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Red Velvet Christmas Tree Cake

Red velvet Christmas tree cake turns a tender, cocoa-kissed red velvet sheet cake into a festive holiday dessert with creamy frosting. Pipe a green zigzag tree over the cream cheese frosting and finish it with holiday sprinkles.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
cooling and chilling 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 678
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the cake
  • 1 nonstick cooking spray for coating the pan
  • 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk well shaken
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs large
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract divided
  • 1 tbsp red food coloring
For the frosting
  • 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese softened
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
For decorating
  • 0.25 tsp green gel food coloring or as needed
  • 2 tbsp holiday sprinkles

Equipment

  • 1 9x13-inch baking pan
  • 1 electric mixer

Method
 

Make the cake
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, eggs, vinegar, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract.
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter is smooth.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the center springs back lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  8. Cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour.
Make the frosting
  1. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
  2. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until fluffy.
Decorate the cake
  1. Set aside 3/4 cup frosting.
  2. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the cooled cake.
  3. Tint the reserved frosting green, adding the gel coloring a little at a time.
  4. Spoon the green frosting into a zip-top bag and snip off a small corner.
  5. Pipe a zigzag Christmas tree on top of the cake, widening each row toward the bottom and adding a short trunk.
  6. Decorate with the holiday sprinkles.
  7. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

For clean tree piping, snip just a small corner from the zip-top bag. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; the cake can be frozen. For a gluten-free option, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend.