
- Repeat to create clusters of 2-3 leaves around the top edge of the cake roll and a few down the sides.
- Place the sugared cranberries in small clusters at the base and center of the holly leaf groups to mimic holly berries. You can also scatter a few around the cake board for a snow-dusted look.
- Refrigerate the finished cake roll for at least 30 minutes to allow the buttercream to fully set and ensure the decorations stay in place.
- Let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Christmas Holly Cake Roll Recipe Video
Notes
- Storage Instructions: A frosted cake can last up to a week when stored in the refrigerator. . If you cut the cake first and then want to store it, put the pieces in an airtight container or cover the cut sections with any leftover frosting you may have.
- Special Tools: Stand mixer with paddle attachment, small mixing bowl, cake board, turntable, piping bag, bench scraper, and small palette knife or offset spatula.
- Making the Holly Leaves: For the most realistic leaves, keep your strokes short and confident. Press, pull, lift. Wipe the blade clean every few leaves so the edges stay crisp.
About the Author:
Amber Breitigan joined Dutch Apron® Bakery as the Lead Graphic Designer in 2021 after trading the bright lights of Vegas for the charm of small-town Iowa. From revamping product packaging to designing eye-catching social media posts, Amber brings creativity and warmth to everything she touches. When she’s not juggling design files, she’s likely crocheting with a cat in her lap, baking up creative cakes for her three kids, or enjoying game night with her husband.
