This adorable nutcracker cake bakes up so fluffy and moist and is decorated with delicious homemade buttercream.

This cake design is inspired by this adorable image!!

How to Properly Line a Sheet Cake Pan

Before we dive into how to make this cake, let’s make sure we prepare properly!

To ensure your sheet cake easily pops out of your pan, I highly recommend lining it with parchment paper.

Another trick I love to use when I make sheet cakes is to use flower nails as heating cores.

These are usually used to pipe buttercream flowers, but they work great as heating cores too!

Just flip them upside down and they’ll help conduct heat from the bottom of the pan into the center of the cake.

This helps the sheet cake bake up more evenly and quickly.

I ordered mine on Amazon and a pair of them was $6. They last forever! I’ve had mine for over five years now.

Making This Nutcracker Cake: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Let’s walk through each step of this cake together to make sure it turns out as amazing as possible!

I figured it might be helpful to know what tools I use too, so I’ve shared a list below.

Not all of these are mandatory, but they make the process a lot easier. If you don’t have all these things on hand, feel free to improvise and work with what you have.

• One 9×13-inch cake pan
• Serrated Knife
• Large Rectangular Cake Board or Platter
• Offset Spatula
• 5 Small Piping Bags
• 5 Small Round Piping Tips (like a Wilton 10)
• Small Acetate Sheet (I cut these down into smaller squares with scissors)
• Gel Food Coloring – Yellow, red, ivory, and black
• Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer

Step 1: Bake the Chocolate Sheet Cake

The first step is to make the chocolate sheet cake. Preheat the oven and line a 9×13-inch (quarter sheet) pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.

Place two flower nails / heating cores in the center of the pan, with the flat side resting flat against the cake pan. Make sure they are spaced a few inches apart and spray them thoroughly with non-stick spray.

Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.

If you don’t use heating cores, the cake will take 5-10 additional minutes to bake. Rotate the pan halfway through to help the cake bake evenly.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then carefully flip it out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

If you make this in advance, wrap and freeze the cake at this point. Take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to frost the cake.

Step 2: Make the Buttercream Frosting

Next, we work on the buttercream frosting. I chose to make this cake with American peanut butter buttercream, but any type of frosting should work great on this cake.

I find American buttercream is sturdier and easier to smooth, which is why I chose to use it for this design.

If the frosting seems too thick after mixing all the ingredients, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tablespoon at a time).

Or if the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time).

If you’re unsure how thick your frosting should be, you can learn what consistency you’re looking for in my frosting consistency post.

Once the consistency is right, color some of the frosting with gel food coloring.

Step #3: Level and Trim the Sheet Cake

Once the sheet cake is fully cooled, flip it over to carefully remove the heating cores, then level the top of the cake with a serrated knife.

Use this template to cut the cake into the shape of a nutcracker.

The template is a bit on the small side (limited to the size of a piece of printer paper) so I suggest trimming about an inch around the template.

I recommend making chocolate peanut butter cakesicles or cake pops with the leftover cake trimmings.

Or if you don’t want to trim the cake, you can frost the entire sheet cake and use the template to trace the outline of the nutcracker.

Place the sheet cake on the rectangular cake board or platter you plan to use, then pop it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to make it easier to frost. I leave the cake uncovered when I chill it!

Step 4: Cover the Sheet Cake in Buttercream Frosting

Once the cake is cold to the touch, cover it in a layer of peanut butter buttercream.

Use a small offset spatula and a bench scraper or acetate sheet to get the frosting nice and smooth.

I recommend covering the entire sheet cake (sides and top) with buttercream if you make this in advance to keep the cake nice and moist.

However, if you make this shortly before you plan to eat it, you can just frost the top of the cake.

Step 5: Add on the Details

Then use a toothpick or scribe to trace out where you want to pipe the nutcracker’s details.

Use the white, black, yellow, red, and ivory frosting to add on the nutcracker’s hat, face, coat, and pants like in the picture below.

I started at the top of the nutcracker and added his hat first, then worked my way down to his boots.

This cake can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days, be stored in the fridge for up to a week or be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

I recommend storing it in an airtight container to keep it nice and fresh.

Substitutions and Swaps – Chocolate Sheet Cake

This chocolate sheet cake uses quite a few ingredients and I know you might not have them all on hand. Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered.

Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this cake recipe.

• All Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with all-purpose flour, but you can also use gluten free flour blend if needed.
• Eggs – If you have an egg allergy, I recommend using an egg replacer like this in place of the eggs in this recipe.
• Buttermilk – You can use full fat yogurt, additional sour cream, whole milk, or an alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy free.
• Sour Cream – You can use full fat yogurt, additional buttermilk, whole milk, or an alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy free.
• Vegetable Oil – Any flavorless oil would work great in this recipe, like canola or sunflower.

Substitutions and Swaps – Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this frosting recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
• Peanut Butter – I recommend using a shelf stable peanut butter that doesn’t separate, like JIF or Skippy. You can also use other nut butters like almond butter or sunflower butter.
• Heavy Cream – Whole milk or alternative milk (soy, almond, oat) will work fine in this frosting recipe too.
• Vanilla Extract – Other extracts can also be used in place of the vanilla extract.
• Food Coloring – I highly recommend using gel food coloring to color the frosting. It gives the buttercream a vibrant color without throwing off the consistency of the frosting.

Making This Nutcracker Sheet Cake in Advance and Storage Tips

You can make this sheet cake in advance and freeze it. This breaks the process up and makes it more approachable. An unfrosted sheet cake can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to a month.

You can also make the frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in piping bags or an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you store it in a large container, be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.

This cake can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days or be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Tips for Making the Best Nutcracker Cake:

• Line your sheet pan with parchment paper to easily remove your cake once it’s baked.
• Use flower nails to help your sheet cake bake more evenly and quickly.
• Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Ingredients at room temperature mix together better. Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Chill the sheet cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes before cutting and frosting it. This makes the process a lot easier.
• I used piping bags to decorate this cake, but you can also use Ziplock bags if you don’t have piping bags! I recommend using the freezer type because they’re a bit sturdier. Cut a 1 cm hole in the corner of each.
• Make a vegan or dairy free nutcracker cake if needed! Use your favorite type of dairy free milk to replace the sour cream, buttermilk, and heavy cream and use vegan butter sticks in place of the butter. For the eggs I recommend using an egg replacer like this.

Making this Nutcracker Cake in Different Sizes

You can also use this recipe to bake a 12×17-inch sheet cake, but the layer will bake up a lot thinner. Bake time will also be shorter! Bake for about 25 minutes at 325 F / 162 C.

If you want to make a nutcracker layer cake, I recommend baking 3, 8-inch cake layers at 350F / 175C for 32-35 minutes.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this nutcracker cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use the #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!

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