Description
These Copycat Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes are delightful holiday treats featuring a moist yellow cake filled with fluffy marshmallow filling, coated in smooth white almond bark, and decorated with festive green sanding sugar and red candy melts. Perfect for celebrating the season with a homemade twist on a classic favorite.
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. Use binder clips to secure parchment paper overhang to keep it in place.
- Mix cake batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine yellow cake mix, 3 whole eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup whole milk, and ½ cup melted butter. Whisk until completely smooth.
- Bake cake: Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan using an angled spatula. Bake in preheated oven 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, add 7 ounces marshmallow fluff, ¾ cup room temperature butter, and 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth. 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 on one half and top with the remaining half. Place the filled cake layers together.
- Cut shapes: Carefully cut out tree shapes from the filled cake layers using a tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes if needed to make cutting easier. Then, place the trees back in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
- Melt coating: 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 white almond bark, tapping off excess, and place on a parchment-lined tray. Immediately sprinkle green sanding sugar on top so it sticks. Repeat for all trees.
- Melt candy melts and decorate: Melt 1 cup red candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Add ¼ teaspoon melted shortening or coconut oil if too thick. Pour melted candy melts into a sandwich bag and cut a small hole in one corner. Pipe red wavy stripes onto each tree as decoration.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- If short on time, use canned frosting instead of making filling from scratch.
- Yield depends on the size of the cookie cutter used to cut tree shapes.
- Freezing the filled cake before cutting makes it easier to handle and achieve clean shapes.
- For smoother candy melts, stirring well and adding a small amount of shortening helps achieve the right consistency.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 190 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
