Description
Delight in these festive Copycat Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes, featuring a moist yellow cake layered with fluffy marshmallow filling, coated in smooth white almond bark, and decorated with red candy melt stripes and green sanding sugar for a perfect holiday treat.
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. Secure the parchment paper with binder clips to keep it in place.
- Make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yellow cake mix, whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup milk, and ½ cup melted butter until the batter is completely smooth.
- Bake the cake: Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan using an angled spatula. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the marshmallow fluff, ¾ cup room temperature butter, and 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and incorporated.
- Whip the filling: Add 2 tablespoons of whole milk and whip on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Assemble the cake layers: Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally. Spread the filling evenly on one half, then top with the remaining half.
- Cut tree shapes: Use a Christmas tree cookie cutter to cut trees out of the filled cake layers. Place cut trees on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes before cutting if needed to make cutting easier.
- Chill the assembled trees: Place the filled tree cakes in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up before coating.
- Melt coating: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt white almond bark in 30-second intervals, stirring after each until smooth.
- Dip the trees: Carefully dip each tree into the melted almond bark, tapping off excess coating. Place on a parchment-lined tray.
- Decorate with sanding sugar: Immediately sprinkle green sanding sugar on the tops so it sticks. Repeat for each tree.
- Prepare red candy melts: Melt red candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each until smooth. If too thick, add ¼ teaspoon melted shortening or coconut oil to thin.
- Pipe red stripes: Transfer melted red candy melts to a sandwich bag, cut a small hole in one corner, and pipe red wavy stripes onto the coated trees.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- If short on time, you can substitute the homemade marshmallow filling with canned frosting.
- Yield depends on the size of the cookie cutter used; smaller cutters yield more cakes.
- Freezing the filled layers before cutting helps achieve clean shapes.
- Be careful when melting almond bark and candy melts to avoid overheating and burning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
