This ugly sweater cake is a fun and festive Christmas dessert. A red velvet 9×13 cake is frosted and decorated to look like a tacky ugly Christmas sweater — the perfect show-stopping treat for holiday parties.
This inspired Pinterest-style ugly sweater cake is bold, silly, and easy to customize. I used red velvet for a holiday vibe and fluffy white frosting for contrast, but you can use any cake flavor or frosting you prefer. The decorations are simple — most came from the dollar store or Walmart — and the end result brings smiles and a few laughs at family gatherings.
- Why This Cake Is A Hit
- Ingredients Needed
- Breakdown of My Cake Layout
- Variations
- Storing Cake
- Common Questions
- Related Recipes
- Festive Ugly Sweater Cake Recipe Creation
Make this simple 9×13 Christmas cake and decorate it however you like — split colors, lots of sprinkles, candy buttons, or themed shapes. It’s an easy recipe that looks impressive and will be the talk of your holiday table.
Why This Cake Is A Hit
Flexible flavor: Use any cake flavor you like. Red velvet gives a festive look, but vanilla, chocolate, or boxed mixes all work well.
Beginner-friendly decorating: This design is forgiving. You don’t need advanced piping skills — small imperfections add to the charm.
Completely customizable: Decorate each section with candies, sprinkles, or themed decorations you already have. Dollar store finds work great.
Fun and festive: This cake mimics an ugly Christmas sweater and brings a playful vibe to any holiday gathering.
Ingredients Needed
Cake: I made a red velvet 9×13 cake. A homemade recipe or a boxed cake mix both work fine.
Frosting: Store-bought or homemade fluffy white frosting works well; I used store-bought for convenience.
Gel food coloring: Use gel colors to tint portions of the frosting — I used red and a bluish turquoise, but pick any colors you like.
Candies & decorations: Milk Duds (for buttons), gummy presents, mini candy canes, sprinkles, cookie cutters to create shapes, and small icing decorations like Santa or snowmen.
Breakdown of My Cake Layout
Full step-by-step directions are included in the recipe card below. Here’s a quick walkthrough for decorating the sweater cake.
Collar: Pipe a V-shaped white collar at the top of the cake to mimic a sweater neckline.
Split colors: Frost one side red and the other turquoise, keeping the two colors separated in the center so they don’t blend.
White framing: Use a star tip to pipe a white border around each colored section and a line down the center. Add additional piped lines to create block sections.
Buttons: Place Milk Duds or any round candies down the center as sweater buttons.
Bell detail: Press a bell-shaped cookie cutter lightly into the frosting, fill the shape with small sprinkles, press gently so they adhere, then lift the cutter to reveal a bell motif.
Light string: Pipe a red icing swirl to mimic a string of Christmas lights, then add small light-shaped icing decorations.
Other decorations: Add gummy presents, snowman or Santa icing decorations, and mini candy canes in desired sections. Arrange candies in each block to create a playful, gaudy sweater look.
Variations
There are many ways to personalize this cake:
- Change the sweater color scheme — single color or multiple splits.
- Use different round candies for buttons like Junior Mints or Sweet Tarts.
- Any cake flavor works — chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, or a boxed mix.
- Decorate each block differently using seasonal candies and edible decorations.
Storing Cake
Room temperature: Store the cake covered at room temperature unless you use cream cheese or buttercream that needs refrigeration. Keep it covered to prevent drying.
Freezing: You can freeze the cake for 2–3 months in a freezer-safe container. Note that some decorations may bleed color or become slightly soggy after thawing.
Common Questions
Below are a few FAQs about this ugly Christmas sweater cake.
Ugly Christmas sweaters are intentionally tacky and over-decorated. They’re often gaudy, colorful, and covered in festive motifs — exactly the look this cake mimics.
Yes — bake a 9×13 cake from a box or make it from scratch. Both yield great results and save time.
Store-bought fluffy frosting can be used in a piping bag and holds shape well for framing and simple piping details.
Absolutely — use your creativity. Swap colors, decorations, and candy placements to make the cake your own.
Related Recipes
Looking for more holiday treats to serve alongside the ugly sweater cake? Try peppermint hot chocolate bombs, snowman sugar cookies, or festive pretzels.
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Snowman Sugar Cookies
- Christmas Pretzels
- Milano Cookie Balls
- Christmas Tree Pretzels
If you make this cake, please leave a rating in the recipe card below or drop a comment. I love seeing variations, so feel free to share how you decorated yours!
Ugly Sweater Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cake Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
- 2 tablespoons red gel food coloring
Decorations
- 3 containers of fluffy white frosting 12 ounce containers
- 1 tube red decorating icing
- Christmas light icing decorations
- 1 package Santa icing decorations
- 1 package Snowman icing decorations
- 1 package Christmas gummies
- 4-5 Milk Duds
- 2 mini candy canes
- food coloring
- ¼ teaspoon sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan and line the bottom with parchment for easy removal.
- Sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3–4 minutes). Add oil, eggs, and vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
- Add red food coloring to achieve the desired shade.
- Alternate adding buttermilk and dry mixture to the batter until fully combined, then stir in the vinegar.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack.
Decorating Cake
- Fill a piping bag with white frosting and pipe a V-shaped collar at the top; spread to even it out.
- Tint two containers of white frosting — one red and one turquoise. Spread each color over half the cake, keeping the center line clear.
- Pipe white stars around the collar, along the center line, and around the cake’s edge. Create extra piped lines on one side to form blocks.
- Add Milk Duds or round candies as buttons down the center.
- Use a cookie cutter to press a bell shape into the frosting, fill with sprinkles, press gently, and lift the cutter.
- Pipe a red swirl to mimic a string of lights, add light-shaped icing decorations, and pipe around the bell to frame it.
- Fill each block with candies and icing decorations. Finish with mini candy canes or other accents. Slice and serve, or cover until ready.
Notes
Frosting: You’ll likely have leftover frosting. Store it in the fridge and enjoy it with cookies or graham crackers.
Decorations: Use any edible decorations you like — have fun and personalize the design.
Equipment
- 9×13 cake pan
- Mixing bowls and a mixer
- Piping bags and a large star tip
- Cookie cutter for shaped details
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 76g
Protein: 5g
Did you make this recipe?
Share photos of your cake and tag seasonal boards or groups you follow — it’s always fun to see different takes on the design.
Let me know if you try this Christmas dessert — I’d love to hear how you decorated yours!