9x13 Zebra Cake
Serves 24
20 mins prep
22 mins cook
30 mins Chilling Time
72 mins total
This Zebra Cake recipe is just like my original homemade Zebra Cakes, only easier! Plus, you can make it in standard 9x13" cake pan, so it's perfect for a crowd!
Yellow Cake
Creme Filling and Frosting
Stripes
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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 boxed 15.25 oz dry 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 greased and parchment-lined 9x13 light-colored metal baking pan, spread until smooth, then tap pan on 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 stand mixer, use the whisk attachment), cream ¾ cup unsalted butter and ¼ teaspoon salt on high speed for 2 minutes until soft and creamy.
Slowly mix in 4 ½ 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 additional 3-4 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 Cake & Pipe Filling
Remove cake from the freezer then immediately cut it lengthwise into two layers with a serrated knife.
On the bottom half, pipe half of the frosting and spread. Place the other half of the cake on top and gently press down.
Topping
Pipe the rest of the frosting on top of the cake, then use a spatula to spread it into an even layer.
Finish it off by melting ¼ cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon shortening (optional) in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments, then put it in a ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut off to pipe on “zebra” stripes on top.