Whether you are celebrating a first birthday, baby shower or any occasion, this woodland cake with cream cheese frosting will certainly get you in the mood for flannel, hiking and the great outdoors!
I never considered myself an outdoorsman, but I do love being outdoors, losing myself in nature, hiking in the woods. I am able to relax, decompress and get inspired all at the same time when I am immersed in a beautiful setting.
My niece, is quite the opposite. She admits wholeheartedly that she is not a nature girl and that nothing could convince her to go ever go camping in the woods.
Now she is a beautiful momma to two sweet baby boys. I made her youngest his very own personal birthday cake for his first birthday.
And the theme for this baby’s birthday? Woodlands, of course. The irony is not lost on me!
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Recipe highlights
- Versatile: You can bake a cake from scratch or use box mix cake, whatever you prefer. You can use box mix for the cake or my usual go-to birthday cake recipe, vanilla olive oil cake.
- Simple: Decorating the cake is super simple. Simple white frosting all over the cake and the final touches are super easy to make, my niece chose the animals for the cake. I created the bunting with my baby nephew’s name and have a free printable for you if you want to make the same bunting.
- Flavor: My olive oil cake is super moist and fluffy. So is my vegan birthday cake. I made homemade cream cheese frosting since it tastes way better than the canned stuff you can buy.
Ingredients and supplies you need
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- One 6-inch 2-layer cake: You can use a box mix or my vanilla olive oil cake.
- Frosting ingredients: butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract
- Graham cracker crumbs and matcha powder: This makes the mossy green ground cover for the cake.
- Fresh rosemary: The trees on the cake are sprigs of rosemary. Use varying heights.
- Woodland animals: My niece bought grizzly bear, reindeer and fox from Michael’s, but you can also find similar items on Amazon
- Bunting cake topper: I made this with my free bunting printable, some baker’s twine, glue and a couple of twigs.
Step-by-step directions
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- Bake your cake. Mix and bake your 6-inch cakes and cool to room temperature on a cooling rack. You can use 2-layers or 3-layers. I made a 3-layer 6-inch cake.
- Make the frosting. Whip butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Frost the cake. Place one layer of cake on cake stand and frost. Place second layer over first and continue frosting to desired finish.
- If you want a naked cake, continue to scrape off excess frosting. If you want a more covered cake, chill your cake after the crumb coat is complete. Then give it a second layer of frosting to completely cover the cake.
- Make edible moss. Mix together graham cracker crumbs and matcha powder until it is all green. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the top of the cake.
- Add animals. Place animal figures over the matcha covered crumbs and add sprigs of fresh rosemary to resemble trees.
- Add pennant. If using free printable pennant, print it out and assemble on a piece of string. Tie string pennant to two twigs and place in the cake.
Recipe tips and FAQs
Since this is an easy cake to decorate, I suggest leaving the final touches (adding the graham cracker crumbs and animals) til the day you are serving your cake. Since the bunting is rather tall and if you are short on space in the refrigerator, add that right before presenting the cake.
Other woodland touches you can make for your cake:
- Dust your rosemary trees with powdered sugar for a snow effect.
- Candy your rosemary trees: brush with egg whites and coat with granulated sugar.
- Add chocolate rocks. I use these all the time on my camping themed cakes.
- Don’t have rosemary? Frost an ice cream cone with green frosting for your tree.
This woodland cake inspiration came from Whisk and Wander. Because I was making an individual cake for a one-year old to destroy on his own, I didn’t need to make a big cake.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: If your cake is frosted, I suggest storing any leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. If unfrosted, you can keep it covered on the counter for up to 3 days or refrigerate for longer.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Wrap in foil, parchment paper or plastic wrap and freeze for up to 4 months.
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Woodland Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- One 6-inch 2-layer vanilla olive oil cake
- 2 ounces unsalted butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
- ½ teaspoon matcha powder
- 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Mix and bake vanilla olive oil cake recipe and cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
- Using an electric mixer whip butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Slowly mix in ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
- Continuing mixing remaining powdered sugar until smooth.
- Place one layer of cake on cake stand and frost.
- Place second layer over first and continue frosting to desired finish.
- In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and matcha powder until crumbs are all moss green.
- Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the top of the cake.
- Place animal figures over the matcha covered crumbs and add sprigs of fresh rosemary to resemble trees.
- If using free printable pennant, print it out and assemble on a piece of string. Tie string pennant to two twigs and place in the cake.
- Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Very creative! Outstanding decorating job, and good looking recipe. Really fun read, too. Thanks!
Beautiful and absolutely yummy creation Ms. Laura
Thank you, Bling Bling! xoxox Laura
This is so beautiful. I have no baking skills, but I still love looking at photos of cakes made by skilled hands. Great story, also.