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Christmas Sheet Cake recipe

Lovely Christmas Sheet Cake made from scratch & sure to impress! Festive holiday colors abound in this delightful 9x13 sheet cake recipe.
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Christmas Sheet Cake
Servings: 16
Calories: 472kcal

Equipment

  • 9x13 Cake Pan
  • 6 Frosting Bags
  • Ateco Tip #869 (red)
  • Ateco Tip #863 (red)
  • Ateco Tip #861 (forest green)
  • Ateco Tip #849 (forest green)
  • Ateco Tip #860 (white)
  • Ateco Tip #862 (light green)
  • Rubber Spatulas (I used 4, one for each frosting color)
  • Mixing bowls, Measuring Cups + Spoons

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 ⅓ Cups Granulated Sugar
  • ¾ Cup Milk
  • Cup Oil
  • 2 Sticks Butter room temp (1 Cup)
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 TBSP Lemon Juice
  • 1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 tsp Salt

For Frosting:

  • 5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 cup Unsalted Butter 2 sticks
  • 3 TBSP Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Forest Green Gel Food Dye
  • ½ tsp Green Gel Food Dye
  • ½ tsp Red Icing Color
  • 1 tsp White Gel Food Dye

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the 9x13 cake pan with nonstick spray.

Mix cake batter

  • Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the vanilla, eggs, oil, lemon juice, and milk to the bowl with the butter mixture. Use a hand mixer and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well.
  • Combine the butter and flour mixture and beat on medium until no lumps remain and all ingredients are fully combined.

Bake Cake

  • Pour into the prepared cake pan, spread evenly, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven and let fully cool. This can take about an hour.

Make Buttercream Frosting

  • While the cake is cooling, place half the butter for the frosting in a large mixing bowl and use the hand mixture to beat it until smooth.
  • Add the rest of the butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix again until smooth and combined.
  • One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat until fully incorporated. You'll use between 5 and 6 cups.
  • Once finished, place the frosting in the fridge while your cake cools.
  • Once the cake is ready, separate the frosting into four equal parts, each in their own bowl.

Dye Frosting 4 different Christmas colors

  • Place a different color in each bowl and mix until no white streaks appear. If you need to add a little more color to get the right hue, do so now.
  • Place ¾ of the forest green frosting in a frosting bag with tip #849 and make around 6-7 medium rosettes randomly across the surface of the cake. I do this by starting from the outside and working my way in with a circular motion.
  • Place half of the red in a frosting bag with tip #869, however, don’t do rosettes like the forest green, do dollops. Do this in around 6-7 spots randomly across the cake. Make the dollops by holding the tip straight up and down, squeezing the frosting into a small pile, lightly pressing down, and then squeezing out more frosting into a small pile on top of the first, ending with a light press down and release of the pressure on the frosting.

Pipe Frosting onto cake

  • Place the light green frosting in a frosting bag with tip #862 and place small dollops randomly across the cake. A lot of them. Have fun with it. Do this by releasing a bit of frosting and ending with a light press down and release of pressure (stop squeezing the frosting out).
  • Repeat the same exact process as the light green, with the white frosting, except use its own frosting bag and tip #860. Do even more of the white than the light green.
  • Revisit the forest green and start doing dollops with the same tip instead of rosettes.  Do this all over, where you see fit.
  • Add the rest of the red frosting to a frosting bag and use tip #863 and fill in small holes with small dollops.
  • Add the rest of the forest green frosting to a frosting bag and use tip #861 and fill in smaller holes with tiny dollops. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 606mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 433IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg