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Little Debbie Christmas Tree Sheet Cake

Yellow cake mix is mixed with buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla. The cake is baked in a 9x13 baking dish then sliced in half. A filling is made with whipping cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. The filling is spread on the bottom of the cake before placing the other half of the cake on top. Then a homemade buttercream is made and the cake is frosted. Additional buttercream is dyed red and piped on the cake and green sanding sugar is sprinkled on top before serving.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Servings 12 people

Ingredients

Classic Yellow Cake

  • ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
  • ⅔ cup sour cream room temperature
  • 3 whole eggs room temperature
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1 15.25 oz box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

Whipped Cream Filling

  • 4 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp almond extract optional
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

White Chocolate Buttercream

  • ½ cup white chocolate chips
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 sticks (1 ½ cups) unsalted butter, left at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 8 to 9 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream – if needed to thin

Red buttercream border and decorating elements

  • ½ cup green sanding sugar
  • 1 cup Christmas tree sprinkles
  • 2 to 3 drops red gel food coloring

Instructions

Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prep a 9x13 baking pan with cake goop, baking spray or shortening and flour. Set aside.

  2. In a large bowl, hand whisk together the ingredients except for the yellow cake mix. Sift the cake mix in, then gently stir to combine. Spread into the prepared baking pan and bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely.
  3. For slicing the cake in half, flip the cake out onto a parchment lined counter. Use a cake leveler to carefully slice the cake in half. Carefully slide a thin cutting board under the top layer and lift it off. Add the cake layer back to the 9x13 baking pan.
  4. Spread the whipped cream filling on top, then slide the other cake layer on top of the filling.

Whipped cream filling

  1. Chill a metal bowl and whisk in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then add the heavy cream to the bowl. Starting on low speed and slowly working up to high speed over the span for 2 to 3 minutes. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add in the vanilla and almond extract and powdered sugar. Whip up again, the spread onto the bottom half of the sliced cake.

White Chocolate Buttercream

  1. In a small bowl, heat up the heavy cream and the white chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, and stir. Repeat for 10 seconds, if needed, then stir until smooth. Set aside.
  2. Whip up the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the salt and vanilla, then add in the white chocolate mixture. Whip up again, then add in the powdered sugar. Add in more heavy cream if needed, then turn the speed on high until the buttercream is lighter in color and texture, about 2 minutes. Beat down with a wooden spoon to remove some of the air bubbles.
  3. Frost the cake (reserving 2 ½ to 3 cups of the buttercream), using a flat scraper.
  4. Add 2 to 3 drops of red gel food coloring to the remaining buttercream. Then pipe (using a small circle tip) a red wavy pattern like you see on the trees. Next change the piping tip to large star tip and pipe a shell border around the outside of the cake.
  5. Sprinkle green sanding sugar in the middle of the cake, then add the Christmas sprinkles around the outside of the cake.

Recipe Notes

Line pan with parchment to make easier to lift out before cutting. Make sure to keep refrigerated until serving. Sprinkle green sanding sugar on just before serving.