The holiday season has this amazing way of getting everyone in the mood for baking, and it warms my lil heart!! While most people are focused on cookies and fudge, I wanted to offer a fun cake idea to mix things up.

This Santa cake is all about festive surprises from the inside out! When you slice into this babes you will reveal its hidden treasure… a playful surprise of candy cane-striped layers, adding that extra touch of holiday spirit. And of course, the outside is just as merry with its jolly Santa-themed decor. Focusing on Santa’s iconic red hat and his fluffy white beard, this simple cake nails the theme without being overly tedious and difficult to craft.

I kept things very simple regarding the recipe here, with layers of classic vanilla cake and a completely open-ended buttercream LOL! I will not lie, I filled mine with buttercream leftovers which resulted in a surprisingly delightful combination of peanut butter, caramel, and coffee. Would recommend! Other great options to pair with the vanilla cake layers would be a peppermint buttercream (if you’re into that sort of thing), a caramel frosting, Oreo buttercream, espresso buttercream, cinnamon cream cheese frosting… so many options! My only tip is to avoid gooey fillings so that when you slice it, the candy cane pattern is able to shine through un-smudged!

To bring this Santa cake to life, you won’t need a sleigh full of tools, just a few essentials to work that holiday magic! Grab your favourite offset spatula and cake scraper for smooth buttercream applications and a piping bag fitted with various tips – open star tips like Wilton 6B for Santa’s beard and closed star tips such as Wilton 1M for details like the moustache and the hat trim. A little toothpick is handy for marking out Santa’s features before piping, and you’ll need some chocolate chips for his merry eyes. Here’s a link to this project on my Benable, with all the necessary tools: Everything needed to create this adorable Santa Cake.

Here’s a short video showing the decorating process:

And a longer video with more detail, providing a full tutorial for baking the cake and decorating:

Happy baking!

Print Recipe

Candy Cane Striped Vanilla Santa Cake

Enjoy a moist and fluffy vanilla cake with charming red and white striped layers and a festive Santa design, perfect for the holidays!

Ingredients

Candy Cane Striped Vanilla Cake

1/4 cup 55g butter softened
1 cup 200g white sugar
1/4 cup 60ml canola oil
2 eggs room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup 60ml Greek yogurt (or sour cream) room temperature
1/4 cup 60ml milk room temperature
1 1/2 cups 195g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
red food colouring

Santa Decorations

1 batch buttercream of choice
peach food colouring
red food colouring
2 chocolate chips

Instructions

Candy Cane Striped Vanilla Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 5-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vegetable oil and mix until well combined.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the Greek yogurt and milk. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined; do not overmix.
Divide the batter into two equal portions. To one portion, add red food colouring and mix until the desired colour is achieved.
Spoon the batters into the prepared cake pans, alternating between the plain batter and the red-coloured batter, creating layers.
Tap the pans gently on the counter to level the batter and remove air bubbles.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-36 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, or wrapping in plastic wrap to freeze.

Santa Decorations

Start by stacking and crumb coating your cake. I used green buttercream for stacking and crumb coating the cake layers to add a festive touch, but plain white buttercream is also okay.
Take a small portion of the remaining buttercream and dye it with the peach-coloured food colouring to create a pale skin tone. Dye approximately 1/3 of the remaining buttercream red, leaving the rest white.
Using the skin-coloured buttercream, smooth out Santa's face on the top half of one side of the cake, leaving the bottom half for his beard. Don't worry about covering the entire cake.
Mark out Santa's eyes, moustache, and hat shape on the face area of the cake using a toothpick.
With a large open star tip (e.g., Wilton 6B) and white buttercream, pipe dollops to create Santa's beard and hair around the marked face area.
Use white buttercream and a more closed star tip (like Wilton 1M) to pipe Santa's moustache and rosettes around the top border of the cake to create his hat trim.
Using a large open star tip and red buttercream, pipe Santa's hat on the top part of the cake, adding layers to create more of a three-dimensional shape for the hat. Then, use the white buttercream and Wilton 1M tip to pipe a rosette for the pom-pom of Santa's hat.
Finally, press two chocolate chips into the cake for Santa's eyes.

Notes

Ingredient Substitutions:

Greek Yogurt: If Greek yogurt is unavailable, sour cream can be used as a suitable replacement. Its similar consistency and tangy flavour make it an excellent alternative in cake recipes.
Milk Alternative: For individuals preferring non-dairy options, substitutes like oat milk, almond milk, or any preferred non-dairy milk can replace regular milk in the recipe. These alternatives work well and accommodate various dietary needs.
Buttermilk Option: Another convenient substitution is to use 1/2 cup of buttermilk instead of the 1/4 cup Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup milk combination. Buttermilk contributes a tangy flavour and helps achieve moist and tender cake texture.
Oil Substitution: Any neutral-flavoured oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or even light olive oil can be used interchangeably without significantly altering the taste or texture of the cake.

Freezing Cake Layers:

Allow the baked cake layers to cool slightly until they are warm (not hot) before wrapping each one individually in plastic wrap. Then pop them in the freezer for a few hours (or up to a few weeks!). This helps retain moisture within the layers. It also makes decorating easier, as frozen cake layers can offer stability and ease in handling during the decorating process.

Buttercream Choices:

I use American buttercream in this recipe due to its simplicity and delicious taste. However, other buttercream variations like Swiss or Italian meringue buttercream can also work well, as long as they are adjusted to the correct consistency suitable for piping.

Flavouring Options:

While this recipe is a classic plain vanilla cake, I chose to add a twist with a peanut butter caramel coffee buttercream, creating a unique flavour profile for my cake.

If looking for more than plain vanilla, consider adding flavourings to your buttercream! You could incorporate lemon extract and lemon zest for some tang, or add in some with cinnamon or nutmeg for a warm touch.

Cake Storage and Serving:

Refrigeration: The decorated cake should be stored in the refrigerator, properly covered with plastic wrap, in an airtight container, or cake keeper. It should maintain its quality for about 3-4 days when refrigerated.
Serving Temperature: Before serving, allow the refrigerated cake to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. This helps enhance flavours and ensures a lovely soft texture.