This Christmas Bundt Cake is super easy to make with boxed cake mix and a simple ganache. But the real show-stopper is the red and green tie dye center. This cake mix Christmas bundt is sure to be the star of your holiday dessert table!
The holiday season is my all-access pass to eat all the desserts and carbs! And I don’t hold back! From my grandma’s Cherry Coconut Cookies to these super simple red velvet cake mix cookie bars, I take advantage of the time to satisfy my sweet tooth before the new year hits and I’m back to carb counting.
And of all of the sweet treats to indulge in during the holidays (or anytime of the year for that matter!), cake is my favorite! So even though I technically made this Christmas bundt cake to serve to my holiday guests for dessert, I really made it for myself, too!
If you’re looking for a beautiful, fun, and festive Christmas cake to serve at your holiday party this year, then you can’t go wrong with this red and green holiday bundt cake! Just a few simple tweaks to a boxed cake mix and a two ingredient white chocolate ganache that you can make in the microwave, and you’re well on your way to a bright and cheery Christmas bundt cake dessert that looks gorgeous and tastes even better!
Red and Green Christmas Bundt Cake Ingredients
This colorful and festive Christmas bundt cake recipe uses boxed cake mix, so it’s super easy to make! Here are the ingredients that you need:
- box of vanilla cake mix
- instant vanilla pudding mix – This Christmas Bundt Cake recipe only uses the dry mix… no need to make the pudding!
- whole milk
- canola or vegetable oil
- eggs
- food coloring to make a beautiful red and green tie dye bundt cake
- white chocolate chips – I recommend using a high quality chocolate like Ghirardelli for your ganache.
- heavy cream
- Christmas sprinkles to decorate
How to Make the Christmas Bundt Cake
Step 1: Make and color the cake batter.
Prepare your bundt cake pan by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Then, sprinkle some flour in the pan and shake off any excess. Your bundt pan should be nicely greased and floured so that you don’t have any problems with your finished Christmas cake releasing from the pan.
Then you’ll need to make your boxed cake mix batter, but not quite to package instructions. The secret to making a lusciously moist bundt cake is in the pudding mix!
After the white cake mix batter is made, it’s time to color it with red and green food coloring. Just separate the batter into three bowls, each with even portions of batter. You can use a kitchen scale to ensure that your batter is divided evenly, but it’s not necessary.
Then, add the red food coloring to the first bowl and mix until the food coloring is well combined and the batter is a nice shade of red. Do the same with the other two bowls, adding the lime green food coloring to one bowl and the darker green to the other bowl.
Your colored red and green cake batters should look something like this:
Step 2: Add the Christmas colored cake batters to the bundt pan.
When the cake batter is prepared, it’s time to add it to the prepared bundt cake pan.
Drop spoonfuls of the cake batters into the pan, alternating the three colors. You should also use a different spoon or scoop for each color, so that the colors don’t mix too much, like this:
Step 3: Bake the Christmas cake.
Next, bake the cake for about 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you’re using a dark color bundt pan, you should reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and start checking for doneness starting at 30 minutes.
When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, carefully transfer it to a wire rack so that it can cool completely. You can hold your wire rack upside down on top of the bundt cake pan and then invert the rack and pan to make it easier to transfer the cake to the wire rack. The cake should come out of the bundt pan pretty easily.
Step 4: Make the ganache and decorate your Christmas bundt cake.
Next you’ll need to make your ganache to drizzle on top and decorate your red and green Christmas bundt cake.
When the cake is completely cooled, add white chocolate chips and heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, then allow the melted chocolate and cream mixture to rest for 90 seconds before stirring until smooth.
How do you know that your white chocolate ganache is the perfect consistency?
It should be thick enough to hold its shape for 5 seconds before disappearing when drizzled off the back of a spoon. If your ganache is too thin, you can set it to the side and allow it to thicken for about 5-10 minutes.
Then, just pour the ganache over the top of your Christmas bundt cake and immediately add festive holiday sprinkles while the ganache is still wet. Isn’t this red and green holiday cake just beautiful?!
And just wait until you cut it to serve at your Christmas party or dinner:
The fun thing about this holiday dessert is that each slice will look different! (Notice the bright lime green cake in the background?)... Like a delicious tie-dyed Christmas cake!
Other Christmas Bundt Cake Decorating Ideas
If you don’t want to use a white chocolate ganache to fancy up your dessert, then you have a few other options. Here are some more Christmas bundt cake decorating ideas to inspire you:
- Make a simple bundt cake glaze. Replace the chocolate ganache with a sweet glaze.
- Ice the entire cake with a buttercream icing. That way, you don’t see any of the Christmas colored cake peeking out the sides, and the colorful inside of the dessert is a fun surprise!
- Make a Grinch bundt cake. The bright lime green in this festive holiday bundt cake reminds me of the popular Christmas character. Try icing your cake with lime green frosting and pipe on a large bright red heart on one side.
- Drizzle your Christmas cake with red and green melting chocolate. You can melt red and green melting chocolate wafers according to package instructions, and then drizzle them on top of the white ganache instead of adding the sprinkles.
FAQ’s
I’m worried about my Christmas bundt cake sticking to the pan… Help?
I like to use a flour based baking spray such as Pam to grease and flour my bundt pan. It is important to thoroughly grease and flour the pan so the cake does not stick. Cakes are more likely to stick in a bundt pan than a regular pan due to the ridges.
Can I substitute bake and serve pudding mix in the cake batter?
No… You should use instant pudding mix, not the bake and serve kind, for the best moist Christmas cake.
How long does this bundt cake stay good for?
Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. Do not store for longer than two days as the ganache may spoil.
Can I use yellow cake mix to make the red and green Christmas bundt cake?
You can substitute vanilla cake mix for the white cake mix in this recipe, but I would not recommend using yellow cake mix as the red color runs the risk of appearing more orange than red.
Can I use liquid food coloring instead of gel?
You can use use liquid food coloring instead of gel, but you may need to double the amount that you add to the batter to achieve the same vibrant colors.
Red and Green Christmas Bundt Cake Recipe
Red and Green Christmas Bundt Cake
This Christmas bundt cake has a fun red and green center that will surprise your holiday guests! A beautiful and easy Christmas dessert to make with boxed cake mix and a simple white chocolate ganache!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box of vanilla cake mix
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box of instant vanilla pudding mix (dry mix only, do not make)
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon red gel food color
- ½ teaspoon lime green gel food color
- ½ teaspoon forest green gel food color
For the Ganache
- 1 cup high quality white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Christmas sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan and set to the side.
- Combine cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed with a hand or stand mixer for two minutes.
- Divide the cake batter into three bowls, creating three separate even portions. Add the red food coloring to one of the portions of cake mix and stir until well combined. Repeat the process with the lime green and forest green food color with the remaining two portions.
- Drop spoonfuls of cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, alternating between the three colors.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.
- Once the cake has cooled, add the chocolate chips and heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate chips and cream on high for 45 seconds. Allow the mixture to rest for 90 seconds before stirring until smooth. The ganache should be thick enough that it holds its shape for 5 seconds before disappearing when drizzled off the back of the spoon. If the ganache is too thin, set it aside for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
- Pour the ganache over the top of the Christmas bundt cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Decorate with the sprinkles while the ganache is still wet. Allow the ganache to set before serving the cake.
Notes
- Leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. Do not store for longer than two days as the ganache may spoil.
- I like to use a flour based baking spray such as Pam to grease and flour my bundt pan. It is important to thoroughly grease and flour the pan so the cake does not stick. Cakes are more likely to stick in a bundt pan than a regular pan due to the ridges.
- You can sub vanilla cake mix for white cake in this recipe. I would not recommend using yellow cake mix as the red color runs the risk of appearing more orange than red.
- Make sure you use instant pudding mix, not the bake and serve kind.
- If using liquid food color in place of the gel food color you may need to double the amount to achieve the same vibrant colors.
- If using a dark color bundt pan reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and start checking for doneness starting at 30 minutes.
- Use a high quality white chocolate for the ganache. I like Ghirardelli.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 405Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 483mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 36gProtein: 5g
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. Different online calculators may calculate nutritional information differently. Also, the addition of optional ingredients and varying brands and products may change the information. For the most accurate data, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients that you use.
Hope you guys LOVE this easy Christmas cake recipe made with boxed cake mix! And you can also use this same idea and swap out the food coloring colors for other holiday bundt cakes… Try orange, yellow, and dark red for a Thanksgiving dessert or rainbow colors for a fun birthday bundt cake!
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