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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).
What tool do you suggest using to frost the sides of the cake to make it look more presentable? I used a knife and even though the cake is DELISH, it looks a bit messy. So wanted to know for the next time☺
I use an offset flat spatula like this one. It makes the job a lot easier 😁.
Thank you!
Hi Natasha, I’m going to make that cake for my sons 6th birthday, for coming Sunday… I wonder, where did you buy the pomegranate juice??? Thanks
They sell it in most major grocery stores. I bought a big bottle at Costco.
Hey natasha i tried your cake..its turned out awesome…wanted to attach the pic.. But i dont see a way
I wish there was a way to do it, but as of now there is not. I’d love to see your picture though. Are you on Facebook? Could you post a picture to my Facebook page?
Sure will do that
This cake was an absolute hit at our church Harvest service last weekend! Tried making it for the first time and this cake was the first one gone! Had very good reviews from everyone, and my family is begging me to make it again this weekend! Thank You for this recipe! It’s my new favorite cake by far!! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Maria! 🙂
This was amazing! I made it for my book club and everyone loved it. The cake wasn’t hard to make, just several steps. Several people wanted the recipe 🙂
Thanks for the great addition to my recipes!
That is so great! I’m so happy everyone in your book club loved it. Thank you for the awesome review!
Natasha, can I reduce the sugar in the frosting to 1 cup? I notice that for the strawberry layer cake, you use only 3/4 cup of sugar. But here, it is 3 cups to about the same amount of cream cheese. I am making this cake but using mango and passion fruit for glazing instead. Thanks.
I haven’t tried this particular frosting with only 1 cup. I guess you could add it to taste, but the sugar also helps with the texture of the frosting. It might taste ok with less sugar in the frosting if you are using mango and passion fruit since those are sweeter than the pomegranate seeds and juice.
Hi Natasha. Wanted to let you know the cake was a complete success. I made it with mango purée for the layers and passion fruit for the glaze. It was awesome. Now, I also want to share that I reduced the sugar in the cake recipe by half. And for the frosting, I only used 4/5 of one cup instead of 3 cups. It turned out very well. The cake was just nice in sweetness and my kids and husband loved it. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Will be making the Black Forest tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Sabrina, thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful review and your variations. I hope you’ll love Black Forest cake just as much 😀 .
Question: the video on making the cake batter says not to butter/grease the sides, but the written instructions say to pour it into a buttered/lined pan. Do I butter the sides or no?
I actually didn’t butter the sides of the pan in the video
Hi, This recipe looks great! I want to make it non-dairy which will only involve substituting the frosting. My plan is to buy pre-made frosting (Duncan Hines, Pillsbury, etc.) and add some POM juice. Would that work? If so, about how much frosting will I need? Do you have any other suggestions instead? Thanks!
I’ve never tried mixing juice into pre-made frosting so I can’t really say if that would work or not. If you try it, mix in a little bit of juice in a small amount of frosting. That would be a bummer if the whole batch of frosting turned weird or separated. I just haven’t tested that to know.
Natasha, Thank you very much for posting this recipe. The cake looks great. Is it possible to make it a week in advance and freeze (without topping)?
Thank you!!!
You can freeze the actual cake layers in advance but before frosting or soaking them. I like to keep a good sponge cake in the freezer for last minute cake assembly 🙂 Place parchment paper between the layers and wrap around semi-loosely with plastic wrap.
If you don’t mind, Natasha, can this cake be kept overnight in the refrigerator after being frosted? I imagine the pomegranate topping cannot be left overnight.
Yes, it can be left overnight just fine. Be sure to cover it with plastic wrap or keep it in a cake box or carrier so it doesn’t take on any food smells from the fridge 🙂
My mother in law asked me to make this cake for her birthday gathering on Sunday but she asked that I would leave the pomegranate topping off and using something else instead. Do you think I can use like raspberries instead of pomegranate seeds or any other fruit that you would suggest? Or should I just decorated with raspberries and call it a day…
Yes, you can totally decorate with raspberries and call it a day! You can also buy some raspberry juice for the cake layers if you wanted it to make it a raspberry cake. Also use a little bit of the raspberry juice (if you decide to) in the frosting in leu of POM juice 🙂
No I will still do everything according to the recipe because they love the pomegranate stuff but I guess not the seeds so i guess I will just decorate it with raspberries.. But if I did want to add raspberries to gelatin would it work as pomegranate seeds worked? You think?
The raspberries might be a little large to add to the gelatin and I’m thinking you might lose some of the gelatin inside the raspberries…? Oh, also, if you do try adding raspberries to the gelatin, you might add just have of the vanilla to the gelatin or it might overpower the raspberries and taste off.
This is a great recipe! I made a few days ago and it was delicious. I wanted to make some for a family gathering, and just tried to make it again in cupcake form, with the pomegranate topping as a filling instead.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I got the cooking time right, since they sank, with sticky tops and doughy taste. Do you know how long might be appropriate for a sponge cake like this? I’d like to try one more time!
I’ve never tried making this sponge cake in cupcake liners because I didn’t think it would work. It’s a great idea with teh pomegranate as a filling, but I think this cake would be much better for what you are trying to do: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/09/26/cherry-surprise-honey-cupcakes-recipe/
I was so excited to make this cake because of the presentation and it sounded amazing. But, although beautiful, no one seemed to care for it. Perhaps I brushed too much of the juice on the cake but because the layers were so thin, the juice soaked into the cake so much that it didn’t taste like cake at all but more like a wet mush. And the pomegranate seeds were way too seedy and crunchy. After all that work we ended up throwing it out.
Oh I’m so bummed to hear that; this is always a favorite at parties, especially during the holidays. I wonder if your cake layers ended up too thin? Did you beat the eggs per the instructions for the full time? That usually helps them to maintain their volume; also, were you careful not to overmix once the flour was in the batter? With European sponge cakes, you are really relying on the volume from the eggs for the cake to rise properly. I hope that’s helpful.
Hi Natasha,
I came across your blog recently while browsing for some recipes. You have a great blog, details recipes with instructions. I love this pomegranate cake and am preparing myself mentally to make it. I don’t know much about frosting and wanted to know what kind or brand of cream cheese can be used for this cake. Also doesn’t the salt in the cream cheese matter? Thanks
Any brand of cream cheese will work. I’ve used Philadelphia brand, the big block one at Costco and also the store-brand from Fred Meyer. As long as it’s not low fat, it will work well. What do you mean by the salt in the cream cheese?
Hi Natasha, I made this cake and it was great. It wasn’t a hit with my kids but my friends loved it. Your detailed instructions helped all the way. It was my first time ever making a cake with frosting so mine did not look as pretty as yours but overtime I should be able to work on my frosting skills. Thanks.
Hi Pooja! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Did your kids not like the seeds on top, or just in general?
Thank you for this recipe. This cake is as delicious as it is beautiful. I made one for our Christmas gathering and also made mini cakes with a mini bundt pan. I piped a small amount of the frosting in the center and filled the rest with the topping. They were a hit!
I bet it was beautiful! If you posted pictures online somewhere, I’d love to see it :).
Do you really beat the eggs for 12 minutes? Or until triple in volume? Because within 5 mins it’s tripled in volume. And it says to not overbeat. But isn’t 12 minutes considered overbearing it? I’m just wondering because I tried making the cake twice and I didn’t go the full 12 minutes because it tripled in volume. And looked nice when setting into oven. But after it came out of the oven it didn’t look as tall as yours. Looked like it had less cake in it and as if it’s a little spotty on top. I don’t know how to describe it. Would you know why it happened? Should I have really beat it for 12 minutes?
And my Pomogrants on top didn’t turn out. Was the liquid supposed to look that thick when setting it in the cake or still in a liquid form like when pouring jello into bowl to place in fridge? I used the clear gelatin stuff.
I’ve found that the longer you beat your eggs, the better the cake will rise. I meant not to overmix after adding the flour; this can cause your cake to deflate as you are relying on the volume from the eggs for the cake to rise. Do you think maybe you were overmixing after adding the flour? It was supposed to be more soft set and starting to thicken (but not watery), but you also don’t want to wait for it to get so thick that it won’t spread easily. Did you use the unflavored gelatin packets like in the prep picture to the left of the pomegranate?
I made this cake for Christmas dinner this year. The cake texture was different than I was used to, more of a sponge European type, and despite the sugar, it seemed less sweet. When they say immedietly put the pomegranate topping on the cake, they mean NOW. I was keeping the cake chilled in the garage and ran out to get it to add the topping and it had started to set. The frosting is sublime and I could have eaten it by itself! All in all, I found it easy to make, different enough to be a challenge, the presentation wowed my guests, and it tasted delicious. Thanks for posting and I will definitely make this again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! The cake texture is different than American cakes, but it’s great for a moist cake; it doesn’t get soggy even after several days in the fridge 🙂
can I use a different pomegranate juice. I couldn’t find the POM version. So I bought juice that is from concentrate
Absolutely! Use any brand of pomegranate juice 🙂
This reminds me to our popular Mexican cake 3 Leches which base is a sponge cake. This looks amazing and I am making it for Christmas 🙂 do you think I can add rum to the syrup? and do you think I could also add whipped cream between the layers instead of frosting? I am just afraid it will be too sweet with syrup and frosting. Anyhow, it looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!! Thanks for the recipe 😀
The pomegranate juice is actually not to sweet which offsets the sweetness of the frosting. You could use whipped cream between the layers. I think that ould work fine :). I haven’t tried rum with pomegranate juice so I’m not sure how that would taste together. It might be a little strong. You might add it slowly and taste the syrup as you add it.
Thanks so much for replying. If I do decide to add rum I’ll let you know how it turns out. All your recipes look incredible! 🙂
Happy Holidays!
Do you think I could make two cakes out of this using 6 inch pans?
I think you would end up with two very short cakes. You would probably have to increase the recipe in order to make two cakes out of it even in 6 inch pans. Also this batter is best baked right away. It would not be a good idea to leave it on the counter while half of it bakes. I hope that answer is helpful to you.
It does. I opted against it. I was thinking the ingredients for this cake were going to be really expensive, so I was trying to stretch it out. But I ended up having most of them already. One cake it it!
I hope you love it Kayla 🙂
Quick question, I always wonder this whenever I use gelatin for purposes like this.. Did you mix in the gelatin when you left it to soften up, or just sprinkled on top and left it like that untill it “набухнет”?
Thank you..
You can do it either way. It turns into a jelly-consistency. You can give it a stir 🙂
What if I made this cake 9 by 13 instead of round?
Hi Masha :). If you make it in a 9×13 pan, you probably should increase the recipe or it will be a little bit of a short cake.
I made this cake round… I just borrowed a pan from my mother in law.. Cake didnt rise to well so I just end up making an extra layer.. I always have issues with my biskvit part.. How long do you mix it for with the flour? I am always paranoid that i am over mixing it. But it turned out pretty good other than that..
It might help to watch this video that I made on my tiramisu cake; it’s a biskvit cake base.
We tried the cake yesterday and it was very good. Everyone liked it. However it was I felt like biskvit was a little too sweet to my liking. If I added less sugar would that ruin the recipe for next time?
You can cut down the sugar; also you might consider cutting the sugar from the syrup; that may help too 🙂