Christmas Tree Cake Recipe

This Christmas Tree Cake Recipe is a spectacular and architectural recipe, which features layers of green vanilla cake stacked to resemble a pine tree, covered in silky Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It’s the ultimate holiday centerpiece, ready in about 4 hours.

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Christmas Tree Cake Recipe Ingredients

For the Green Cake:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• Three 15.25-ounce boxes white cake mix
• Three 3.4-ounce packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 12 large egg whites
• 2 1/4 cups water
• Forest green gel food coloring

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Pinch fine salt
• 6 large egg whites
• 4 1/2 sticks (18 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Leaf green gel food coloring

For Decorations:

• 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut (for snow)
• White nonpareils
• 18 white gumdrops
• 36 candy-coated chocolates (M&M’s)
• 2 clear mint candies (for the star)

How To Make Christmas Tree Cake Recipe

1. Bake the sheet cakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray and line three 18-by-13 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a stand mixer, combine the cake mixes and pudding mixes. Add the oil, egg whites, water, and 20 drops of forest green food coloring. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes until fluffy. Divide the batter evenly among the three pans and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely, then freeze the cakes for 30 minutes (this makes cutting precise squares much easier).
2. Make the frosting base: In a heatproof mixer bowl set over simmering water, whisk the sugar, lemon juice, salt, and egg whites by hand until the mixture is warm and the sugar is fully dissolved.
3. Whip the buttercream: Transfer to the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 10-15 minutes until the meringue is cool and holds stiff peaks. Gradually toss in the butter chunks while beating. If it looks curdled, keep beating—it will come together. Add vanilla and leaf green coloring. Beat until smooth.
4. Cut the cake squares: Remove cakes from the freezer. Place on cutting boards. You need to cut specific squares to create the tapered tree shape.
   • Sheet 1: Cut two 8-inch, two 3-inch, and three 2-inch squares.
   • Sheet 2: Cut one 9-inch, one 7-inch, one 4-inch, and one 1-inch square.
   • Sheet 3: Cut two 6-inch, three 5-inch, and one 4-inch square.
   • (Reserve scraps for snacking!)
5. Stack the tree: Secure the largest (9-inch) square to a cake board with frosting. Spread frosting on top. Place an 8-inch square on top, offsetting the corners so they don’t line up (this creates the “branches”). Continue stacking progressively smaller squares, frosting between each layer and offsetting the angles every time.
6. Secure and pipe: Insert a 10-inch wooden skewer down the center of the cake for stability. Fill a piping bag with the remaining green frosting and a small fluted tip. Pipe rows of downward leaves on the exposed corners of the cake squares to look like pine needles.
7. Decorate: Dust the tree with coconut and nonpareils for snow. Cut gumdrops in half and press an M&M into the sticky side to make “lights.” Press these into the frosting.
8. Make the star: Spray a star cookie cutter and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place crushed mint candies inside. Bake at 300°F for 4-6 minutes until melted. Cool, unmold, and place on top of the tree (you can secure it with a birthday candle behind it).

Recipe Tips

• Why Pudding Mix? Adding instant pudding mix to the cake batter makes the cake denser and more stable. This is crucial for a tall, stacked cake so it doesn’t collapse under its own weight.
• Freezing is Key: Do not skip freezing the sheet cakes before cutting. If the cake is room temperature, it will crumble and tear when you try to cut the sharp geometric squares needed for the structure.
• Buttercream Curdling: Swiss Meringue Buttercream often goes through a “curdled/soupy” stage when you add the butter. This is normal temperature shock. Just keep the mixer running on high speed, and it will come back together into a smooth cream.
• Offsetting Layers: The visual effect of the tree relies on rotating the squares. If you stack them straight, it will look like a pyramid. Turning them so the corners hang over the flat sides of the square below creates the “boughs” of the tree.

What To Serve With Christmas Tree Cake

This is a massive party cake, so serve it with holiday beverages.

• Hot Chocolate Bar: With marshmallows and candy canes.
• Eggnog: Spiked or virgin.
• Coffee: Essential to balance the sweet buttercream.
• Vanilla Ice Cream: A scoop on the side.

How To Store Christmas Tree Cake Recipe

• Refrigerate: Due to the butter content in the frosting and the height of the cake, it is best stored in the refrigerator. It will hold for 3-4 days.
• Serve: Remove from the fridge 1 hour before serving so the buttercream softens.
• Freeze: It is difficult to freeze the fully assembled tree. However, you can freeze the cut cake squares and the buttercream separately for up to a month, then assemble on the day of the party.

Christmas Tree Cake Recipe Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 650
• Total Fat: 35g
• Saturated Fat: 18g
• Cholesterol: 45mg
• Sodium: 450mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 80g
• Dietary Fiber: 0g
• Sugar: 55g
• Protein: 4g

Nutrition information is estimated per slice (assuming 20-25 servings).

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