Chocolate Christmas Celebration Cake Recipe

Ingredients

Sugared Cranberries

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup water

1 cup frozen cranberries, thawed

Cake

1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ chocolate fudge cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

1 box (3.4 oz) Jell-O™ chocolate-flavor instant pudding & pie filling mix

Frosting

2 cups Kraft™ Jet-Puffed™ marshmallow creme (from two 7-oz jars)

1 1/4 cups butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Decoration

Fresh rosemary sprigs

PREP TIME 1h	COOK TIME 3h40m	TOTAL TIME 4h40m
YIELD 12 servings

Instructions

In 1-quart saucepan, mix 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and 3/4 cup water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. In small bowl, place cranberries. Pour syrup over berries; stir to blend. Refrigerate, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Remove berries from refrigerator and drain; discard liquid. In small bowl, place remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Working with a few berries at a time, roll one by one in the sugar to completely coat. Place on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour or until dry. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Spray bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray.
In large bowl, beat Cake ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour 1 2/3 cups of the batter in each pan.
Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme, softened butter, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. If necessary, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time, until spreading consistency.
Place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread 3/4 cup frosting on top; top with second cake layer. Spread 3/4 cup frosting on top; top with third cake layer. Frost sides with a thin layer of frosting so sides are covered but cake still shows through. Spread remaining frosting on top.
Place sugared cranberries around base of cake, and press in slightly to adhere to frosting. Place remaining cranberries on top, mounding in center of cake; garnish with sprigs of rosemary. Loosely cover and refrigerate any remaining cake.