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15+ Christmas Cake Decorations to Deck Your Holidays

These cakes will be the stars of the holiday dessert table!

By Beth Branch
christmas cake decorationspinterest icon
Becky Luigart-Stayner

Decorating Christmas cookies is great, but we love decorating cakes too! It's an activity for the whole family and will get you all in the holiday spirit! From layer cakes to cupcakes, we've put together a list of whimsical, unique, and fun cake decorating ideas and techniques to help you channel your creative side this holiday season!

1

Candy Cane Forest Cake

layer cake covered in white frosting with crushed peppermints pressed around the top edges and various sized and shaped candy canes sticking out of the top
Becky Luigart-Stayner

To make this whimsical and eye-catching cake, create your very own candy cane forest with various sized and shaped candy canes. Press them into the top of the cake and garnished with crushed peppermint!

Get the recipe for Candy Cane Forest Cake.

2

Christmas Tree Sheet Cake

a sheet cake cut into the shape of a christmas tree with brown frosting for the stump and green frosting for the leaves and caramel corn for garland and carious white and red candies for ornaments
Becky Luigart-Stayner

Trimming this tree is almost as fun as eating it. Using our template, you can easily cut your sheet cake into the shape of a Christmas tree and decorate to your heart's content!

Get the recipe for Christmas Tree Sheet Cake.

3

Chocolate Chip Cake with Candied Pretzels

three layer chocolate chip cake with candied pretzel rods lining the outside of the cake with white chocolate curls on top
Becky Luigart-Stayner

Looking for unique cake decorations? Pretzel rods rolled in wintery sprinkles create a stunning exterior to this show-stopping cake. On the inside you'll find a light and fluffy cake with chocolate morsels baked right in.

Get the recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake with Candied Pretzels.

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4

Red Velvet Cupcakes

red velvet cupcakes topped with red or white sugar sprinkles and thin snowflake designs piped on top
Con Poulos

Decked with glitter and iced snowflakes, these festive Red Velvet cupcakes are a sweet way to celebrate Christmas and the holidays.

Get the recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes.

5

Stained Glass Cake

layer cake with white frosting and covered in broken pieces of sugar candy resembling stained glass
Becky Luigart-Stayner

This is an eye-catching cake if we've ever seen one! And it's easier to make than you think. The "glass shards" are made from melted Jolly Rancher candies! Channel your inner creative artist and create your own holiday mosaic.

Get the recipe for Stained Glass Cake.

6

Coconut Angel Cake

three layer white cake covered in lightly toasted coconut flakes
Brian Woodcock

The airy layers of this sweet cake are fluffy and delicious, but the outside is covered in lightly toasted flakes of coconut that remind us of snow! Toasted or not, shredded coconut makes a gorgeous cake reminiscent of a white Christmas!

Get the recipe for Coconut Angel Cake.

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7

Pine Tree Cake

layer cake covered in white nonpareils with various sized and colored green candy pine trees sticking out of the top
Becky Luigart-Stayner

A forest of tiny candy trees makes a festive cake topper. All you need are wooden picks, various shades of green candy melts, and white sprinkles to make your very own snowy forest. Kids will love helping decorate this cake for Christmas!

Get the recipe for Pine Tree Cake.

8

Santa Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

rectangle sheet cake with red frosting and a white stripe of frosting down the middle with chocolate cookies for buttons and a belt over the middle to look like santas coat
Con Poulos

Skip the cookies—Santa wants his own cake this year! This impressive Santa Cake is completely homemade but looks like it's straight from the bakery. All you need are some chocolate cookies, fondant, and gold food coloring spray.

Get the recipe for Santa Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

9

Christmas Candy Cupcakes

cupcakes topped with vanilla frosting and various candies to look like holly and wreaths and poinsettias
Becky Luigart-Stayner

Jazz up cupcakes with cute candy decorations. Create poinsettias, Christmas wreaths, and holiday holly with candies and festive sprinkles.

Get the recipe for Christmas Candy Cupcakes.

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10

Candy Cane Cake

three layer yellow cake with white frosting and pieces of chopped peppermint bark pressed all over the outside
Brian Woodcock

Peppermint bark makes for easy—and festive—decorating on this Christmas cake. Just break into pieces and press around the outside!

Get the recipe for Candy Cane Cake.

11

Rosemary-Lemon Bundt Cake with Candied Rosemary

rosemary lemon bundt cake with vanilla glaze and candied rosemary on top
Becky Luigart-Stayner

Looking for a tasty winter all-occasion cake? The piney flavor of rosemary gives surprising depth to this lemony treat. Candied rosemary resembles snowy tree branches, adding an extra layer of festivity!

Get the recipe for Rosemary-Lemon Bundt Cake with Candied Rosemary.

12

Retro Christmas Tree Cake

retro christmas tree cake with whtie frosting and orange yellow green blue red and pink christmas lights made of fondant
Brian Woodcock

Those vintage ceramic trees from Christmases past inspired this retro bulb-themed cake. It's a collector's dream! With a tree-shaped pan and fondant, you too can recreate this classic for your own holiday festivities.

Get the recipe for Retro Christmas Tree Cake.

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13

White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log

gingerbread yule log filled with whipped cream and topped with white chocolate buttercream
Broma Bakery

A classic Yule Log makes a great centerpiece on any Christmas dessert table! After frosting, use a fork to create the tree bark design, and garnish with fresh herbs.

Get the recipe for White Chocolate Gingerbread Yule Log at Broma Bakery.

14

Pink Peppermint Cake

layer cake covered in white and light pink swirled frosting and garnished with sugar sprinkles and red and white swirled meringue kisses
How Sweet Eats

This pink peppermint cake is whimsical and festive for the holidays! Layers of vanilla cake frosting with peppermint cream cheese frosting, covered in sparkly sugar and peppermint meringues.

Get the recipe for Pink Peppermint Cake at How Sweet Eats.

15

North Pole Cake

small layer cake covered in buttercream and garnished with sprinkles and pieces of peppermint bark and a candy cake stick for the north pole
Half Baked Harvest

This cake is as easy to make as it is adorable! All you need to make the North Pole is a candy cane or peppermint stick, plus some festive sprinkles and peppermint bark for extra garnish.

Get the recipe for North Pole Cake at Half Baked Harvest.

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16

Peppermint Chocolate Cake

chocolate peppermint cake covered in peppermint frosting and garnished with festive red and white sprinkles and crushed peppermint pieces
Cooking Classy

Tender chocolate cake layers are covered with silky peppermint buttercream, a variety of fun sprinkles, and of course, peppermints! This style of decoration is an easy way to create a cake stunning enough to be the centerpiece of your Christmas dessert table!

Get the recipe for Peppermint Chocolate Cake at Cooking Classy.

17

Chocolate Cranberry Christmas Cake

three layer chocolate cake with cranberry filling between the layers and mascarpone frosting covering the whole cake and sugared cranberries and rosemary on top for garnish
Baker by Nature

Sometimes fresh ingredients make the most festive Christmas cake decorations! Sugared cranberries and sugared rosemary are easy garnishes and give any cake that "freshly snowed" look.

Get the recipe for Chocolate Cranberry Christmas Cake at Baker by Nature.

18

Grinch Christmas Cheesecake

a green no bake cheese cake decorated with mini chocolate chips to create the face of the grinch on top
Barbara Bakes

All you need is a green cheesecake or a cake covered in green frosting and some mini chocolate chips to make this fun and easy Grinch design. Kids will love to help with this one!

Get the recipe for Grinch Christmas Cheesecake at Barbara Bakes.

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