Cranberry Chip Winter Bonnet Cake | No Baking or Dehydration Required

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Cranberry Chip Winter Bonnet Cake | No Baking or Dehydration Required

raw vegan gluten-free cranberry chip winter bonnet cake

No knitting needles needed to make this cozy winter bonnet! With a variety of pastry tip shapes, you can create a knitted-wool look on your cake, too. And after your guests are finished admiring this culinary masterpiece, just slice it into a cranberry-chip-filled surprise. Today’s creation is raw (no baking required), vegan, and gluten-free. Heck, it doesn’t even require dehydration; it just requires some imagination and the desire to have fun.

I titled this recipe Cranberry Chip Winter Bonnet because the cake batter reminded me of my all-time favorite childhood cake — Betty Crocker Cherry Chip Cake, which my mother used to make every year. In fact, my mother still sends me Cherry Chip cake on my birthdays.

Actually–she sends the empty box with fun little notes written all over it since I no longer eat the ingredients used in it. I will post a photo of them toward the end of the post. I am going to put a pause on getting too caught up in childhood memories and dive into this recipe. I have a lot of technical details to cover in hopes of building your confidence so you will decide to make this cake yourself. Plus all the tips and tricks that I share can be used later down the road in other culinary creations. Ready?!

Cake Batter and Cake Shaping Tips

Cake Batter

This recipe makes 3 cups of batter, so you might need to double the amount of batter, depending on the size of cake you plan on making. I doubled the batter for my creation.

Selecting the Cake Shape

When selecting the cake mold (shape) I suggest using a mixing bowl that has an inner rounded bottom.
Avoid a mold that is shallow and wide. Envision what a stocking hat looks like when on, and try to mimic that. The bowl I used was 6.25″ tall x 4.75″ wide.
To determine how many cups of cake batter you will need, select the bowl/mold of choice and pour 3 cups of water in it to see how full it gets. Not enough? Add another 3 cups of water… you get the idea.

Piping and Frosting Tips

Piping Bags

If you aren’t used to wielding a piping bag, it can seem intimidating. Before piping the frosting onto the cake, play around with the piping tips by piping the frosting onto a cutting board. When you are done practicing, just scoop it up and add it back to the frosting container–nothing wasted.
When filling a piping bag, it’s best to fill it 1/2 – 2/3 full so that it will be easy to handle. Refilling a bag is not as easy, and it can be a little messy. However, if your piping bag is too full, it will be difficult to handle, especially if your frosting is thick.
Pastry (piping) bags come in varying sizes. I recommend 16″ – 18″ sized bags. Purchase good quality bags so they don’t burst during use.
I use 16″ heavy-duty piping bags

Piping Tips

I recommend fitting your pastry bag with a coupler. A coupler is two pieces of plastic (similar to a nut and bolt) that are used together with a piping bag so you can seamlessly change the piping tips. It also secures the piping tip to the bag. If you don’t use one of those, you will need to use multiple piping bags.
If you are using a piping bag with a coupler, your life just became easier. Just unscrew the outer plastic piece, pop off the tip and replace it with a new tip, then screw the coupler piece back on. This is the fastest way to do it if you want to use the same color with different tips.
Piping tips come in many different shapes and sizes. The size you use will be determined by the size of the cake you make. If you are making really small cakes, you will need smaller tips.
There is no right or wrong piping pattern to use when decorating your cake. If you don’t own any piping tips, I recommend this pastry kit from Amazon.

Frosting Tips

When attempting to make the frosting, you may end up with something too runny or soft, which doesn’t hold up well once it’s been piped. I provided a link to my raw, vegan frosting recipe that works perfectly for piping. Whether you decide to use my recipe, someone else’s, or your own… you will need to make sure that it can hold up to being piped and won’t melt once the cake is decorated. I will share a few tips for using my recipe…
There is a sweet spot when this frosting is perfect for frosting and piping. Because the frosting is in liquid form when first blended together, it will need to be placed in the freezer until solid, then moved to the fridge until ready to use. When you are ready to start frosting the cake, place the frosting on the counter to start softening while you gather all your culinary art tools.
The frosting needs to be soft enough to work with. If it is too hard, let it continue to soften on the counter. It also helps to hand whip it, which will get it nice and smooth (softening at the same time). If it starts to get TOO soft, just place it back in the fridge to firm back up.

Taste and Texture

This cake doesn’t require baking or dehydration. The cake is creamy white, moist, and has beautiful chewy flecks of red dried cranberries laced throughout. Despite not being baked, it holds its form and slices up wonderfully. It is sweet as a cake should be, but not overwhelmingly so. The sweet and tart cranberries pair superbly with the coconut cake base, giving you a mouthwatering bite that keeps you coming back for more. Please be sure to leave a comment down below. Have a blessed day, amie sue

Ingredients

Yields 3 cups batter

1 1/2 cups (150 g) shredded dried coconut
1 1/2 cups (225 g) raw cashews
1/4 cup (525 g) fine coconut flour
1/2 tsp (3 g) Himalayan pink salt
1/4 cup (80 g) maple syrup
1/2 cup water
8 drops liquid NuNaturals stevia
1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Frosting

yields 5 cups frosting

White Frosting recipe

Preparation

Frosting

I recommend making the frosting first, since it takes 8+ hours for it to firm up enough to use for decorating.
Click on the link above to get to the frosting recipe.

Cake Batter

While the frosting is setting up, make the cake.
Place the shredded coconut, cashews, coconut flour, and salt in the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, and process to a powder.
- At first, it will sound like pebbles spinning around in there, and then it changes to a sound of sand when it’s done.
Add the maple syrup, water, stevia, and vanilla to the food processor and process until the batter is well mixed. Add the dried cranberries and let it process until the cranberries start to break up into small flecks.
Line whatever vessel you choose to use to shape your cake with plastic wrap, and press the cake batter into the mold. Place in the fridge to chill while the frosting is setting up.
- Hold back some batter so you can roll it into a ball for the pom-pom. I used 1/2 cup of batter but it just depends on the size of the bonnet you plan on making.

Decorating the Cake (refer to photos below as well)

After the frosting has set up (according to the recipe instructions), scoop about 2 cups’ worth into a bowl and give a good whipping with a spoon. This will remove any air bubbles and smooth it out.
Fill the piping bag (already fitted with a piping tip) with frosting as instructed above, and set aside.
Place the cake on a serving plate, cake stand, or whatever you plan to serve it on. You can use a cardboard cake round as well. If you don’t, it will be challenging to transfer the cake from the countertop to another surface.
Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and smooth out as evenly as possible.
Create guide lines with a piece of string on the cake to follow when piping vertical rows of frosting.
Pipe the frosting designs as close together as possible so that you don’t see any cake underneath.
- If at any point the frosting is starting to soften too much, just place the piping bag and cake in the fridge so it can firm back up.
As far as the pom-pom goes, place it on top of the decorated winter bonnet and decorate it with frosting. I used (this) piping tip to create the yarn effect.

Storage and Shelf Life

Enjoy right away; store leftovers in the fridge for three to five days.
- If you are making the cake in advance, you can tent the cake by sliding toothpicks around it and then lay plastic wrap around it. This should stop the plastic from ruining your design.
If you wish to freeze any leftovers (as I did), slice the cake into portion sizes and place in freezer-safe containers. That way you can remove just one slice at a time.
- Make sure that you store it in a container that blocks odors, whether it be in the fridge or freezer.

: Prepare a surface for the cake to sit on.

: Remove the cake from the mold and place on the work surface.

: Coat the cake with a thin layer of frosting.

: Keep this layer thin, because you will be piping more frosting on it.

: Using a string, press it into the cake, creating guidelines for your design.

: I also created a horizontal line, since the bottom part will be the rim of the hat.

: Have fun piping on your designs.

: I forgot to snap a photo, but add the pom pom piece of cake on top and frost that as well.

As mentioned above… here is a picture of the Cherry Chip cake mix boxes that my mom sends to me for my birthdays.

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2 thoughts on “Cranberry Chip Winter Bonnet Cake | No Baking or Dehydration Required”

Mary S. says:

November 24, 2021 at 12:22 am

I can’t believe nobody has made a comment here yet! This is just such an impressive looking cake…I wonder if anyone else here has made it. Amie-Sue you are such an artist. I see this cake in my future. :)

Reply
- amie-sue says:
  
  November 24, 2021 at 9:02 am
  
  Good morning Mary,
  
  I must have a hard crowd to impress. I hope you feel inspired to give the recipe a try. Have a wonderful holiday season, blessings. amie sue
  
  Reply