Description
Delight in these festive Copycat Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes, featuring layers of moist yellow cake filled with fluffy marshmallow buttercream, coated in smooth white almond bark, and decorated with green sanding sugar and red candy melt accents. Perfect for holiday celebrations and treating loved ones.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 13.25 ounce box yellow cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup melted butter
Filling
- 7 ounces marshmallow fluff
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Coating
- 1 pound white almond bark
- 1 cup red candy melts
- Green sanding sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 16×12 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it with nonstick cooking spray. Use binder clips to secure the parchment paper edges to the pan.
- Mix Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, 3 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup whole milk, and ½ cup melted butter. Whisk thoroughly until the batter is smooth and well blended.
- Bake the Cake: Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan using an angled spatula. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Cool the Cake: Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan.
- Make the Filling: In a medium bowl, beat 7 ounces marshmallow fluff, ¾ cup room temperature butter, and 2 cups powdered sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and incorporated.
- Whip the Filling: Add 2 tablespoons whole milk and whip on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.
- Assemble the Cake Layers: Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally. Spread the filling evenly over one half, then top with the remaining half to form a filled cake layer.
- Cut the Trees: Use a Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut out tree shapes from the filled cake layers. Place the cut trees on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes to make cutting easier if desired.
- Chill the Trees: Place the filled cake trees in the freezer for an additional 30 minutes to firm up before coating.
- Melt the Coating: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 pound white almond bark in 30-second intervals, stirring after each until smooth and fully melted.
- Coat the Trees: Dip each chilled tree into the melted almond bark, tap off excess, and place on a parchment-lined tray. Immediately sprinkle with green sanding sugar so it adheres.
- Melt Red Candy Melts: Melt 1 cup red candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring until smooth. If too thick, add ¼ teaspoon melted shortening or coconut oil to thin.
- Decorate Trees: Transfer the melted red candy melts to a sandwich bag and cut a small corner tip. Pipe red wavy stripes onto the coated trees to decorate.
Notes
- Store leftover cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- If short on time, canned frosting can be used as a convenient alternative for the filling.
- Yields may vary depending on the size of the cookie cutter used for shaping the trees.
- Freezing the filled cake before cutting and coating helps maintain the shape and makes handling easier.
- To thin candy melts, use shortening or coconut oil sparingly to avoid overly runny consistency.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 260 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
