Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere next year. Read More Next
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More Next
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    Lost Cakes of the South

    These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden

    7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020

    ‘Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture

    50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

    Curl up with a classic!
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Holidays & Occasions
  3. Christmas
  4. 25 Years of Southern Living's White Cake Covers

25 Years of Southern Living's White Cake Covers

By Lisa Cericola
Updated November 11, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet

Christmas traditions are precious things. Whether it’s placing the Nativity set in its rightful spot on the mantel or watching It’s a Wonderful Life after trimming the tree, these rituals give the season meaning. For Southern Living, it wouldn’t be the holidays without a white cake on the cover of our December issue. Over the years, we’ve tried just about everything—gift-shaped desserts, cookies, candy that looked a bit too much like glass (oops), and more. “All of the cakes you develop become your special ‘babies,’ ” says Test Kitchen Professional Pam Lolley. “You love them for different reasons.”

Start Slideshow

1 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

1995

Recipe: Coconut-Lemon Cake with Lemon Filling and Fluffy White Frosting

It all began in 1995 with a Coconut-Lemon Cake from Sissy Nash and her daughter, chef Kathy Nash Cary of Louisville, Kentucky. Our former Editor in Chief John Floyd chose it as the cover, and it was an instant hit across the South. Sissy’s mother, Tee (“the queen bee,” says Kathy), baked the cake for family celebrations. Kathy remembers Tee proudly slicing and serving it as the grand finale of holiday dinners.

1 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

1996

Recipe: Gift Box Cake with Powdered Sugar Frosting

After the success of the previous year’s cover, we decided to feature another white cake. But how could we make it even better? Turn it into an edible gift! This charmingly over-the-top creation was decorated with gingerbread men and wrapped up with a Fruit by the Foot
ribbon sprinkled with sparkling sugar.

2 of 26

3 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

1997

Recipe: Chocolate Truffle Angel Cake

By the third year, the pressure was on to make the cake truly extravagant. A three-layer chocolate version with a fudgy pecan-praline filling just wasn’t enough, so we added a ring of oversize angel-shaped cookies alternating with pieces of ruffled ribbon. Unfortunately, we didn’t explain how to properly slice this dessert. (Sorry!)

3 of 26

Advertisement

4 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

1998

Recipe: Red Velvet Peppermint Cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet and peppermint might seem like an unlikely combination, but as you can see from this cover, it’s as Christmassy as Santa’s suit. The marbled layers (made with white and yellow cake mixes) were swathed in minty cream cheese frosting and trimmed with enough candy canes to cover a tree.

4 of 26

5 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

1999

Recipe: Holiday Lane Cake with Nutty Fruit Filling, Holly Leaves, and Candy Bow

Lane Cake, a famous Southern dessert that dates back to 1898, got a festive transformation with an edible wreath of candy holly leaves, fruit and cinnamon candies, plus a bright bow made from candy melts. The garnish was so elaborate that we took a few shortcuts on the actual cake and called for a store-bought mix and frosting.

5 of 26

6 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2000

Recipe: Twinkling Star Cake with Nutty Cranberry Filling and White Chocolate Frosting

Former Test Kitchen Professional Jan Moon Potter designed a shimmering five-pointed beauty that practically took an engineering degree to construct. “It was John Floyd’s idea to have a star cake, but he wanted readers to be able to make it without having to buy a special pan,” recalls Jan. “Lord, have mercy—I spent so many hours on that cake.”

6 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2001

Recipe: Pecan Divinity Cake with Divinity Frosting

John loves his mama’s recipe for homemade divinity and thought the old-fashioned Southern candy might make a unique cake frosting. Although divinity requires some skill (and dry, sunny weather), the Test Kitchen delivered with a four-layer sour cream cake swathed in a sugary frosting that mimics the real thing.

7 of 26

8 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2002

Recipe: Fresh Orange Italian Cream Cake

Long before the Cronut, we merged two regional favorites—ambrosia and Italian cream cake—to develop one stunning confection. (The filling requires juice from 4 pounds of oranges, but it’s worth the effort.) And yes, those are boxwood sprigs on the plate. Although our recipe warned that the plant is toxic, we now use only edible garnishes.

8 of 26

9 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2003

Recipe: Chocolate Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese-Butter Pecan Frosting

The editors were challenged with developing a dozen-layer “Twelve Days of Christmas” cake (with 10 cookie lords a-leaping, eight maids a-milking, etc.). Rumors of a mutiny in the Test Kitchen swirled around the office, and—after some diplomatic give-and-take—they created the Twelve Cakes for Christmas, each made with the same chocolate batter.

9 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2004

Recipe: Cream Cheese-Coconut-Pecan Pound Cake

A pound cake might seem too homey for a cover star, but former Senior Food Editor Mary Allen Perry’s gussied-up version was just fancy enough. When we were photographing the cake that summer, a roaring fire during the shoot produced billowing clouds of smoke, prompting the homeowner’s neighbors to call the fire department.

10 of 26

11 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2005

Recipe: Chocolate-Red Velvet Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Praline-Pecan Cake, and Fluted Chocolate-Red Velvet Cake

To give readers even more options, Mary Allen developed a Sour Cream Cake Batter with five different flavor variations that could be baked in six different pan sizes. A six-tier Chocolate-Red Velvet Layer Cake and a smaller fluted cake made the cover along with mini Praline-Pecan Cakes wrapped up with pretty bows.

11 of 26

12 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2006

Recipe: Lemon-Coconut Cake with Lemon Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting

Since the 1995 cake was still the most popular, we revisited that winning combination of coconut with lemon filling. (We did learn our lesson and garnished with fresh rosemary instead of using boxwood sprigs.) Just like before, readers told us how much they loved its simplicity and how it looked “just like Grandma used to make.”

12 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2007

Recipe: Vanilla Butter Cake with Fluffy Wintry-White Icing and Sparking Peppermint Candy

This might look like a classic Bundt cake,
but it certainly wins the award for the longest name ever (Vanilla Butter Cake with Fluffy Wintry-White Icing and
Sparkling Peppermint Candy). We thought
the sugary shards of homemade candy on top were beautiful, but unfortunately, some people actually mistook them for glass, causing a bit of concern.

13 of 26

14 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2008

Recipe: Sugar-and-Spice Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Made with a boxed white cake mix and pantry staples, this simple recipe was designed to please busy cooks with long to-do lists. While many readers applauded the relative ease of this cake compared to more elaborate versions in past years, others expected more bells and whistles (and didn’t hesitate to share their disappointment).

14 of 26

15 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2009

Recipe: Chocolate Citrus Cake with Whipped Ganache Filling, Seven-Minute Frosting, and Candied Oranges

After the previous year’s simplicity, we knew we needed to go big. This recipe, by Rose Marie Crowe of Trussville, Alabama, had chocolate layers enhanced with coffee and a mousse-like ganache filling on the inside and billowy swirls of seven-minute frosting and homemade candied orange slices on the outside.

15 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2010

Recipe: Spice Cake with Citrus Filling and White Icing

Unlike the usual fruitcake that’s studded with dried fruit and soaked in alcohol, a Japanese fruitcake has tender spiced layers and a citrus-coconut filling. Pam paid tribute to this popular 1950s dessert, as well as her grandmother, saying, “She always had a Japanese fruitcake on Christmas Eve for our big family party.”

16 of 26

17 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2011

Recipe: Chocolate-Gingerbread-Toffee Cake with Silky Ganache and Ginger Whipped Cream

Readers submitted more than 800 cake recipes for the 2011 cover. The Test Kitchen baked a few dozen, tasted up to 12 slices a day, and put them under intense scrutiny. Lynn Brown of Centennial, Colorado, took home first prize for her recipe, which reminded one staffer of “all the wonderful flavors that come tumbling from a stocking.”

17 of 26

18 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2012

Recipe: Mrs. Billet’s White Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

“Think of this instant classic as the little black dress of white cakes,” we wrote of Mrs. Billett’s creation, that year’s contest winner. The recipe was shared by Sue Winter of Gillette, Wyoming, who said it was a favorite choice for birthdays in her family. Although no one knows who Mrs. Billett was, we still thank her for this extra-tender cake.

18 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2013

Recipe: Red Velvet-White Chocolate Cheesecake with White Chocolate Frosting and White Candy Leaves

When this tower of a dessert is sliced, the layers of red velvet cake and white chocolate cheesecake inside make a dramatic statement. Pam vividly recalls that when then-Editor in Chief Lindsay
Bierman first laid eyes on the cake in the Test Kitchen, he exclaimed, “This is it!” Years later, it’s still one of our most popular cakes.

19 of 26

20 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2014

Recipe: White Cake with Peppermint Frosting and Fondant Bow

Crafty readers had fun with fondant as they fashioned a realistic-looking striped bow on a gift-shaped cake. Nonbakers got a treat, too—the dessert was available to buy online from Eilenberger’s bakery in Texas. In 2018, the cake appeared in the Hallmark Channel movie Christmas Joy. 

20 of 26

21 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2015

Recipe: Spice Cake with Cranberry Filling and Apple Cider Frosting

We went for a wintry look with a stand of snowy trees (sugar cones that were piped with frosting and then bedazzled with silver dragées) atop a buttermilk cake flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. The tart cranberry filling and a frosting featuring apple cider complemented all the warm spices in this cake.

21 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2016

Recipe: Coconut Cake with Rum Filling and Ermine Frosting

For the 50th anniversary of Southern Living, Pam and fellow Test Kitchen Professional Emily Nabors Hall developed such a spectacular array of desserts that we ran four cakes in the issue. This one decked in sparkling tree cookies won the coveted cover spot, thanks to its incredible rum custard filling.

22 of 26

23 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2017

Recipe: Snowy Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream and Edible Ornaments

Vintage glass Christmas ornaments inspired the beautifully intricate (and edible!) cake balls that topped our Snowy Vanilla Cake. The petallike rows of piped Cream Cheese Buttercream are also
impressive looking—and a bit easier to
pull off than the ornaments, which Pam admits were “a pain in the butt.”

23 of 26

24 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2018

Recipe: Homemade White Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Gingerbread Topper

Editor in Chief Sid Evans wanted “simplicity” to be the year’s theme. A station wagon gingerbread cookie driving through a forest of rosemary trees made an easy topper for this cake, flavored with vanilla and almond extract. As simple as it looks, we pored over dozens of cookie cutters before settling on just the right one.

24 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2019

Recipe: Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake with Swiss Meringue Frosting and Gum Paste Flowers

The South’s most iconic flower—the magnolia—was the inspiration for one of our most stunning cover cakes ever. Test Kitchen Professional Sarah Epperson crafted gum paste blooms and leaves that were so realistic that people had to touch them to be sure. And Pam made a chocolate cake just as memorable as the decorations.

25 of 26

26 of 26

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

2020

Recipe: Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting

This year’s coconut confection is a sweet nod to our very first cake. To give it a new look, we added a choice of three fillings (lemon, cranberry, or chocolate) and topped it with a pair of dove-shaped cookies as a symbol of peace—our wish for the New Year. And now, the planning for next December’s cover cake begins!

26 of 26

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Lisa Cericola

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 26 1995
2 of 26 1996
3 of 26 1997
4 of 26 1998
5 of 26 1999
6 of 26 2000
7 of 26 2001
8 of 26 2002
9 of 26 2003
10 of 26 2004
11 of 26 2005
12 of 26 2006
13 of 26 2007
14 of 26 2008
15 of 26 2009
16 of 26 2010
17 of 26 2011
18 of 26 2012
19 of 26 2013
20 of 26 2014
21 of 26 2015
22 of 26 2016
23 of 26 2017
24 of 26 2018
25 of 26 2019
26 of 26 2020

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Southern Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Southern Living
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

View image

25 Years of Southern Living's White Cake Covers
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.