Food and Recipes Holiday and Occasion Food 44 Showstopping Christmas Cakes For Your Holiday Table By Southern Living Editors Southern Living Editors Since 1966, the editors of Southern Living have been carrying out the mission of the brand: to bring enjoyment, fulfillment, and inspiration to our readers by celebrating life in the South. We inspire creativity in their homes, their kitchens, their gardens, and their personal style. We are a friend they can trust, a guide to the seasons, a helping hand during the holidays, and a relentless champion of the Southern way of life. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on November 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo: Hector Sanchez This holiday season, let there be cookies and trifles and tarts. But please, oh please let there be cakes. There's nothing more festive than an awe-inspiring cake, and this collection of Christmas cake recipes includes all of our very best ways to end your holiday meal. These seasonal showstoppers will wow your holiday crowd (that's right, even Grandma with the impossibly high standards and ultra-picky Aunt Sue!). From cheesecake to Bundts and towering layer cakes, these Christmas cakes will sweeten any holiday. We have festive favorites that incorporate the flavors of the season, like Chocolate Peppermint Cake and Gingerbread Cake with Buttermilk Frosting. We have cheery confections like Spiked Eggnog Bundt Cake and indulgent treats like our Sea Salt-Caramel Cake. No matter which recipe you choose, sugar plum fairies will be dancing while you are devouring one—or more—of these showstopping Christmas cakes. These heavenly holiday desserts will earn you a spot on the nice list. 01 of 44 Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting If you bake anything this holiday season, let it be this. Not only is this 2020's Big White Cake from the December cover, but it's our 25th annual Big White Cake! 02 of 44 Buche de Noel Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Ana Kelly Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke Recipe: Buche de Noel Classic yule log cakes are a labor of love, but you should absolutely make one this year. 03 of 44 Chocolate Peppermint Cake Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Chocolate Peppermint Cake The Italian meringue frosting on top of this minty-chocolatey dream is fluffy and festive. 04 of 44 Spice Cake with Cranberry Filling Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: Spice Cake with Cranberry Filling Pipe a ring of frosting around the cake layer, just inside the top edge, to keep filling from oozing out. 05 of 44 Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake Hector Sanchez Recipe: Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake Don't worry if your cheesecake cracks; the light and fluffy layer of whipped cream will cover it. 06 of 44 Cranberry-Apple-Pumpkin Bundt Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Recipe: 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. 07 of 44 Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake Jim Franco Recipe: Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake Let this elegant chocolate cheesecake be the centerpiece of your holiday tablescape featuring a gorgeous White Chocolate Snowflake in the center. 08 of 44 Tennessee Jam Bundt Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Recipe: Tennessee Jam Bundt The best way to enjoy this blackberry and caramel confection is with friends—it makes 12 satisfying servings. 09 of 44 Mama's German Chocolate Cake Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: 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. 10 of 44 Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake Iain Bagwell Recipe: Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake garnished with sugared pecans, kumquats, and bay leaves. 11 of 44 Sugar-and-Spice Cake Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett Recipe: 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. 12 of 44 Spiked Eggnog Bundt Cake Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Spiked Eggnog Bundt Cake This ultra-rich cake combines your favorite holiday drink with a sweet glaze on top. 13 of 44 Snowy Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Snowy Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream We topped this Big White Cake with our adorable Cake Ball Ornaments. 14 of 44 Red Velvet Cheesecake-Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Red Velvet Cheesecake-Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting That's right—we combined red velvet cheesecake and vanilla cake and THEN topped it with cream cheese frosting. 15 of 44 Eggnog Spice Cake with Bourbon Custard Filling and Eggnog Buttercream Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Eggnog Spice Cake with Bourbon Custard Filling and Eggnog Buttercream This eggnog-flavored cake with boozy filling is a reader favorite, and we have a feeling it will quickly become a tradition in your home. 16 of 44 Red Velvet Peppermint Cake Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Red Velvet Peppermint Cake Classic red velvet cake gets a holiday-ready makeover with the addition of peppermint and cream cheese icing. 17 of 44 Sea Salt-Caramel Cake Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sea Salt-Caramel Cake The caramel frosting on this tender layer cake is the true star of this beautiful recipe. 18 of 44 Cassandra's "Light" Fruitcake Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Cassandra's "Light" Fruitcake This fruitcake will change your opinion about the holiday tradition for good. 19 of 44 Bourbon-Chocolate Cake with Browned Buttercream Frosting Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop styling: Lydia Pursell Recipe: Bourbon-Chocolate Cake with Browned Buttercream Frosting This layer cake is appropriate for celebrations year round, but this boozy dessert feels especially festive for the holidays. 20 of 44 Our Best White Cake Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christina Lane; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Our Best White Cake If you've been baking from a box, try out this easy, classic white cake recipe. 21 of 44 Peppermint Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Peppermint Cake with Seven-Minute Frosting We filled this layer cake with a pink peppermint buttercream for a fun surprise. 22 of 44 Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas: Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake A decadent chocolate cake topped with silky Swiss meringue buttercream…What could make this dessert better? Gorgeous magnolia and camellia flower cake toppers, that's what! 23 of 44 Baklava Cheesecake Southern Living Recipe: Baklava Cheesecake We love a dessert mashup more than anyone, and this silky smooth cheesecake that includes a serving of baklava in each slice is the best combo we can imagine. 24 of 44 Coffee Baba au Rhum Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: Coffee Baba au Rhum This old-fashioned Christmas dessert is for all the coffee lovers in your life. 25 of 44 Chocolate-Gingerbread-Toffee Cake Jennifer Davick Recipe: Chocolate-Gingerbread-Toffee Cake If you're unsure if you should make this cake, read what one staffer said about it: "It tastes like all the wonderful flavors that come tumbling from a stocking: milk chocolate Santas, gingerbread men, and buttery toffee candy." 26 of 44 Butterscotch-Bourbon Lava Cakes Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell Recipe: Butterscotch-Bourbon Lava Cakes Looking for something a little more grown up than peppermint or sugar cookies? Try these photo-worthy, boozy lava cakes. 27 of 44 Spice Cake with Citrus Filling Jennifer Davick/Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell & Marian Cooper Cairns Recipe: Spice Cake with Citrus Filling With frosting this fluffy and swirled, you don't even need to add toppings to this layer cake. 28 of 44 White Chocolate Poinsettia Cake Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: White Chocolate Poinsettia Cake Leaf cookie cutouts make a festive poinsettia topping for this snowy white cake. 29 of 44 Rudolph's Chocolate Truffle Cake Lee Harrelson; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Recipe: Rudolph's Chocolate Truffle Cake Your family full of chocolate lovers will rave about this cake for weeks. 30 of 44 Coconut-Almond Cream Cake Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Rose Nguyen Recipe: Coconut-Almond Cream Cake Any coconut fanatics in your family? In this recipe, coconut cake layers are stacked with coconut-almond filling and topped with coconut-cream cheese frosting. 31 of 44 Homemade Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes Southern Living Recipe: Homemade Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes Looking for an afternoon baking project to try with the kids? This copycat recipe tastes even better than the real thing, but don't tell Little Debbie. 32 of 44 Mini Red Velvet Cakes Southern Living Recipe: Mini Red Velvet Cakes Mint leaves and fresh raspberries make for a festive green and red topping on these mini cakes. 33 of 44 Bourbon-Praline Cheesecake Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop styling: Lydia Pursell Recipe: Bourbon-Praline Cheesecake Graham crackers, pecans, butter, and brown sugar make the crust for this dessert, and it only gets better from there. 34 of 44 Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Instead of mint extract, this homemade cake gets its flavor from fresh mint leaves. 35 of 44 Icebox Fruitcake Micah Leal Recipe: Icebox Fruitcake Just like the icebox cakes you love in the summertime, this holiday dessert doesn't require any baking. 36 of 44 Gingerbread Cake Roll with Eggnog Cream Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Gingerbread Cake Roll with Eggnog Cream This spiced roulade is the ultimate make-ahead dessert for the holiday season. 37 of 44 Toffee S'mores Cheesecake Southern Living Recipe: Toffee S'mores Cheesecake Too chilly to make s'mores outside? Bring all the flavor you love in with this gooey cheesecake recipe. 38 of 44 Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Caramel Buttercream This beautiful layer cake has rich chocolate layers, fluffy caramel buttercream, and a layer of decadent chocolate ganache. 39 of 44 Molten Red Velvet Cakes HECTOR MANUEL SANCHEZ Recipe: Molten Red Velvet Cakes Personal desserts mean you don't have to worry about sharing. 40 of 44 White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream and Seven-Minute Frosting Top this cake with Sugar-Coated Orange Slices and Sparkling Cherries. 41 of 44 Acadian Syrup Cake with Roasted Pears and Caramel Sauce Hector Sanchez Recipe: Acadian Syrup Cake with Roasted Pears and Caramel Sauce A Cajun classic, this spice cake (aka Gateau au Sirop) gets much of its sweet flavor from a Southern staple, cane syrup. We love Steen's 100% Pure Cane Syrup, made in Louisiana. If you can't find pure cane syrup, don't sub a blended syrup; use honey instead. Roast the pears and make the caramel sauce while the cake cools. To dress up the cake for serving, we used a fleur-de-lis stencil to create a powdered sugar design atop this glorious dark and deeply delicious cake. 42 of 44 Hummingbird Cake Photo: Lee Harrelson Recipe: 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. 43 of 44 Red Velvet Cheesecake Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro Recipe: Red Velvet Cheesecake If you love both red velvet cake and cheesecake, this perfect sweet-meets-rich-meets-creamy concoction is bound to be your new favorite dessert. 44 of 44 White Cake with Peppermint Frosting Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: White Cake with Peppermint Frosting Garnish with a fondant bow or Peppermint Meringue Cookies. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit