Homemade Zebra Cakes
Serves 12
15 mins prep
20 mins cook
120 mins total
Make these GIANT Homemade Zebra Cakes using a doctored cake mix, a delicious fluffy buttercream, and candy coating! Remaking Little Debbies are a fun weekend baking project & taste so much better than store-bought!
Yellow Cake
Creme Filling
Coating (*see notes below for alternative options)
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Be sure to read through the blog post above for important tips & tricks (and step-by-step photos!).
Making The Cake
In a large mixing bowl, stir together 15.25 oz yellow cake mix (don't use instructions on back), melted ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 large eggs + 1 egg yolk. Pour in a greased and parchment-lined 9x13 light-colored metal baking pan, spread until smooth, then tap the pan on the counter about 20 times to remove the air bubbles.
Bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes, then flip over onto a wire rack or piece of parchment paper. If your cake has a bit of a dome, press the pan on top as "weight" to help it flatten while it continues cooling.
Once cooled, freeze cake for 30-60 minutes. This will help the cake firm up so that you can cut it into circles without it crumbling.
Make Buttercream
Using an electric mixer (if using a Kitchenaid stnad mixer, use the whisk attachment), cream ½ cup unsalted butter i.e. 1 stick)[/adjustable and ¼ teaspoon salt on high speed for 2 minutes until soft and creamy.
Slowly mix in 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, then beat for 5-8 minutes at medium-high speed. It’s important that you beat this for at least 5 minutes for it to be fluffy & creamy. If your frosting is thick, you can add 2-3 teaspoons milk (as needed) until desired consistency.
Put frosting in a piping bag with large round tip or ziploc bag with the large corner cut off, then set aside for next step.
Cut Circles & Pipe Filling
Remove cake from the freezer then immediately cut into (12) 2.5″ circles. A sharp biscuit cutter works best but you can also use a sharp-edged cup or cookie cutter. I recommend wiping cutter every 2-3 cuts to prevent crumbs from sticking.
Use a serrated edge knife in a “sawing” motion to cut each circle in half horizontally.
On one half, pipe a double layer of frosting (i.e. do one full swirl, then another one on top). Place the other half of the cake on top and gently press down.
To prevent cakes from falling apart, freeze the assembled cakes for 30-60 minutes before dipping in white chocolate coating. I know, I know...freezing takes time but is required for these or else your cake will crumble when you dip them!
Coating
Melt 24 ounces white melting wafers OR almond bark according to the instructions on the package (or for almond bark, add a spoonful of vegetable shortening and melt at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring in between each one).
Once melted, scoop out about 1/4 cup of white chocolate in a small bowl and set aside (since the main bowl will get crumbs in it, this is the “clean” white chocolate you’ll use to cover the tops).
Remove cakes from freezer, gently brush off any loose crumbs, then quickly roll only the sides into the melted chocolate (don’t try to “dunk” the whole thing). Place on a greased wire rack or parchment paper to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
With the small bowl of reserved white chocolate, use a spoon to pour on top, then spread until the cake is fully covered.
Finish it off by melting ¼ cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave (again at 50% power in 30-second increments), then put in a ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut off to pipe on “zebra” stripes on top. If you want the zebra stripes to “blend” into the white chocolate, add them immediately after you add the white chocolate on top.
Allow cakes to harden before serving, then enjoy!