This Christmas Tree Cake Fudge has a white chocolate based fudge with cake batter extract and shaped like Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes.
While I do make fudge year round, holiday time is when I make it the most.
Each year people expect me to come up with unique flavors and I try not to disappoint.
This year I made Christmas Tree Cake Fudge.
If you don’t know, Little Debbie makes Christmas Tree Cakes.
They are a white cake that have a marshmallow-ish vanilla frosting.
Then covered in a white chocolate like coating and sprinkled with green sanding sugar and red stripes.
I am a Little Debbie fan.
Already making a Cosmic Brownie Fudge and Oatmeal Cream Pie Fudge I knew I wanted more Little Debbie flavors.
Someone asked me if I could do the Christmas Tree Cakes.
And that’s what I did.
Took a few tries to get the flavor I was going for.
But I think I have it.
Do I have to make them into trees?
No, you do not.
You can just make square fudge but they won’t be as fun.
I fully admit you do waste fudge by cutting out the trees.
The cookie cutter I used is part of this collection.
Do I have to buy the cake batter extract?
Yes.
This is a big key to get the flavor right.
I plan on using it in more recipes so if you get a bottle it won’t go to waste. 🙂
Your piping of the red stripes will most likely be better than mine.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and my hands gave up during the piping process.
And so my stripes are not the great.
You can use red candy melts instead of the white chocolate mix.
I would have but they were sold out everywhere at the time I made these.
Keys to Successful Fudge:
Have a thermometer.
I don’t like the old fashioned ones that you clip to the side.
Those never work for me.
I like digital and use this one.
Use Baker’s sugar.
Also known as caster or superfine sugar.
I don’t always follow my own rule because I don’t always have it on hand but it makes for a less gritty fudge.
Use good butter. Preferably European.
They higher the butterfat content the better.
Cheaper butter often has too much water in it and will cause your fudge to separate.
Same goes for your chocolate.
The cheaper the chocolate the more likely it is to separate.
If using chips I tend to use Guittard.
And when making extra special fudge I use Callebaut chocolate.
P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!
Want More Fudge Recipes?
Strawberry Frosted Pop Tart Fudge
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Fudge
Christmas Tree Cake Fudge
Ingredients
- For the Fudge:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- tap here
- 4 oz. Crisco Vegetable Shortening
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 tsp cake batter extract
- 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
- 7-ounce jar marshmallow crème
- For the Coating:
- 12 oz white chocolate
- 3 TBSP shortening
- To Decorate:
- green sanding sugar
- For the Red Stripes:
- 6 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 TBSP shortening
- red food gel
Instructions
- Line an 9-x-9 inch pan with parchment with an overhang so you can lift the fudge out later and coat with baking spray.
- Combine sugar, vegetable shortening, and heavy cream into a large heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Once boiling, attach a candy thermometer and reduce the heat to a hair above medium low and cook for 7-10 minutes until your thermometer reads 234°F (soft ball stage) , stirring constantly.
- Once you reach 234F remove from heat and add the white chocolate chips, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Add the cake batter extract, vanilla extract, and marshmallow crème and mix until well blended.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Let cool to room temperature.
- Then lift out of the pan and onto a cutting board.
- Using a mini Christmas Tree shaped cutter, cut out as many trees as you can get out of the fudge.
- For the Coating:
- Combine white chocolate and shortening in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. You can also melt it using the microwave in 30 second intervals until the mixture is smooth and pourable.
- Place the cooled fudge trees on a wire rack with a baking sheet under it to catch the coating.
- Using a spoon, pour the coating over each mini tree.
- Immediately sprinkle the green sanding sugar over them before the start to set up. How quickly you need to do this depends on how cold your kitchen it. The cooler the kitchen the faster they will set up. And you want the sugar to get sprinkled on before they set up.
- For the Red Stripes:
- Combine white chocolate and shortening in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. You can also melt it using the microwave in 30 second intervals until the mixture is smooth and pourable. Add the red food coloring to the chocolate mix until you get a good red color.
- Transfer to a piping bag and pipe on the red stripes. Since they are smaller than the actual Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes you will not get the same amount of stripes.
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