For this past holiday season, I’ve decided to create individual Christmas cakes for some of my friends.

Using a chiffon cake base ensures the cake to be light, moist, healthier, and fluffy. A chiffon cake is made using oil instead of butter. Here, I chose extra virgin olive oil, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids. MUFAs are a healthy source of dietary fat that is linked to lowering the risk of heart disease and promote heart health.

I used a whipped cream base frosting with freshly sliced strawberries in between the layers. The sweetness of the whipped cream is easily adjustable, as I did not make mine very sweet. The reason being is I used a thin layer of Italian buttercream to finish the cake, creating a more sturdy structure for transportation. Buttercream also acts as a barrier for the fondant decoration I put on top of each cake. Italian buttercream is made using whipped egg whites, cooked sugar syrup, and butter. The addition of egg whites will create a slightly less sweet, silky, and lighter buttercream.