There's nothing more festive than our showstopping Christmas cake recipes. End your holiday meal with one of our beautifully garnished cakes.
Sugar plum fairies will be dancing while you are devouring one—or more—of these showstopping Christmas cakes. In fact, these desserts are perfect for any time of the year. Think of them as holiday cakes—a Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bundt or an Acadian Syrup Cake with Roasted Pears and Caramel Sauce will sweeten any holiday. The Hummingbird Cake is a Southern classic, and is the most-requested cake recipe in Southern Living magazine history. The Eggnog Pound Cake and the Noel Pound Cake are simple takes on classic Christmas cakes that are as delicious for breakfast as they are a nighttime treat. These holiday cakes have the perfect recipes for adding layers of delight to any family event.
White Cake with Peppermint Frosting
Recipe: White Cake with Peppermint Frosting
Garnish with a fondant bow or Peppermint Meringue Cookies.
Spice Cake with Cranberry Filling
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.
Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake
Recipe: Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake
Don't worry if your cheesecake cracks; the light and fluffy layer of whipped cream will cover it.
Coconut-Macadamia Nut Pound Cake
Recipe: Coconut-Macadamia Nut Pound Cake
Lightly toasting the macadamia nuts brings out their rich, buttery flavor.
White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream
Recipe: White Cake with Bourbon Buttercream and Seven-Minute Frosting
Top this cake with Sugar-Coated Orange Slices and Sparkling Cherries.
White Cake with Cranberry Filling and Orange Buttercream
Recipe: White Cake with Cranberry Filling and Orange Buttercream
This cake will be the star of your holiday meal. Your guests will be begging for the recipe.
Acadian Syrup Cake with Roasted Pears and Caramel Sauce
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.
Gingerbread Cake with Buttermilk Frosting
Recipe: Gingerbread Cake with Buttermilk Frosting
Warm spices and molasses blend beautifully with tangy buttermilk frosting.
Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bundt
Recipe: Brown Sugar-Bourbon Bundt
The crowning jewel of your holiday dessert table, this bundt cake is all about subtle elegance. For this unique shape, we used Nordic Ware's Bavaria bundt pan.
Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake
Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake
Chocoholics are sure to love this ultra-rich cheesecake, which features traditional cheesecake filling sandwiched between a chocolate-pecan brownie base and a thick, homemade chocolate glaze.
Robert E. Lee Bundt
Recipe: 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.
Rum-Glazed Sweet Potato Cakes
Recipe: Rum-Glazed Sweet Potato Cakes
This mini Bundt cake recipe features pureed sweet potatoes, raisins, rum, and toasted pecans along with cinnamon and nutmeg and is a perfect pick-up treat for a holiday dessert party.
Cranberry-Apple-Pumpkin Bundt
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.
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake
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.
Red Velvet-White Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe: Red Velvet-White Chocolate Cheesecake
Whimsy meets elegance in all five layers of this red velvet-white chocolate wonder.
Hummingbird Cake
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.
Tennessee Jam Bundt
Recipe: 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
Recipe: White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake
This cake is the perfect ending to a meal—from the deep red cranberry topping to the velvety smooth comforting bites.
Mama's German Chocolate Cake
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.
Praline Bundt Cake
Recipe: Praline Bundt Cake
This praline bundt cake gets raves for being moist, flavorful and beautiful! Something about it evokes a feeling of Southern nostalgia.
Mrs. Billett's White Cake
Recipe: 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: Peppermint-Hot Chocolate Cake Recipe
Peppermint-Hot Chocolate Cake garnished with peppermint candies and rolled wafer cookies.
Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake
Recipe: Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake
Marbled Pumpkin Praline Cake garnished with sugared pecans, kumquats, and bay leaves.
Chocolate Roulade
Recipe: Chocolate Roulade
If serving a crowd, roll up cake from the long side, jelly-roll fashion.
Step-by-Step Video: How To Make Chocolate Roulade
White Chocolate-Almond Cake
Recipe: 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.
Red Velvet Cheesecake
Recipe: Red Velvet Cheesecake
Our red velvet brownies are a bite-size version of the classic red velvet cake. Top them with cream cheese frosting for the ultimate holiday dessert.
Step-by-Step Video: Red Velvet Cheesecake
Sugar-and-Spice Cake
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.
Eggnog Pound Cake
Recipe: Eggnog Pound Cake
Make an easy holiday pound cake by starting with a box of pound cake mix and adding eggnog and ground nutmeg. Not only is it perfect for holiday entertaining, you can also toast a few slices and top with jam or preserves for breakfast. You can also use the delectable batter to make Eggnog Cupcakes.
Step-by-Step Video: Festive Eggnog Pound Cake
Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes
Recipe: Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes
Make these mini chocolate cakes by starting with a devils' food cake mix and baking in muffin pans. The festive holly garnish is simply red cinnamon candies and fresh bay leaves. Top with a super-easy Winter White Glaze.
Noel Pound Cake Loaf
Recipe: 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.
Chocolate-Citrus Cake With Candied Oranges
Recipe: Chocolate-Citrus Cake With Candied Oranges
A rich Whipped Ganache Filling is the happy surprise when you slice into this decadent chocolate layer cake. Frost with a Seven-Minute Frosting and decorate with festive Candied Oranges, citrus leaves and cranberries.
Fig Cake
Recipe: 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. This recipe can be made with fresh figs or with good quality preserves. Sweet cream cheese frosting covers the cake and is a nice balance to the spicy fall flavors.
Chocolate Velvet Cake With Coconut-Pecan Frosting
Recipe: 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. You'll find lots of imaginative ways to bake and frost the cake layers listed with the recipe for the batter.
Caramel Cream Cake
Recipe: Caramel Cream Cake
This three-layer butter cake has a pecan-pie filling in between the cake layers, a rich cream cheese frosting, and a topping of sweet coconut and chopped pecans. It's a great dessert for holiday entertaining.
