Showstopping Christmas Cakes

There's nothing more festive than ending your holiday meals with a beautifully garnished cake.

Christmas Dessert Recipes: Caramel Cream Cake

Caramel Cream Cake

Enjoy tender coconut-pecan cake layers filled with pecan pie filling. The top and sides of the cake are spread with cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with toasted coconut and pecans for an impressive (but super-easy) finish.

Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bundt

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bundt

The crowning jewel of your holiday dessert table, this bundt cake is all about subtle elegance.

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

Never fearing too much of a good thing, we topped our best-ever brownie batter with a ribbon of feather-light cheesecake, and poured on a chocolate truffle glaze.

The recipe makes 2 triple-layered treats – perfect for serving a crowd or sharing as a gift.

Fig Cake

Fig Cake

A delicious twist on our favorite Hummingbird Cake, this recipe is so simple to make you won't believe you started from scratch. Super-moist cake layers, flavored with fig preserves and a sprinkling of holiday spice, are paired with cream cheese frosting for an irresistible treat.

Robert E. Lee Bundt

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Robert E. Lee Bundt

For a different twist on the General's favorite cake, try this moist and lemony bundt recipe. It has its origins in an 1879 cookbook titled Housekeeping in Old Virginia.

Christmas Dessert Recipes: Chocolate-Citrus Cake

Chocolate-Citrus Cake With Candied Oranges

Easy-to-swirl frosting is only the beginning. Slice into this sweet sensation to reveal its true charm―velvety-rich ganache in layers of moist chocolate cake. Frosting Tip: Using an offset spatula, spread frosting over cake. Then use a spoon from your kitchen drawer to create whimsical swirls.

Chocolate Velvet Cake With Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Chocolate Velvet Cake With Coconut-Pecan Frosting

A lavish amount of melted chocolate and sour cream gives these moist cake layers a tender, velvet-textured crumb. The recipe is a favorite with our Foods staff – one we use often for celebrations throughout the year. You'll find lots of imaginative ways to bake and frost the cake layers listed with the recipe for the batter.

Rum-Glazed Sweet Potato Cakes

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Rum-Glazed Sweet Potato Cakes

The secret to these cakes' super tender texture is pureed roasted sweet potatoes.

Noel Pound Cake Loaf

Noel Pound Cake Loaf

Still warm from the oven or tucked away to season in a secret hiding place, golden-crusted pound cakes are loved by everyone. We serve them any time of day or night, and have even been known to butter and toast a slice or two for breakfast. A colorful confetti of red and green maraschino cherries makes this merry little cake a hit with all ages.

White Chocolate-Almond Cake

White Chocolate-Almond Cake

A decadent trio of dark chocolate cake layers is the delicious surprise inside this festive package. There's no need to worry about picture-perfect swirls of frosting – just spread it on. Then decorate like a pro simply by pressing finely chopped white chocolate and almonds into the top and sides of the cake. Tie on a ribbon, and you have a stunning dessert that tastes every bit as good as it looks.

Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes

Jennifer Davick / Styling Buffy Harget

Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes

Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes are simply upside-down cupcakes topped with a super-easy Winter White Glaze.

Sugar-and-Spice Cake

Photo: Jennifer Davick / Styling Buffy Harget

Sugar-and-Spice Cake

Make a classic white cake for Christmas this year. This recipe starts with boxed mix, then adds a few key ingredients to make the end result light, fluffy, and totally delicious.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Red Velvet Cheesecake

A red velvet filling is spiked with cocoa, topped with a creamy cheesecake layer, and baked in a dark chocolate crust.

 

Cranberry-Apple-Pumpkin Bundt

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Cranberry-Apple-Pumpkin Bundt

The topping on this bundt - a maple glaze with sugared pecans and pumpkin seeds - will make your guests ooh and ahh.

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Chocolate lovers will swoon over this chocolate-filled, chocolate ganache-topped cheesecake. Plus, it's easy to make ahead and pull out of the refrigerator after dinner. Follow our instructions to make the festive snowflake topper.

Christmas Dessert Recipes: Hummingbird Cake

Hummingbird Cake

This ultimate recipe is the most requested in Southern Living magazine history and frequents covered dish dinners all across the South, always receiving rave reviews.

Christmas Dessert Recipes: Praline Bundt Cake

Praline Bundt Cake

A crown of Sugared Pecans adds a deliciously nutty crunch to this five-star cake. A gentle tap sends it tumbling from one pan, perfectly fluted and party ready. Plus, it freezes beautifully, feeds a houseful of guests, and travels remarkably well. Just don’t expect to bring back any leftovers.

Christmas Dessert Recipes: Eggnog Pound Cake

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Eggnog Pound Cake

Just when you thought pound cake couldn't get any better—try toasting the slices and spreading them with your favorite jam or preserves. You can also use the delectable batter to make Eggnog Cupcakes.

Chocolate Roulade

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Chocolate Roulade

Learn how easy it is to make a decadent and impressive Chocolate Roulade just in time for Christmas.

 

Tennessee Jam Bundt

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Tennessee Jam Bundt

The best way to enjoy this blackberry and caramel confection is with friends - it makes 12 satisfying servings.

White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake

Photo: Iain Bagwell

White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake

The perfect ending to a festive meal - from the deep red cranberry topping to the velvety smooth comforting bites.

Mama's German Chocolate Cake

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Mama's German Chocolate Cake

Pure Southern perfection! Layers of moist German chocolate cake and sweet-and-nutty Coconut-Pecan Frosting will make this dessert an instant favorite.

Mrs. Billett's White Cake

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Mrs. Billett's White Cake

Think of this instant classic as the little black dress of white cakes. It's appropriate for every occasion on its own and versatile enough to show-case any of festive fillings and frostings.

 

 

Peppermint-Hot Chocolate Cake Recipe

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Peppermint-Hot Chocolate Cake

Peppermint-Hot Chocolate Cake garnished with peppermint candies and rolled wafer cookies.

 

Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake

Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake garnished with sugared pecans, kumquats, and bay leaves.

 

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