Are you feeling festive? How about celebrating the unofficial holiday of Christmas in July by making this Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake? All you need is a Pandoro cake, sweet ricotta filling, some red-colored fruit, powdered sugar, and about 15 minutes. The best part is that this easy Italian dessert requires no baking.
Lay the pandoro on its side and slice the bread into 5 equal sections.
The largest slice creates the base of our Christmas tree, place it on your working surface with the cut side facing upward.
If using, brush the cake with rum, excluding the tips.
Next, spread a layer of the sweet ricotta over the entire base.
Place the next largest slice on top of the base without aligning the points. Once again, brush with the liquor (if using) and layer with sweet ricotta.
Repeat this sequence for the rest of the layers.
To garnish:
To garnish this dessert, use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe small rosettes of whipped ricotta over the tips of the pandoro cake.
Garnish with pomegranate seeds and mint leaves (optional).
Dust with powdered sugar just before serving and enjoy!
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Notes
Use a sharp serrated bread knife to cut the layers of the pandoro.
Brush the cake with simple syrup for a non-alcoholic version. This is just as effective in keeping the cake moist and flavorful.
Wait a minute or so for the cake to fully absorb the rum or simple syrup (if using) before spreading the ricotta filling.
How to store leftovers: Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and consume within 2 days. Please note that the longer this dessert sits in the refrigerator, the softer the cake's texture becomes as it begins to absorb the moisture from the ricotta.
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used.