Christmas Traybake Cake!

Christmas Traybake Cake is the showstopping yet simple dessert that’s perfect for your holiday table. Rich, chocolatey sponge forms the base, and it’s topped with beautifully piped American buttercream in classic red, green, and white. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or looking for a fun, festive baking project, this traybake is easy to decorate, totally delicious, and guaranteed to steal the spotlight.

Why You’ll Love This Christmas Traybake Cake

this recipe

• 🎄 Festive look without the fuss – easy buttercream piping = wow factor
• 🍫 Moist chocolate sponge with a hint of caramel from brown sugar
• 🧁 American buttercream that’s simple to color and shape
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Feeds a crowd – perfect for parties, bake sales, or gifting
• ❄️ Freezes beautifully, so you can prep ahead for holiday chaos

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 400g unsalted butter, softened
• 400g light brown soft sugar
• 325g self-raising flour
• 75g cocoa powder
• 7 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Buttercream:

• 200g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 400g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Red, green, and white gel food coloring
• Festive sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

1. Bake the Cake

Preheat your oven to 180ºC / 160ºC fan. Grease and line a 9×13-inch traybake tin.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs, self-raising flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely in the tin.

2. Make the Buttercream

Beat the room-temperature butter for a few minutes until soft and smooth.
Add icing sugar and vanilla extract. Beat again for 3–5 minutes until fluffy and pale.
Divide into 3 or 4 bowls and color using gel food coloring to create shades of red, green (light + dark), and white.

3. Decorate!

Use a mix of piping tips (open star, closed star, leaf, petal, etc.) to randomly pipe the buttercream over the cooled cake.
Get creative—no need for precision! Fill in gaps with smaller piping tips.
Finish with festive sprinkles if desired. Slice and serve!

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 45–50 minutes
• Cooling/Decorating Time: 3 hours
• Total Time: ~4 hours 10 minutes
• Servings: 15 slices

Nutrition Facts (Approx. per slice)

• Calories: 420
• Fat: 24g
• Sugar: 35g
• Carbs: 46g
• Protein: 5g

Tips & Variations

• Make it vanilla: Replace cocoa powder with extra self-raising flour.
• Use fewer colors to simplify piping and cleanup.
• No piping tips? Use a spatula to swirl on buttercream in festive patterns.
• Store at room temp for 4–5 days in an airtight container.
• Freeze the undecorated cake or even finished slices for up to 3 months.

Christmas Traybake Cake

This rich chocolate traybake cake is topped with piped red, green, and white buttercream for a festive centerpiece that’s easy, fun, and perfect for Christmas celebrations.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 15 bars

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas

Calories: 420

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• #### For the Cake:
• – 400g unsalted butter softened
• – 400g light brown soft sugar
• – 325g self-raising flour
• – 75g cocoa powder
• – 7 medium eggs
• – 1 tsp vanilla extract
• #### For the Buttercream:
• – 200g unsalted butter room temp
• – 400g icing sugar
• – 1 tsp vanilla extract
• – Red green, and white food coloring (gel preferred)
• – Festive sprinkles optional

Equipment

• – Electric hand or stand mixer
• – 9×13” traybake tin
• Mixing bowls
• – Piping bags and tips
• – Offset spatula (optional)

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC / 160ºC fan. Grease and line a 9×13″ traybake tin.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, flour, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
4. Pour into tin and bake for 45–50 mins or until skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool completely in the tin before decorating.
6. #### Make the Buttercream:
7. Beat butter until soft. Add icing sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
8. Divide into 3–4 bowls. Color with gel food coloring (red, green, white).
9. Use assorted piping tips to decorate randomly over cake.
10. Add sprinkles if desired. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

– Store at room temp for 4–5 days.
– Freeze (undecorated or decorated slices) up to 3 months.
– Replace cocoa powder with more flour for a vanilla version.

FAQs

Can I make this cake in advance?
Yes! Bake the sponge up to 2 days ahead and decorate the day of serving. You can also freeze it (undecorated) for longer storage.

What’s the best food coloring to use?
Gel or paste food coloring gives the most vibrant color without watering down the buttercream.

Do I need special piping tips?
Not at all! Even just one star tip and a steady hand can look beautiful.

Can I halve the recipe?
Yes – cut ingredients by half and use a 9-inch square tin. Adjust baking time as needed.

Conclusion

This Christmas Traybake Cake is a joyful blend of simple baking and eye-catching presentation. With rich chocolate sponge and vibrant buttercream in every bite, it’s a dessert that looks as good as it tastes—without hours of decorating stress. Whether you’re new to piping or a pro with tips, this cake is your new holiday go-to.