Christmas Tree Cake Dip

Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 55

Servings: servings

Calories: 475kcal

A fluffy cream cheese dip swirled with crumbled homemade vanilla-almond cake and rainbow sprinkles, inspired by the classic holiday snack cakes.

Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.
Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix on low speed until just combined after each addition; do not overmix.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake on the middle rack until the cake is golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Start checking at 20 minutes.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cool, at least 45 minutes. The cake must be fully cool before cutting or crumbling.
(Optional, for the Little Debbie look) Whisk the powdered sugar and milk together in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake. Stir the red food coloring into a small spoonful of the remaining glaze and drizzle in thin lines. Scatter the green sprinkles over the top and let set for 10 minutes.
Cut or crumble about 1 cup of the cake into small pieces for the dip. Cut the remaining cake into 1-inch cubes for dipping.

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.
In a separate cold bowl, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop as soon as the peaks hold their shape; over-whipping will turn the cream to butter.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture with a rubber spatula until no white streaks remain.
Fold in the rainbow sprinkles and 1 cup of crumbled cake with a few gentle strokes. Do not overmix; the sprinkles will bleed color if over-folded.
Transfer the dip to a serving bowl. Top with a few more cake crumbs and the red and green sprinkles. Serve immediately with the cake cubes, vanilla wafers, and pretzel thins for dipping.

Cool the cake completely before crumbling to prevent the dip base from melting.
Keep almond extract to ½ teaspoon per component to prevent an overly strong flavor.
Fold in sprinkles and crumbled cake just before serving to keep the sprinkles bright and the cake soft.
Use very cold heavy cream; chill the bowl and beaters for 10 minutes for best whipping results.
Use store-bought pound cake instead of homemade cake, or substitute 8 oz thawed whipped topping for the heavy cream.
Salt amounts are based on Diamond Crystal kosher salt; if using Morton, use about half.
Store the dip and cake separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze cake cubes for up to 1 month; serve cold.