This dreamy chocolate cake is kissed with peppermint and white chocolate for an amazing holiday treat. On the outside a crown of red and white swirls and a skirt of crushed candy cane create a simple but elegant decoration scheme, while on the inside a two tone swirl awaits to delight your guests!
Pro Tips For the Best Chocolate Peppermint Cake
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- If you don’t want to make Italian buttercream you can use the American variety. I just prefer the smoothness and taste of the Italian variety. I know it’s a pain to make two different types of frosting though!
- To pipe the two-tone frosting you fill one bag (1/2 way full) with white frosting, one bag with blue frosting and then put both bags in a third piping bag. No need for a tip, just snip about an inch off each bag.
If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
A Bit About Italian Meringue Buttercream
Both Italian and Swiss meringue buttercream give you super smooth and VERY creamy frostings perfect for cake decorating! They are as a rule less sweet than American buttercream with is a plus for some and a munis for others. I have a FULL how to video and lots of tips in the blog posts for How to Make Italian Buttercream and How to Make Swiss Buttercream. Go ahead and check them out if you have any questions or just want a refresher!
How to Make a Chocolate Peppermint Cake
1 Butter and flour 4 six inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift the flour baking soda and powder, salt and cocoa powder.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Beat the eggs and yolks in one at a time, then add in the vanilla and peppermint extract. In three batches, mix in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Don’t over-mix! Divide batter evenly into pans and bake at 350f for about 25 – 30 minutes or until the centers are done. Allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack.
4. For the peppermint buttercream, Beat the butter and melted (and cooled) white chocolate together until well combined. Mix in the sifted powdered sugar and peppermint extract. Add the cream a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Separate into two batches. One will remain white and the other will be colored pink or red. Transfer each to a piping bag (fill half or a third full) with the tip snipped off and then add the two bags into a third bag fitted with a large round tip or with the tip snipped off.
4. For the Italian Buttercream, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and 1/3 a cup of the sugar on medium high in a stand mixer. At the same time add 1 cup of the sugar and 1/3 cup water to a small sauce pan and cook on medium high. Stir to mix the sugar and water and then keep an eye on the temperature using a candy thermometer. When the sugar is at 240F and the egg whites reach the soft peak stage.
5. Slowly drizzle the sugar into the running mixer and lead the mixer running for 10 or so minutes to allow the meringue to cool. Switch to a paddle attachment then add in the butter a tablespoon at a time wile the mixer is set to a medium speed.
7. Pipe the buttercream on the first cake layer. Sprinkle with crushed candy cane and repeat.
8. Cover in the assembled cake in a thin coat of buttercream. Smooth and transfer to fridge to chill.
9. Give your Italian buttercream a quick whip then cover cake with it. Smooth sides with a bench scraper and top using an offset spatula. I misplaced my bench scraper when I shot this so I smoother the whole thing with an offset spatula.
10. Press crushed candy cane onto the bottom third of the cake.
11. To pipe the two-tone dollops, apply red buttercream to two sides of a piping bag fitted with an 869 tip then fill with white buttercream. I piped the dollops separately onto a square of parchment paper then chill the dollops.
12. You can now easily transfer the chilled dollops to the cake. You can TOTALLY pipe directly on the cake but when I’m making a swirled dollop I like to have the option of discarding the imperfect one instead of trying to scrape them off the cake.
Hope you enjoy!
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this cake then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Peppermint Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240g
- 1 1/2 cup sugar 300g
- 1 cup unsalted butter 227g, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk 236mL
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder + 1 tbsp 58g
- 1/2 tsp baking powder 2g
- 1/2 tsp baking soda 3g
- 1 tsp salt 5g
- 2 tsp vanilla 10mL
- 1 tsp peppermint extract 5mL
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
For the Peppermint Buttercream
- 1 cup white chocolate 170g, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 115g, room temperature
- 1 pound confectioners' sugar 454g, sifted
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract 2mL
- 1/4 cup cream 60mL, add a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached
- 10 drops food coloring
For the Italian Buttercream
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup sugar 300g
- 1/3 cup water 80mL
- 1 pinch cream of tartar
- 1 pound unsalted butter 454g, room temperature
For the Assembly
- 1 cup crushed candy canes (approximately)
- 1 869 piping tip
Instructions
For the Cake
- Butter and flour 4 six inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350F.
- Sift the flour baking soda and powder, salt and cocoa powder.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and yolks in one at a time, then add in the vanilla and peppermint extract.
- In three batches, mix in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Don't over-mix!
- Divide batter evenly into pans and bake at 350f for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the centers are done. Allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack.
For the Peppermint Buttercream
- Beat the butter and melted (and cooled) chocolate together until well combined. Mix in the powdered sugar and peppermint extract. Add the cream a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
For the Italian Buttercream
- Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and 1/3 a cup of the sugar on medium high in a stand mixer. At the same time add the rest of the sugar and water to a small sauce pan and cook on medium high. Stir to mix the sugar and water and then keep an eye on the temperature using a candy thermometer. When the sugar is at 240F and the egg whites reach the soft peak stage, slowly drizzle the sugar into the running mixer and lead the mixer running for 10 or so minutes to allow the meringue to cool. Add in the butter a tablespoon at a time use immediately.
For the Assemby
- Pipe the buttercream on the first cake layer (you can do a two tone swirl if you'd like 🙂 Sprinkle with crushed candy cane and repeat. Crumb coat the exterior and allow to set in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
- Add the Italian buttercream and smooth. Apply the crushed candy cane to the base. Using an 869 tip, pipe dollops onto the top. You can also pipe the dollops onto a piping nail, freeze and apply to the top once set. If you use the piping nail you can twirl it while you pipe to get a swirled dollop.
Notes
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- To pipe the two-tone frosting you fill one bag (1/2 way full) with white frosting, one bag with blue frosting and then put both bags in a third piping bag. No need for a tip, just snip about an inch off each bag.
Nutrition
This looks like a really good recipe! I was wondering why there are 2 extra yolks for the cake batter though. Could they be taken out or are they absolutely required to get the right texture and flavor?
Hi Victoria, they add richness but you could probably eliminate them.
This cake was a hit at a party I went to….I loaded it with Christmas candy on the top and it was the most photographed subject at the event!