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Introducing The Christmas Pomegranate Cake. This is what I’ll be making for my family’s Christmas dinner. Honestly, I feel like every new cake I make, my sister Anna tells me it’s her new favorite. Well, guess what? This is Anna’s favorite cake! You should have heard her go on and on about it. In all seriousness, this Pomegranate Cake is fantastic; top to bottom.
I this pomegranate cake for my nieces 5th birthday party (yes, I had to cut it to take a picture of the inside for you all, but I patched it up quite nicely). I told her Mother (my sister), that’s what happens when you ask a food blogger to make the birthday cake. She didn’t seem to mind ;).
The Pomegranate Cake was an absolute hit and not a crumb was left behind. Just 15 minutes after we cut into the cake, there was only a small sliver left; toppled over. It too was destroyed. I hope this Christmas Pomegranate cake makes your holidays more merry and bright.
Ingredients for the Cake Layers:
6 large eggs, room temp (if cold, put them in warm water 15 min)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1/2 tsp vanilla
Ingredients for Pomegranate Topping:
6 ounces (3/4 cup) pomegranate juice (Pom Wonderful)
2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder (I used Knox brand)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp Sugar
Seeds of one large Pomegranate (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups)
Ingredients for syrup:
1 1/2 cups Pomegranate Juice (POM brand)
2 Tbsp sugar
Ingredients For the Pomegranate Cream Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
16 oz (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened to room temp and cut into 16 pieces
4 Tbsp of Pomegranate juice (POM brand)
How to Make Pomegranate Cake:
If you never made a European Sponge Cake, watch the video before you get started:
1. Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line the bottoms of two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Combine 6 eggs and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer and beat on high speed for 12 minutes or until tripled in volume and fluffy. Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then Sift it into the beaten eggs in 2 additions, folding it in with a spatula just until all of the flour is incorporated. Drizzle in 1/2 tsp vanilla and blend together. Remember that you are relying on the fluffy air-infused batter for the cake to rise. DO NOT OVERMIX or your cake won’t rise well.
3. Transfer your batter to your lined cake pans. Set aside.
4. Bake at 350˚F for 25-28 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (poke the side, not the center so your center won’t cave) and don’t open the oven until 25 minutes have past. Let the cakes cool down on wire racks, then remove from the pans.
Making the Syrup for the soaking the cake Layers:
1. Combine 1 1/2 cups Pomegranate Juice (POM brand) with 2 Tbsp sugar and stir to combine. Set aside to and stir occasionally until sugar is all dissolved.
Making the Frosting:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the 2 sticks of butter with 3 cups powdered sugar and salt on low speed or until combined (1 min) Don’t start on high speed or you will be surrounded in a cloud of powdered sugar (lessons learned). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy (2 min).
2. Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined. (I waited maybe 3 seconds in between each piece; toss them in one after another. Once all of the cream cheese is incorporated, scrape down the sides and continue to beat 1 more minute on med/high speed. The cream should be smooth and lump-free.
3. Add 4 Tbsp POM juice, 1 Tbsp at a time and mix on medium speed until combined (1 min). Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.
Assembling your Cake:
1. Cut the cake layers in half so you end up with 4 layers. Place the first layer, cut-side-up on your serving platter. Brush 1/4 of the POM/sugar syrup over the first layer. Frost the top. Do this with all 4 layers. You only need a very small amount of frosting on the very top of the cake since you are going to have the Pomegranate topping (and you’ll need the extra for the topping).
2. Wipe any excess syrup from the cake platter, then frost the sides. I used My large Wilton 1M star tip. You want a border that will contain a generous layer of pomegranate topping.
Refrigerate your cake for at least 30 minutes before adding the pomegranate topping.
Pomegranate Topping:
(make this after your cake is done and in the fridge):
1. Place 3/4 cup of POM juice in a small sauce pan, add 1 tsp vanilla and sprinkle in 2 tsp gelatin. Let stand 1 minute to soften gelatin before putting it on the heat.
2. Whisk in 2 Tbsp sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is steaming.
3. Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit (or transfer into a mixing bowl if you don’t want to wait for the ice bath) then set the saucepan into a larger bowl of ice water, stirring gently until it is cold and slightly thickened but not set. It doesn’t take long so stay with it. Remove from the ice bath.
4. Stir in pomegranate seeds and immediately spoon topping onto the chilled cake. Refrigerate your cake until the topping is set (about 1 hour).
Wouldn’t you like to eat a spoon-full of that goodness?
Credits:
The brilliant idea for the Pomegranate Topping came from Chef Dennis.
Pomegranate Christmas Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Cake:Ingredients for the Cake Layers:
- 6 large eggs, room temp (if cold, put them in warm water 15 min)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for Pomegranate Topping:
- 6 oz 3/4 cup pomegranate juice (Pom Wonderful)
- 2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder, I used Knox brand
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- Seeds of one large Pomegranate, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients for syrup:
- 1 1/2 cups Pomegranate Juice, POM brand
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Ingredients For the Pomegranate Cream Frosting:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 16 oz cream cheese, (2 blocks) softened at room temp and cut into 16 pieces
- 4 Tbsp of Pomegranate juice, POM brand
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line the bottoms of two 9" cake pans with parchment paper.
- Combine 6 eggs and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer and beat on high speed for 12 minutes or until tripled in volume and fluffy. Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift it into the beaten eggs in 2 additions, folding it in with a spatula just until all of the flour is incorporated. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and blend together. Remember that you are relying on the fluffy air-infused batter for the cake to rise. DO NOT OVERMIX or your cake won't rise well. Transfer your batter to your lined cake pans. Set aside.
- Bake at 350˚F for 25-28 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (poke the side, not the center so your center won't cave) and don't open the oven until 25 minutes have past. Let the cakes cool down on wire racks, then remove from the pans.
Making the Syrup for the soaking the cake Layers:
- Combine 1 1/2 cups Pomegranate Juice (POM brand) with 2 Tbsp sugar and stir to combine. Set aside to and stir occasionally until sugar is all dissolved.
Making the Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the 2 sticks of butter with 3 cups powdered sugar and salt on low speed or until combined (1 min). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy (2 min).
- Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined. (I waited maybe 3 seconds in between each piece; it's one after another really. Once all of the cream cheese is incorporated. continue to beat 1 more minute.
- Add 4 Tbsp POM juice, 1 Tbsp at a time and mix until combined (1 min). Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.
Assembling your Cake:
- Cut the cake layers in half so you end up with 4 layers. Place the first layer, cut-side-up on your serving platter. Brush 1/4 of the POM/sugar syrup over the first layer. Frost the top. Do this with all 4 layers. You only need a very small amount of frosting on the very top of the cake since you are going to have the Pomegranate topping.
- Wipe any excess syrup from the cake platter, then frost the sides. I used My large Wilton 1M star tip. You want a border that will contain a generous layer of pomegranate topping. Refrigerate your cake for at least 30 minutes before adding the pomegranate topping.
Pomegranate Topping (make this after your cake is done and in the fridge):
- Place 3/4 cup of POM juice in a small sauce pan, add the 1 tsp vanilla and sprinkle in 2 tsp gelatin, then let stand 1 minute to soften gelatin before putting it on the heat.
- Wisk in 2 Tbsp sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is steaming.
- Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit (or transfer into a mixing bowl if you don't want to wait) then set the saucepan into a larger bowl of ice water, stirring gently until it is cold and slightly thickened but not set. It doesn't take long so stay with it. Remove from the ice bath.
- Stir in pomegranate seeds and immediately spoon topping onto the chilled cake. Refrigerate your cake until the topping is set (about 1 hour).
Natasha! I simply cannot get enough of your webiste! I am so glad I got introduced to it. I wil be giving this a try this weekend!!
Elena, thank you so much :). I hope you absolutely love the recipe 🙂
Hey Natasha, I was wondering if you could squeeze your own pomegranate juice for this recipe?
That would probably be expensive. I’m sure you can although I’ve never tried to squeeze my own pomegranate juice. If you have a cheap source of pomegranates, it might be worthwhile. You might have to google how to do it best though if you don’t have a juicer :).
Hi! I’ll be making this cake today for a Christmas party tomorrow and I was wondering if you think it would be okay to add some of the topping (without the seeds) between the layers, just for a little more tart/sweet flavor contrast. Or do you think it would get soggy?
I wouldn’t get soggy; it might just be difficult to put it between the layers. You can make the entire cake the day before and it would be great the next day. This sponge cake doesn’t really get soggy even with day 3 leftovers 🙂
This cake looks amazing. I am thinking to make it for Christmas. And my questions..
I have only one cake pan. Is it nescessary to bake both cakes at the same time or the batter can wait?
2. After it is baked- should I take it out of the oven to cool or leave it there? I am just confused by racks.
3. Pomegranate on top- I usually don’t eat it with the seeds. Is it a special kind with soft seeds? Should I just make a jello with a fewer amount of pomegranate? Or without seeds at all- just juice?
I have never baked a cake in my life. But your work is very inspiring!
Biskvit is best baked once it’s mixed or you run the risk of having it deflate on the counter. When it’s baked, take it out and let it cool on the counter. You can put it on a kitchen towel if you don’t have a cooling rack. You might choose a different fruit for the top. I feel like it won’t be very pretty without the pomegranate seeds. There’s no getting around the seeds. You can just scrape them off the cake pretty easily if you don’t want them on your slice 😉
Thank you. I feel very adventurous now. Will definitely make this cake!
How many pomegranates do you use for the topping? I see one in your picture, then I see two?
Hi Derryanne, the final pictures have 2 just for effect. There are seeds from 1 pomegranate as listed in the instructions: “Seeds of one large Pomegranate (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups)” 🙂
Do you think you could use white cake mix
I haven’t tried with white cake mix. I wonder if it would become soggy from the syrup with a white cake mix. This cake recipe creates a sponge cake so even several days later, it’s moist but not soggy. If you do try it, let me know how it worked out.
hi Natasha. Gorgeous cake recipes! I have one suggestion… Can you write in your further recipes also in grams? Here in continental part of the Europe we are not used for US measures.. I always have trouble with converting cups to grams and no recipe turns good.. I’m such a dummie
It’s something that will be more time intensive for me since I will have to weight everything. I’ll definitely consider it though. Thanks for the tip! Do you use different kinds of measuring cups that we do in the U.S.?
Is this 8, 9 or 10″ pan?
9″. 🙂
Hi Natasha, made this cake today for my husbands birthday and it was a hit with the fam. I changed the pomegranate to strawberries as my kids are not a fan of it, unfortunately, but its really good! The Only part I was a bit dissapointed with was with my top layer cake (which is turned upside down before frosting) that was hard and very crusty for some reason but the rest of the cake was super soft! Oh and my cake was not as high as yours, perhaps because I had to mix it more since I could see lots of unmixed flour on the batter. Also since I don’t have large eggs, I used 8 medium eggs (I think I will stick with 6 med eggs next time as the batter was a bit runny although it did triple in vol but didn’t seem as thick as yours). I also changed the gelatin to a plant based gelatin called Agar Agar. The consistency is harder but u do get similar results. I used about 2 table spoon of the thread type variety and increased the juice to a cup. You need to bring it to boiling point and when it cools down, it will quickly harden so you need to work quickly.
Thanks for recipe and I’m going to try your vanilla cupcake next (I have so much frosting left from this recipe, yummy!)
I’m so glad the strawberries worked out 🙂 I’ll have to try your gelatin suggestion; I’ve never worked with Agar Agar before. It might have something to do with the eggs; You may have ended up with more yolk in the cake using 8 medium eggs. Did you bake the cake layers at the same time or did one sit on the counter while the first one was in the oven?
Yes agar agar is fun..it’s harder than jello but my kids seems to love it! I just add some sugar, vanilla extract and coloring and cool it in the fridge and its good to go. This is my fav but I replace gelatine with agar agar.
Yes I think I went overboard with the egg because the cake had strong eggy smell which was subdued after applying Pom juice and frosting. And yes, I did bake one at a time as I only have one 9″ cake pan.
Am not giving up…I will definately try again. 🙂
That may be part of the reason why one layer was dense. This cake needs to go into the oven fairly soon after the batter is done or it settles and can become dense. You are relying on the volume of the eggs for the cake to rise. I strongly recommend a second cake pan. Hope that helps! 🙂
Haha yes time to go shopping! Oh by the way, i meant to paste this url in my previous comment for the agar agar recipe (i replace the gelatin with agar agar). Its really a hit with kids!
http://www.foodlibrarian.com/2009/03/broken-glass-jello.html
Thank you for your help! Keep on cooking..you are great!
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Hi Natasha, I love all your receipes! I’ve tried a few and it comes out great Most of the time haha. I am planning this cake for my husband’s birthday but my kids are not fans of The Pom. Do you think I could switch to strawberries? Would it make the topping runny? Any other suggestions?
Thank you!
I think you could do strawberries, sure! You probably want to use fresh strawberries though since frozen would be too juicy. Even if you just layered strawberries all over the top and didn’t do the jello part, it would still be amazing. It’s a very tasty cake. I hope you love it!
It’s my first cake ever and I did everything like u told, but as soon as I put the pomegranate topping on top the liquid went over the top and my some of my frosting fell off….can you please let me know what I did wrong???thanks
The pomegranate topping should have been thick enough to spoon over the top without any liquid coming off. Did you use unflavored jello? Someone wrote in earlier with the same problem but they used regular Jello which won’t make your topping stiff enough to stay put.
I used the knox brand same as u… ohh well nothing left of the cake anyways i’ll try to make it again sometime see if same thing happens. thanks
Hey Natasha, I’m in the process of making this cake right now and i have a lot of kiwi’s that i need to use up.. Do you think it would be okay if i put a thin layer of kiwi’s in between each biskvit layer? Or pomegranates and kiwi’s don’t go together and I’d ruin the cake?
To be honest, I haven’t tried them together, but it might work. The color contrast would probably be gorgeous. Let me know how it works out!
I did put them in and my friends and family loved it! They actually kept saying how much they liked the kiwis’ sweet/sour taste with the sweet frosting. It was my first time making the cake and it turned out great. thanks for the great recipe and easy to follow instructions!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy for your success with the cake 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration to keep cooking and posting and cooking and posting (for the rest of my life it seems). 🙂
God bless you!
Thanks and God bless you too!!
Delicious and gorgeous cake! Made it for the first time yesterday and it came out pretty good. I had a little trouble with the topping, though. I did as was written and mine just didn’t thicken, so you can imagine what a disaster that was, but I cleaned everything up and my cake just had pomegranate seeds on top lol
Someone else had the same problem when they used regular flavored jello rather than the unflavored gelatin. Could that have been the problem?
I’ve made this cake 3 times now and its delicious!! My guests loved it! Another great variation is blueberry flavored POM and fresh blueberries on top of the cake. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Ooh that does sound wonderful! Thanks for the tip! Looks like I’ll be making a blueberry cake soon 🙂
Natashenka,
Thank you very much for this recipe! Made this cake for my daughters birthday. It was super delicious and unusual cake due to pomegranate’s seeds. It was gone so quickly, that my 4year old got upset because she wanted another slice but found empty platter. 🙂
Happy birthday to your daughter! Oh how sad to want another slice and to only see the platter. I’m so glad the cake was a success for you! 🙂
so, im thinking to make this cake today, lol..
made your meringue finnish cookies, and they almost all gone, in few hours :))))))
i wanted to ask, can i just make usual frosting (cream cheese, heavy whipped cream and sour crea ) without butter, and if i still add the POM , would it not ruin the cream?.. (im just not a butter frosting lover) lol 🙂 thank you darling for answers and greatest recipes! 🙂
I probably wouldn’t add the POM to the frosting unless it was a thick frosting. You could use another frosting, definitely! 🙂
I love this cake. First time that I made it my family loved a lot, so now I end up making this cake for every occasion. 🙂 Thank you so much for posting it.
That’s fantastic!!! I’m so glad it has been a big success for you 🙂
Love the look of the cake. Am apprehensive about making it, coz I am not much of a baker but have the nudge deep down to attempt this. But supercool Natasha, great cake. Thanks for sharing inputs with people like us who want to try and learn.
You can do it!!! Many if my readers have shared with me that they’ve made the cake and loved it and even share pictures. It’s totally do-able!
Why is my gelatin so foamy ?
Just want to make sure you used gelatin and not jello. 🙂 It shouldn’t get foamy. Were you whisking vigorously? 😉
Hi Natasha, I’m attempting to make this cake, but my biscvits always sink in the middle in the oven, I follow instructions very carefully but still sinks, do you know what could cause that?
Without being there, it’s hard to say exactly what caused it. I haven’t had that issue with the biskvit. Do you open the oven to check on it? You’ll have best results if you don’t open your oven during baking. Also, if you poke it with a toothpick to check for doneness, don’t poke directly in the center because if it’s not done, it will sink. It’s most likely one of two things: Either the biskvit was overmixed and got a little deflated or the oven was opened too early. Does that help?
Natasha, i only have 1 9in springform pan, would it be possible to split the ingredients and bake one at time? Also if it’s a springform pan, does it require a liner?
I would still butter and line the pan. You would probably have to cut the batter in half and make it twice because you are relying on the fluffiness of the eggs for the cake to rise. Leaving the batter on the counter for 25 or more minutes might make a flat cake. It would be best to barrow a second pan and divide batter in to two pans to save yourself some trouble.