Jump to Recipe

Christmas Morning Coffee Cake is a deliciously moist bundt cake with a unique hint of sherry wine that is always a crowd favorite at a family breakfast or a party.

Closeup on a Christmas Morning Coffee Cake sitting on a white cake stand with a spatula pulling out a single piece of the cake

I am pretty sure Christmas Morning Coffee Cake started as a Christmas Eve dessert for our family, but over the years it became our Christmas morning, opening presents, pre-Christmas brunch snack. This cake is one of our all-time favorite desserts – a deliciously moist bundt cake with a unique hint of sherry wine.  It is always a crowd favorite at family gatherings, potlucks, or office parties.  We can’t recommend this recipe highly enough!  And although we have this strange family tradition (that nobody can remember who started!) of only eating this cake at Christmas, it’s good all year around! Make this cake.  You won’t be sorry. We promise.

Ingredients You Will Need

All the ingredients you will need to make Christmas Morning Coffee Cake including yellow cake mix, eggs, oil, sherry, chopped nuts, vanilla pudding mix, cinnamon, butter, vanilla and granulated sugar.

How to Make the Cake Batter

Closeup on a glass mixing bowl filled with the ingredients to make the cake batter.

Step 1: Add the yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, and the Sherry to a mixing bowl.

Closeup on glass mixing bowl with cake batter and a hand mixer.

Step 2: Mix the Christmas Morning Coffee Cake ingredients for a full 7 minutes.  After 3 or 4 minutes you will be tempted to stop.  Do not!  It really makes a difference in how the finished cake will taste. While the cake is mixing, start combining the Cinnamon Sugar Filling.

How to Make the Cinnamon Sugar Filling

Collage image showing how to make the Cinnamon Sugar Filling for the Christmas Morning Coffee Cake.

Steps 3-4: In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, chopped nuts, and cinnamon.  We used pecans here but sometimes we use walnuts.  Both taste equally good.
Step 5: Whisk together until combined.

Baking Instructions

Collage image on how to assemble the cake batter in the bundt pan for baking.

Step 7: Grease your bundt pan with butter or shortening.  You do not need to flour the pan.
Step 8: Pour 1/2 of the cake batter into the bundt pan. Because you mixed the cake batter for so long, there will be air bubbles.  Gently tap the pan on the counter to get rid of the air bubbles. Carefully spoon the filling onto the cake batter in a ring around the center of the bundt pan as pictured above.
Step 9: Pour in the remaining cake mixture.  Again there will be air bubbles in the cake batter.  At this point DO NOT tap the pan on the counter to get rid of them.  Your filling will sink down to the bottom of the cake pan and it will not taste as good like that.  Let the cake mixture sit for a bit and the air bubbles will rise up and you can puncture them with a toothpick.
Step 10: Bake the cake in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Serving and Storage Instructions

Collage image showing how to let the bundt cake cool and how to sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

Step 10: Let the cake cool completely before you remove it from the pan.
Step 11: Once the Christmas Morning Coffee Cake has completely cooled, dust it with powdered sugar.

Closeup on a piece of Sherry Cake sitting on a white plate with a fork.

Step 12: Here is the inside of the cake.  The filling is so yummy. The cake is so moist and delicious.

Expert Tips and FAQ’s

A note from Two Sisters about the Sherry:  Laurie and I had a disagreement about allowing my three-year-old to eat the Sherry Cake last year.   I had heard that alcohol cooking out of food was a myth.  We ended up not letting her have any.  If you have concerns, the following chart comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Sherry Cake bakes for 50 minutes so according to this chart below the cake will only retain approximately 25% of the 3/4 Cups of Sherry in the finished product.

Alcohol Burn Off Chart
Closeup on a piece of Christmas Morning Coffee Cake sitting on a white plate in front of a cake stand with the rest of the cake.

Other Sweet Breakfast Recipes You Will Love

Did you Make This Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!

And don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram!

Christmas Morning Coffee CakePrint

Christmas Morning Coffee Cake

Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Christmas Morning Coffee Cake is a deliciously moist bundt cake with a unique hint of sherry wine that is always a crowd favorite at a family breakfast or a party.

Ingredients

  • 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
  • 1 package Vanilla Instant Pudding (large box)
  • 3/4 cups Oil
  • 3/4 cups Sherry
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1 tablespoon Butter
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (Pecans or Walnuts)
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Bundt Pan

Instructions

  1. Combine cake mix, pudding, oil, eggs, sherry, and butter in a mixing bowl.
  2. Beat mixture on high speed for 7 minutes.
  3. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in a separate bowl.
  4. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased bunt pan.
  5. Sprinkle nut mixture on top of cake batter.
  6. Pour on the remaining batter.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
  8. Once cool, sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar.

Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!

© Two Sisters Crafting
Cuisine: American / Category: Cakes