Description
This copycat recipe recreates the festive Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes, featuring fluffy yellow cake layers filled with a creamy marshmallow frosting and coated in smooth white almond bark. These delightful holiday treats are decorated with green sanding sugar and red candy melt stripes, perfect for seasonal celebrations.
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
- Preheat and Prepare Pan: Preheat 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 with binder clips to keep it in place.
- Make Cake Batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yellow cake mix, 3 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup whole milk, and ½ cup melted butter until completely smooth.
- Bake Cake: Spread the batter evenly using an angled spatula in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Remove and let cool completely.
- Prepare Filling: In a medium bowl, beat 7 ounces marshmallow fluff, ¾ cup softened butter, and 2 cups powdered sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and incorporated.
- Whip Filling: Add 2 tablespoons whole milk and whip on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Assemble Cake Layers: Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally. Spread the filling evenly over one half and top with the other half to form a filled cake.
- Cut Out Trees: Carefully cut Christmas tree shapes out of the filled cake layers using a cookie cutter. Place the trees on a parchment lined baking sheet. To ease cutting, freeze the filled cake for 30 minutes if desired.
- Chill Trees: Place the cut trees in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill and firm up before coating.
- Melt Almond Bark: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 pound white almond bark in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth.
- Coat Trees: Dip each tree into the melted almond bark, tap off excess, and place on parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle green sanding sugar on top so it sticks. Repeat for all trees.
- 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 red candy melts to a sandwich bag, cut a small hole in a corner, and pipe wavy red stripes onto the coated trees for decoration.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- If short on time, canned frosting can be used as a substitute for the filling.
- The yield depends on the size of the cookie cutter used; smaller cutters yield more trees.
- Freezing the filled cake before cutting makes it easier to handle and less likely to crumble.
- Add a small amount of coconut oil to candy melts if they become too thick for easy piping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 200 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg
