Christmas Tree Cakes

Instructions

Making The Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
To a large mixing bowl add the yellow cake mix, 3 eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk, 1 cup milk, ½ cup melted butter. Mix well with a silicone spatula or whisk until smooth. See notes about the pan. Spread out the cake batter evenly on the parchment paper.
Place the cake in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the center is cooked all the way through. You can check the center with a toothpick. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Making The Filling And Filling The Trees

In a medium bowl combine marshmallow fluff, 3/4 cup softened butter and powdered sugar. With an electric mixer whip until well mixed. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and whip into a smooth, fluffy filling.
Carefully lift the cake out of the pan with the parchment paper. Cut the cake in half the short direction. Spread the filling on half of the cake. Place the other half of the cake on top. of the filling so that you have a layer of cake on the bottom, a layer of filling, and a layer of cake on the top.
With a cookie cutter, cut out the trees into cake sandwiches carefully from the cake and place on a pan lined with parchment paper. Set the pan of trees in the freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Coating The Trees And Decorations

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the white chocolate almond bark into a microwave safe bowl. Melt the almond bark in 30 second intervals in the microwave at half power, stirring in between each 30 second interval until the almond bark is smooth and melted, about 2-3 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the freezer. Immediatly carefully dip each tree into the almond bark, tapping off any excess back into the bowl. You can use a spoon to help pour the chocolate over the tree evenly. Place each tree on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with the green sprinkles before the chocolate hardens. Repeat until all trees are coated in almond bark.
Place the red candy melts in a small microwave-safe bowl. Melt the red candy melts in 30-second intervals in the microwave at half power, stirring in between each 30-second interval until it is smooth and melted, about 2-3 minutes. Immediately pour the red candy melts into a strong zip-top bag.
With scissors immediately while the candy melts are still warm snip the corner of the zip-top bag. Drizzle the red candy melts over the trees to make the stripes. Let the candy melts fully harden, then enjoy!

Notes

Many cake mix companies have been adjusting their cake mix boxes from 15.25 ounces to 13.25 ounces. This recipe will work with either a 13.25 ounce box or a 15.25 ounce box as written.

I used a 3.5 inch tree cookie cutter.

If you don't have a jelly roll pan, you can bake the cake in a pyrex pan that is 9"x13". The cake will be a little thicker and may need a few extra minutes of cooking time, so watch the baking time carefully. I recommend cutting trees, cutting each tree in half to make two tree shaped pieces, then adding the filling in the two pieces if making a thicker cake in a glass pan.

You can also use a half sheet pan that is 18" by 13" with a 1 inch high rim. This is a pan used for sheet cakes, but is not the same as a cookie sheet which usually only has a 1/2" rim. Bake carefully, if you use a half sheet pan, the cake will likely cook faster. Start checking the cake doneness after 8-10 minutes.

Nutrition is calculated as an estimate per tree. This recipe does have a fair amount of cake and frosting scraps from cutting out the trees.

Equipment

Ingredients

For The Cake

For The Filling

For The Coating And Decorations

Instructions

Making The Cake

Making The Filling And Filling The Trees

Coating The Trees And Decorations

Notes

Nutrition

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