Recreate the iconic Little Debbie Zebra Cakes at home with this delicious Copycat Zebra Cakes recipe. Fluffy yellow cake layers filled with creamy buttercream filling and coated in a chocolate glaze – the perfect sweet treat for any occasion!
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I don’t know about you, but growing up, I loved classic Little Debbie desserts in my lunchbox. My two favorites were the Cosmic Brownies and Zebra Cakes. When I opened my lunch and saw one of those in there as my sweet treat, I knew it was going to be a good day. Now, you can make the homemade version of the classic goodie! Kids will agree, these may taste BETTER then the original!
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Why You’ll Love these Homemade Zebra Cakes
- Nostalgic– did you grow up enjoying Little Debbie products in your lunchbox? Or did you have a snack bin that was loaded with goodies? These homemade Little Debbie Cakes are a blast from the past and such a tasty treat!
- Flavor Packed– moist yellow cake with a creamy buttercream filling and vanilla almond dipped coating, what’s not to love?
- Perfect for any occasion– these are perfect to make for hosting parties, having people over, or even to include in your lunchbox!
- Easy to make– using a shortcut cake mix, this Zebra cake recipe comes together quickly and is quite budget friendly.
Copycat Zebra Cakes Ingredient Notes
Using some basic ingredients, these come together quickly and make the best dessert. To see printable recipe card with exact ingredients and directions, scroll below.
- Yellow Cake Mix– you’ll need a 15 ounce box of yellow cake mix, any brand works great!
- Milk– any type of milk works for this recipe, so use whatever you have on hand.
- Butter– you will need melted butter and softened butter to room temperature, I use unsalted butter, but salted butter works as well.
- Vanilla Extract– opt for pure vanilla versus imitation as it adds so much more flavor.
- Eggs– you will need large eggs as well as 1 egg yolk.
- Powdered Sugar– this is what sweetens the buttercream filling.
- Vanilla Almond Bark– you will coat the Zebra cakes in this melted mixture to give the cakes their white coating.
- Chocolate Chips– semi-sweet is best for this recipe. You will melt the chips and drizzle lines onto the almond bark once set. This gives the cakes their classic white and brown appearance.
How to make Copycat Zebra Cakes
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the yellow cake mix, milk, melted butter, vanilla, 3 eggs and the egg yolk, mix until there are no more dry bits and it’s smooth.
- Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray the paper with non stick cooking spray. Pour the batter in the lined baking dish.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when you poke it. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes.
- Place another piece of parchment paper down on a tray, lift the cake out the dish by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper and then flip the cake upside down onto the parchment paper you laid out. Place the 9×13 on top of the cake and slightly press down, let the dish rest on top while it continues to completely cool.
- Once cool, place the cake in the freezer for 1 hour.
- Prepare the buttercream while waiting. In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Beat again for around 3-5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoon of milk and beat again.
- Scoop buttercream into a large zip-lock bag or piping bag and zip up and cut a small piece off the corner of the bag, set aside. Once the cake is frozen, take it out and cut into 3 inch circles. A cookie cutter or a straight edged cup will work too! With the small circles, cut them in half from the side.
- Pipe on the icing in a circle on top of one of the sliced circle cakes, then place the top to it back on it and slightly press down to make a sandwich. Place back on the parchment paper lined tray. Repeat with the others. Place back in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.
- In a large microwaveable bowl, add the vanilla almond bark to it and microwave in 30 second increments until melted. In a small bowl, add the semi sweet chocolate chips and stir every 30 seconds until melted. Add to a small zip lock bag and cut a tiny piece of the corner off.
- Bring the cakes back out from the freezer, pick one up by having a thumb on the bottom and your index finger on the top piece and dip the sides into the white almond bark, twist until all the sides are coated. Place on the parchment paper and repeat with the others. Take a large spoon and scoop a bit of almond bark up and pour on top of the cakes and lightly smooth it out if you need to. It should harden right away.
- Take the melted chocolate and make zebra fudge stripes or wavy lines across the tops of the cakes. Allow it to harden and then serve and enjoy!!
Storing and Freezing
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also store in the fridge up to 5 days.
- To freeze, allow coating to fully harden. Wrap each cake in plastic wrap and place in a freeze safe container. You can freeze this Little Debbie Cake recipe up to 3 months. Note: once removed from freezer to thaw, they will get some condensation on the outside, but will still taste great.
Copycat Zebra Cakes FAQ’s
Can I just use the directions listed on the back of the cake mix box?
No, I do not recommend this. The texture and consistency won’t be right if following the box recipe. You need the cake to be a bit more dense so it is easier to dip and coat into the almond bark.
What else can I use in place of the almond bark?
If you don’t have access to almond bark, you can also use white candy melts/wafers or white chocolate chips.
How do I make these gluten free?
Although I have not tested this recipe for this purpose, you should be able to adapt the ingredients to use gluten free cake mix.
Do I have to make these as an individual treat?
Nope, if you want to skip the part of cutting them out, that works too. You will spread the melted almond bark on top as well as drizzle the chocolate chips on top. It will be more of a yellow cake you slice to serve.
More Copycat Recipes to try
Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread– incredibly moist, loaded with the perfect taste of banana throughout, and tastes even better than the Starbucks favorite bread!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins– packed with flavor and include a sweet cream cheese filling inside. Light, fluffy textured muffins that are even better than the original. This pumpkin muffin recipe is perfect to make any time that pumpkin spice craving hits!
Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme– packed with all your favorite ingredients, including seasoned beef, nacho cheese, lettuce, tomato, and crunchy tostada shells, this Copycat Crunchwrap Supreme is sure to be a hit with everyone and may even be BETTER than the original!
Mexican Pizza– skip the drive-thru and make this Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza right at home! Crunchy, full of flavor, and a quick dinner the whole family will enjoy!
Olympic Village Chocolate Muffins– a light and fluffy chocolate muffin studded with chocolate chunks throughout and a chocolate ganache filling that makes these the ultimate chocolate lovers dream come true!
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Copycat Little Debbie Zebra Cakes
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 box yellow cake mix *15 ounce box
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter *melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
BUTTERCREAM FILLING
- ½ cup unsalted butter *softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoon milk
COATING
- 24 oz vanilla almond bark
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and using a large mixing bowl, add the cake mix, milk, melted butter, vanilla, 3 eggs and the egg yolk. Mix until there are no more dry lumps and it’s smooth. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the batter in the lined baking dish.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when you poke it. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Place another piece of parchment paper down on a tray, lift the cake out the dish by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper and then flip the cake upside down onto the parchment paper you laid out. Place the 9x13 on top of the cake and slightly press down, let the dish rest on top while it continues to completely cool down. Once cool, place in freezer for 1 hour.
BUTTERCREAM FILLING
- In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter and beat with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Beat again for around 3-5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoon of milk and beat again. Scoop into a large zip lock bag and zip up and cut a small piece off the corner of the bag, set aside.
- Once the cake is frozen, take it out and cut into 3 inch circles. A cookie cutter or a straight edged cup will work! With the small circles cut them in half from the side. Pipe on the icing in a circle on top of one of the sliced circle cakes, then place the top to it back on it and slightly press down to make a sandwich. Place back on the parchment paper lined tray. Repeat with the others. Place back in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.
COATING
- In a large microwaveable bowl, add the almond bark to it and microwave in 30 second increments until melted. In a small bowl, add the semi-sweet chocolate and stir every 30 seconds until melted. Add to a small zip lock bag and cut a tiny piece of the corner off. Bring the cakes back out from the freezer, pick one up by having a thumb on the bottom and your index finger on the top piece and dip the sides into the white almond bark, twist until all the sides are coated. Place on the parchment paper and repeat with the others. Take a large spoon and scoop a bit of almond bark up and pour on top of the cakes and lightly smooth it out if you need to. It should harden right away. Take the chocolate and make zebra stripes or wavy lines across the tops of the cakes. Allow it to harden and then serve and enjoy!!
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