35-Minute Christmas Tree Snack Cakes (Little Debbie Copycat Homemade)

Square image of Christmas Tree Snack Cakes with red frosting and green sprinkles on brown parchment paper

5 from 1 vote

35-Minute Christmas Tree Snack Cakes (Little Debbie Copycat Homemade)

These homemade Little Debbie copycat Christmas Tree Snack Cakes are light, fluffy, and filled with a delicious Swiss buttercream. Covered in a glossy white chocolate glaze and topped with red and green sprinkles, these little snack cakes are as fun to make as they are to eat. The best part? They only take 35 minutes to make!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, christmas, Christmas Tree Snack Cakes

Servings: snack cakes

Calories: 336kcal

Author: Chandice Probst

Cost: 15

Ingredients

For the cake

5 eggs
5 tablespoon sugar
5 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Swiss Buttercream Filling

5 egg whites
1 ½ cup sugar
2 cups butter
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate glaze

10 ounces white chocolate
Red and green icing sugar

Instructions

The Cake

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar until the eggs become light and fluffy.
Add in the vanilla extract and flour and mix until incorporated.
Be careful to not overmix the batter.
Pour the batter on the prepared baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool down.

The Filling

Add the egg whites and the sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Place mixing bowl over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, creating a seal over the pot (bowl should be over the steam, not touching water). Whisk constantly until mixture reaches 160˚F (takes about 3 min). The sugar should be fully dissolved (you should not feel any sugar granules when rubbing mixture between finger tips). Mixture will feel hot to the touch.
Transfer bowl to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form
The bowl should be at room temperature so that it doesn't melt the butter.
Once the bowl is at room temp, switch to paddle attachment, reduce to medium speed and add butter 1 Tbsp at a time, adding it just as fast as it is absorbed by meringue. Once all butter is in, scrape down the bowl and continue beating until it reaches a thick whipped consistency.

Assemble:

When you have the filling ready, start assembling the cake trees.
Cut the cake in the middle to make two rectangles.
Spread a generous amount of the filling on one of the rectangles and place the second rectangle on top of it.
Using a tree cookie cutter cut out the cake.
Place the cake trees in the freezer for 30min.
Melt the white chocolate in a deeper bowl.Transfer to a small ziploc bag. Cut off the tip/corner and drizzle on top of each cake. Refrigerate for about 5 minutes to allow chocolate to set up.
Decorate each cake with red and green icing sugar.

Notes

Tips for making Christmas Snack Cakes

Chill before cutting: For cleaner lines, you can chill or freeze your cake before cutting into Christmas trees. Make sure you're using a metal or sharp cookie cutter if using this method.

Thin the white chocolate: For easier dipping, melt the white chocolate with 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter. This will help the chocolate harden as well as make it easier to decorate with. Similar to our white Chocolate christmas crack recipe.

Decorate quickly: After dunking the snack cake in chocolate, make sure to decorate quickly before the chocolate dries. This way, the decorations stick on the cakes.

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