Homemade Zebra Cakes
So today is the day that I tell you one of my family secrets.
And seriously, this secret is either going to make you hate me, or connect with me on such a deep emotional level that you’ll come over and watch Zoolander with me and we can braid each others hair.
Okay, just kidding about the hair part. Mine is too short for you to braid. And also, I am weird about germs so I cannot touch all up in your hair. I even dropped out of beauty school because I couldn’t handle it. Sorry.
The secret is this: My house is a Little Debbie house.
As in, when my son comes home from school, he has a Little Debbie cake for snack. With Kool-Aid. Usually grape.
I know. I should be making him a snack of Almond Milk and carrots with organic peanut butter. But school is so super hard, surely it’s worthy of a Little Debbie after a long day of learning all the things?
Plus, if I make him eat carrots for an after school snack then I have to eat carrots for an after school snack. And we can’t be having that.
One of our very favorite Little Debbies are Zebra Cakes. And since I’ve already made my own Fudge Rounds with great success, I decided to give these a whirl too.
They were actually fairly simple. I used a yellow cake mix, but feel free to substitute your favorite yellow cake recipe.
(I know–why make homemade Zebra Cakes if I’m going to used boxed cake mix? I don’t understand my own logic at times. But these are super yummy, way way better than the prepackaged cakes. And pretty easy too. So…there’s that)
Ingredients
- Yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare.
- 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) shortening
- 1/4 cup marshmallow creme/fluff
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons half and half or heavy cream
- 4 cups vanilla candy melts (or roughly 16 oz vanilla almond bark)
- 8 Tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate candy melts (or almond bark)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 10x15x1 inch jelly roll pan (or line it with parchment paper). Prepare cake batter as directed. Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake until top springs back when lightly touched in the center (15-20 minutes). Let cake cool completely.
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat shortening, vanilla, and marshmallow until fully combined. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium low until just mixed. Add 1 Tablespoon of half and half and beat on high for about a minute, until filling is light and fluffy. If it seems too stiff, add another tablespoon of half and half and beat for a bit longer.
- Using a biscuit cutter or other round cutter, cut circles close together in the cake. You'll need an even number (duh). Place the flat side of one cake circle facing down, and spread filling on the top. Place another cake on top, flat side up. Repeat with all the cakes, you should get about 12-15. Place cakes on a wax paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating and shortening, stopping to mix every 30 seconds. Once it's fully melted and combined, place a cake in the bowl and gently spoon candy over the top. Slide a fork under the cake and lift it out, pausing to let the excess drip off. Place cake back on waxed paper. Repeat with all the cakes, then let sit at room temperature until coating is set. Since it's thinned with shortening, it will set up firm, but not harden like chocolate.
- Once all the cakes are set, melt the dark chocolate and drizzle on the cakes.
Before you go firing me as Best Mom in the Land ( I have been informed by my son that I still hold this title) please know that we DO keep fruits and vegetables and cheeses and things around. And at the appropriate times (but not after school snack) I make sure to serve them to my son. And I pretend to eat them with him. Except I am faking and I am allowed to do that since I AM THE MOM.
Also, we read books and do math sometimes. And say please and thank you always.
See? Good mom.
I hope you enjoy these. Have a wonderful Monday and thank you for visiting!!
You sound like a great mom to me!
I think having a special after school treat is the best part of being a kid. Those who would judge you for giving your son a little Debbie need to quit being so up tight! These look fantastic! I’m going to have to make these for my kid (aka my hubby). As always you’re witty, funny and entertaining. I love reading your blog.
see i’d think you were a bad mom if you didn’t give him a little debbies after school! can i come over for an after school treat too? lol
How funny! These are adorable little cakes, I have never heard of the Little Zebra cakes before.
My husband taught my 3 and 4 yr olds how to do blue steel lol
Delurking.
Just wanted to say good job on reading and doing math. Be comforted knowing your son won’t have to attend the Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.
Yep, it took a mention of Zoolander, not a delicious recipe, to get me to come out of the comment closet.
You’re welcome. Oh, and thank you.
We love Zebra Cakes at our house and you will definitely be Little Buddy’s new hero for these!
You are the coolest mom ever! I have to try these. I love zebra cakes.
You always have me laughing. The reason for making your own when you are using box mix is because you are making yours with mommy love…..can’t get that from Little Debbie.
Now since we can’t braid hair because of germs (which I’m totally germ-o-phobic as well) can I come over and get one of those zebra cakes?
can you believe that i’ve really never had little debbie ANYTHING?! i know… insane. my mom bought a handful of things growing up but i never liked them. i was obviously a weird kid.
I’m all for giving kids a sweet snack after school! Count me in for Zoolander. ;)
Little Debbie (Wonderful) + You (Super) = Happy Son! I see nothing wrong with that equation! You can add some exponentials to that as well!
This post is a godsend I tell you, a GODSEND! Thee only reason I do not keep little hordes of little debbies in my house at all times is because I got sick once during a pregnancy. Very sick. The culprit? Little Debbie. Can’t eat them anymore…I’ve tried. I will be making these promptly. I love all your cutesy posts, they always make me smile. Thank you for that!
I love it! I grew up on Little Debbie cakes and I’m just fine :) The Zebra Cakes were always my favorite.
I’ve never watched Zoolander so it would be fun to watch it with you. I love that you made homemade Zebra Cakes, yum!
in your defense, koolaid contains 100% DV of vitamin C. so really, its just as good as eating an orange or something. ;)
these look yummy x
I’m just wondering why you didn’t braid my hair and make me zebra cakes when I came over…maybe next time? This is why I think you are cool. The end. PS I’m wired again =•)
Hehe I would definitely think you were the best mum ever if you made those for me!!!! They look so yum!!!!
You sound like a very excellent mom and these cakes are just gorgeous!
I’m in the cool mom category of sweets after school. We save the veggies for dinner ;)
Adorable. I just want to decorate my room with these.
I tried the fudge round recipe…AMZAING!! Zebra cakes…..CAN”T FREAKIN WAIT to get home so I can make them….omg!
You are hilarious! Most moms don’t take the time to bake for their kids which is so sad. So you rock! How bout trying Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls!! Those are the best and loved them when I was a kid (and that was my after school snack and I turned out pretty good I must say lol).
Love these!! LOVE…my kids are gonna go crazy for them because their favorite is the Zebra Cake, which we buy in bulk…oh yeah and kids definitely deserve a Little Debbie after school…
Is it wrong that the fact that you can make milk from almonds grosses me out?
Oh man, I have a long, historic love affair with Little Debbies…we would always stop and get one (or two or three) on the way home from school at the Git-N-Go. Then drink a Mt. Dew with them… So yea…might explain some things…but now I rarely keep them in the house just because I’m weak and have no will-power and couldn’t handle it… : ) But these look sooo good and somehow I would feel better about eating them since they are homemade ;)
What a great treat to come home to. Your child will always have a wonderful memory of you. Thanks for sharing.
Can’t wait to try these:) Also a fellow Beauty School drop out- the whole touching other people’s hair when it was all gross and unknown and germy was too much to handle. I learned enough to do my own hair and then when I realized I’d have to touch the hair of whoever walked in the door- I make a run for it,lol. Working as a receptionist at Supercuts for a summer in college (who paid for the beauty school) you got to see exactly what condition people come in to get their hair done and it still makes me shudder sometimes.
This sounds wonderful, and I think I have everything to make them today. SURPRISE!! for the kids when they get home from school.
um, these look AWESOME. we are not a little debbie household because all their stuff may be contaminated with peanuts and tree nuts, and my daughter’s allergic. SO GUESS WHO’S GONNA GET HER FIRST ZEBRA CAKE SOON?!? i am a little more excited about this than i should be, strictly speaking. (p.s. the girls over at ourbestbites have a great gourmet ding-dong recipe if you are ever interested!)
I’ve never seen Little Debbie Zebra cakes around here and I think it is neat that you went to the trouble to make your own. They look lovely.
Ahh! I love Zebra cakes. Yours look absolutely perfect!
You, my friend, are speaking my language. I grew up in a little debbies home too and zebra cakes were my favorite! My parents would even send them to me in bulk when I was in college. I can’t wait to try these! Even if they use a box mix they must be healthier than LD! THANK YOU for sharing!!
I used to loooooove Zebra cakes as a kid. I could go for one right now…
I love this idea! First of all, let me say I love all the things you make and you ALWAYS make me laugh! Second, I agree that school is hard, and kids deserve a good snack after they get home! I do not have kids yet, but it will be interesting when I do because I eat snacks ALL day long. Not always snack cakes but still. My favorite was always the Banana twins. The little banana cakes with vanilla cream in the middle! Yum!
i feel like i am going to be struck by lightning any moment so i gotta write fast. ok so i secretly feed my kids stuff that isn’t good for them too. not everything they eat is organic and unprocessed, so these might be right up our alley ;)
You’re awesome! I believe there’s a time and a place for everything and everything in moderation, yadda yadda. Being in Canada I’ve never heard of these, but they look like a fabulous after school snack. :)
I totally grew up in a Little Debbie house :)
And I would SO love to watch Zoolander with you! My hair’s too short to braid, too. Maybe we can paint our toenails instead.
Thanks for dropping by this morning!
I am totally down for some toenail painting.
And it was my pleasure!! Your blog is gorgeous :)
I have always loved Zebra cakes! They are my absolute favorite of the Little Debbie snacks. I am so happy you made them into a home made snack!!!! MANY THANKS!!!!
I could never hate you for being really, really, really ridiculously good looking! But really, I think that a child would remember the times he came home from school and got to have a special treat with Mommy, I don’t think that a child would remember or look forward to carrots with Mommy. But that might just be me. Kids remember the fun, the break the rules sort of fun times with family. Have Ice cream for lunch one day and then have a vegi extravaganza for dinner. Love yours posts. You always make me smile.
This is great timing because my husband and I had a big debate yesterday about whether to give sugar to our kids or not. I give them sugary treats alottasometimes and he thinks that’s just creating sugar monsters – if I don’t give it to them they won’t want it. Um, right. Or not. No one has ever given me cool Frye boots but I’m pretty sure I still want them.
Hahahaha I love your logic :)
Okay, you were right, we have connected on a deeper level. I missed your first post on the fudge round (totally my guilty pleasure!), thank you for the link back. Little Debbie was such a treat for a us growing up, because we didn’t get sugared cereal, and my mom baked everything! (I’m not complaining) But if we were driving a distance and stopped for gas, that was a choice of sweet thing for us! Wow thank you for the recipe!
another little debbie child…only i’m also from Northwest Arkansas and made many a trip to the little debbie factory for half price boxes and had an extra full size freezer that would be about 1/3 full of just little debbie goodies! i totally can’t keep them in the house for my own pant size!
Can you believe I never knew there was a Debbie Factory store nearby?? Totally need to make the trip next time I head north!!
You are too funny!!! Everyone totally deserves a sweet snack after a long day of school… and Little Debbie’s snacks are delicious. But I am excited about trying out your recipe!! :)
These look wonderful!
OMG…. I CANT WAIT TO MAKE THESE FOR ME BOYS. ALL KIDS NEED A TREAT. ESPECIALLY AFTER SCHOOL. KEEP THE RECIPES COMING.
I love you for posting these!! I used to eat the Little Debbie Christmas trees when I was little until they started processing everything they make with peanuts/nuts years ago, leaving me bitterly mourning the loss of my cake trees. I’m totally going to follow your recipe to make them! :-)
My husband works for Little Debbie! He works on the line that makes these. I showed him your creation and he was quite impressed. I think it’s great you give your son a LD after school :)…You should so recreate the Christmas Tree cakes for Christmas!
how cool…good for you to make these homemade versions..yours of course are more sassy and cool looking.
They look delicious and I think I’d rather have the homemade version! (with some carrots on the side)
Yours look sooooooo much better than the original!!!!
This may make you hate me, but…whut iz a debbie caek? :B
Little Debbie’s are like my favorite thing in the whole entire world and their price is always right. How can you NOT buy a pack of oatmeal cream pies when it is only $1.29 for an entire box!
Love these zebra cakes!
I love that you make the effort to make them homeade :) I have a 2 1/2 year old and I go to a lot of mommy groups that feed their kid carrots and chick peas and always feel that they are judging the fact that I just let my kid eat cheese its. Also my sons preschool teachers said that we can’t send in sugary food for lunch and suggest that I send more fruit…. umm, he doesn’t eat it so why bother? I think that feeding your kid and showing him how much you love him is the best that he can get after a long day at school. These seem to be a perfect after school snack (plus I agree that we are stuck being the good example and eating the same thing)!
Zebra cakes were my after school snack growing up! I love that you made a homemade version!
You are totallythe coolest mom evaaaaah. I am sad to say that you completely put me to shame… the only good thing is my sons are only 4 & 2 so they can’t read your blog yet to compare and judge me :O)
As always love your blog , you’re the best
Those look just like the real thing! I recently bought a box of zebra cakes. I used to love them, but haven’t had one since the 80s. Which was stupid. I admit I probably would never bother with a homemade version, but I give you major props!
I love Little Debbie zebra cakes! (Acutally pretty much anything Little Debbie!) Love the idea of making some homemade Little Debbie treats!
I love cheater cake mix recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I made these today and they turned out great! But I don’t see how to store them….fridge or counter? And do you think a sandwich bag would work to hold them or will they get funky? HELP!! TY
I stored mine covered on the counter and they were fine. I’m so glad they turned out well for you!!
These suckers were my downfall in middle school! Nostalgia totally kicking in…these are going on my to-bake list, cake mix and all!
And I’d watch movies and not braid hair with you anytime.
I just love your site! Such great ideas and recipes. I can’t wait to try some of them. And, glad to know I’m not the only mom that lets their kids indulge in a little junk after a long day at school! Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Thanks for reading Brandie :)
I made these and they came out amazing! I will be using the filling recipe for any dessert that might benefit from some deliciousness. I didn’t have the chocolate candy melt so they’re just white but I told people that I made tasty albino zebra cakes and nobody complained about the lack of stripes. The last cake that got the last of the not-so-melted candy bark, turned out looking like a pillar candle; slightly lumpy from bits of cake stuck in it and it gave me the idea to make pillar candle cakes! You’re my inspiration and I thank you!
I live in Papua New Guinea, a country NOT known for its culinary delights. We can occasionally get a few good things, but mostly we rely on friends and family to send us treats from the States. My two older daughters (5 & 7) told me today that they missed zebra cakes. :( So I was so glad to find your recipe! Not sure where I’ll find the candy coating or the marshmallow fluff, but maybe someone will be willing to send us that stuff. Anyway, thanks for posting.
FINALLY
My husband loves little debbies zebra cakes and I am so excited that I found this recipe. Cant wait to try it, thank you
What a great idea! They look so yummy! And actually, it is good sharing your ideas, beause now I can make my own yellow cake (Super easy actually & not preservativeey!) and use some Ghiradelli White Baking Chips & BUTTER (not shortening…..) to make my own bark without hydrogenated oils!! YES! Good ideas CAN be turned around to be healthier AND enjoyable!
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Thanks for posting this! I made them today with a few tweaks (red velvet cake and red/pink coating), and they were fab!
Blogged it and linked to you here:
http://oh-nuh-uh.com/?p=233
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these look amazing! might have to try something similar one of these days :)
and i am also obsessed with kool-aid, specifically grape!
I say you are a wonderful mom, wife and homemaker. When I got married back in the dark ages being a homemaker was treated with respect. You stayed home and NO ONE asked “why”? I’ve gotten off-topic. I meant to talk about vegetables. My mother forced vegetables down our loudly protesting throats. When I was about eight years old I noticed she never ate them. NEVER. Gotcha. Just in case someone from the Vegetable Police is reading this, my mother did eat chocolate everyday (think of all those lovely, tasty, antioxidants) and lived to be 94 years old.
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I made these today with a heart shaped cookie cutter and red and pink candy melts! They looked cute as a valentines treat and were easier to make than I expected. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
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I just made these and this is the best “mock” recipe I’ve ever tried. I made mine heart shaped and used food coloring in the coating to make them pink. It didn’t mix super well, but they still look pink. Also, I only used one cutout for each cake and just cut it in half. It was an easy way to get twice as many, and I had just enough of the coating to finish them.
Thanks for this one!! I’ll be making them all the time.
These look INCREDIBLE!!! I absolutely love the store bought zebra cakes so I must make these now! Thanks so much for the recipe! :)
Just wondering… how many cakes will this recipe make?
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I’m so glad I stumbled on your site. Everything looks amazing! :)
Just made these recently and my husband said they are one of his favorite things I’ve ever made!:) Thanks for posting!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! Little Debbie Zebra Cakes were my favorites before I had to go gluten free. I am going to make the gluten free version of these ASAP!
Thanks for posting this! Little Debbie Zebra Cakes were my favorites before I had to go gluten free. I am going to make these ASAP!
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Your secret is safe with me! I too came from a Little Debbie household. Swiss rolls, zebra cakes and banana flips were my requests. Zebras were my all time favorite. I ate these super duper sweet cakes by piling them high with Jiff peanutbutter. I never liked milk so I washed them down with peach soda.
These days my body will only digest natural peanutbutter and my son and I only consume Almond milk! LMBO
So glad to see this homemade version! There’s hope yet lol
I have also made my own cakes like this. I ususally use creamcheese frosting from the can. I warm it till it nice and runny then pour over my cakes. I put my cakes on a big cooling rack with a jellyroll pan underneath so I can use every last drop.
See, I think you are a great mom because you are creating recipes for his favorite Little Debbie snacks so that he can have real food instead of a box full of preservatives (which I am eating right now, but obviously surfing the net for real-food versions so I can have the healthier kind that even taste better). Oh, I also believe (don’t tell anyone) that ANYTHING you make from scratch in your own kitchen qualifies as healthy food.
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:drools: WAAAAAAANNNNNNTT!!!
I have been craving Zebra Cakes LIKE CRAZY and these look so, SO GOOD!!!
I know if I make these, my sister’s will kill me, but my younger sister’s kids will LOVE me!
I’ve been looking for a zebra cake recipe for a while now and everywhere I looked this one kept popping up! So, even though there were no reviews from people who had actually tried it out I decided to give it a go.
First thing I noticed was that it called for shortening and vegetable shortening. All I know of is vegetable shortening so I used that for both. Also, the cakes were very tall when I put the two round cut outs together. I ended up cutting off a little from the top and the bottom to make them more like the actually Little Debbie Cakes. I probably could have used each round cut out and cut it in half and had double the cakes! Another thing I noticed was that I had a lot of left over filling. Maybe I didn’t put enough in but if I make them again I’d definitely cut down the ingredients there.
Other than that everything was great! I was surprised at how much they actually tasted like the real thing!!! Thanks so much for the recipe! Everyone loved them! :))
I found these on Pinterest this week and HAD to make them to see if they tasted like the real thing. In high school I had one in my lunch everyday. I made these today and they are DELICIOUS! Loved it! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!!
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My family loves Zebra Cakes. I found these while searching for a copycat on pinterest. I made this into one giant zebra cake. You can check out my version here:
http://www.thehubofourhome.com/2013/04/giant-zebra-cake.html
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Ok, so I’ve banned most pre-packaged food, including Little Debbies. But I LOVE zebra cakes with a passion that I can’t describe here without offending people. I’m definitely making these this weekend and then maybe my kids will love me a little bit more since they don’t ever get to have Little Debbie’s. Stop it! You’re making me feel guilty about trying to be good. Hahahah!!
Thanks for the recipe, I will report back when made.
Hi –
Just discovered your recipe and tried it out today. AMAZING! I haven’t had a zebra cake in probably 10 years, but this tastes exactly how i remember. Thank you! Now i just want to find a way to cut substitute all that shortening…
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These look yummy! I’m going to make them and eat very last one! I love zebra cakes, you just can’t say no!
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I think it says a great deal about your post & recipe that you’re still receiving comments several years after the fact!
I proudly admit that while I read this post & took notes on the recipe, I have a Little Debbie Christmas Tree cake sitting right in front of me, just waiting to be devoured! :)
I applaud you for being the ‘Good Mom’ that you are! I feel there is nothing wrong with allowing our children to have snacks that aren’t 100% health food. Give them little bits now, and I have found it keeps them from hoarding them later! I’ve always had a ‘snack rule’ with my girls that they get to pick 3 small snacks after school, 2 of which must be healthy and one can be ‘junkfood’. Granted, junkfood is usually something like fruit roll-ups, peanut butter crackers or little cheese cubes. I’ve had to curb almost all chocolate-based snacks by Little Debbie and other companies because when my eldest daughter eats them, it’s like giving the Energizer Bunny a nuclear powered battery! She bounces from one wall to the other, with absolutely no control over it.
Now, to the real point of my comment… I have searched, on several occasions, for a recipe to this type of icing. My curiosity was initially switched on after a lovely friend of mine sent me a delicious box of petit fours, red velvet with an icing exactly like that which is used by Little Debbie for the Christmas Tree cakes. Initially I didn’t think much of it until I happened upon the site where he ordered them. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that this box of maybe 2 dozen petit fours cost almost $50! While they were delicious, in truth, they were just like mini- Little Debbie cakes, just red velvet cake.
Between my addiction to these sweet little trees & how much I enjoyed the bite-size morsels of the petit fours, I am wanting to try my hand at home made ‘Little Debbie’ petit fours.
I will certainly stop back by to let you know how the turn out!
Thanks again for the recipe and suggestions!
~Elizabeth
Thank you so much for reading and commenting — do let me know how yours turn out!!
Looking forward to more.
Hi Kristan,
My 81 year old mother loves the red velvet snack cakes. How can I make them?
Hi! So, I am making mini cupcakes for a friends rehearsal dinner and the groom LOVES Zebra Cakes! I wanted to try and recreate them in cupcake form. I think I can (somewhat) easily do this with your recipe… just maybe dipping the tops in the icing instead of covering and filling the inside of the cupcake with the fluff/ vanilla mixture. Do you have any tips for me?