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Peppermint Chocolate Cake

Maybe the most classic of holiday flavor combinations - this cake combines rich chocolate and bright peppermint notes for the ultimate seasonal dessert!
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Prep Time:40 minutes
Cook Time:20 minutes
Total Time:1 hour
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Peppermint Chocolate Cake

  • 225 grams all-purpose flour
  • 325 grams granulated sugar
  • 70 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 65 grams vegetable oil
  • 200 grams buttermilk, room temperature
  • 100 grams whole egg (approx. 2 large eggs)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 200 ml hot water
  • 2 tsp espresso powder

Peppermint Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 200 grams egg white
  • 400 grams granulated sugar
  • 454 grams unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • Red gel food coloring

Assembly

  • 5-6 icing sheets (I get mine from https://www.sugar-art.ca/collections/icing-frosting-paper)
  • Edible glue / fondant glue

Instructions

Peppermint Chocolate Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF, and grease and line a half sheet pan with parchment. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Combine hot water with espresso powder (or simply use hot coffee instead), and add to wet mixture in two batches, whisking to incorporate after each addition.
  4. To the wet mixture, add dry ingredients and whisk together until fully combined (just until there are no visible dry pockets of flour).
  5. Pour batter into prepared half sheet pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Peppermint Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  1. Add egg whites and granulated sugar in a medium, heat-proof bowl, and whisk until combined.
  2. Add a thin layer of water to a medium pot, and place over medium heat on the stove until steaming. Place bowl with egg whites and sugar on top, being sure that the water does not reach the bottom of the bowl. Whisk constantly until mixture heats to 160ºF on an instant-read thermometer and is no longer grainy when rubbed between your fingers.
  3. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks are formed and the bowl is cool to the touch.
  4. Switch to a paddle attachment and slowly add cubed butter while mixing on medium speed. Once all the butter is added, continue mixing until smooth and glossy in appearance. Add vanilla bean paste and peppermint extract and mix to combine.
  5. Remove approximately 1/2 of the buttercream and add powdered sugar and red gel food coloring to get your desired shade of red. Color will darken over time, but you can also remove 1/4 cup of colored buttercream and microwave it briefly (approximately 10 seconds is enough) to get a deeper color. Add the melted buttercream back to the rest and mix thoroughly to combine.

Assembly

  1. Place a sheet of parchment on top of cooled cake and turn out onto a cutting surface. Remove bottom parchment sheet. Using a ruler, measure and cut the sheet cake into 6 squares (3x2).
  2. Prepare 2 piping bags (no tips necessary), one with white buttercream and the other with red. Reserve enough white buttercream to do a rough crumb coat.
  3. Place one square cake layer on a cake board and pipe stripes of white and red buttercream (alternating) on top. Repeat with remaining layers, making sure that stripes are piped in the same direction on each layer. End with a top layer of cake. I find that 5 cake layers creates an even "box" shape (leaving 1 extra square for snacking). Make note of which direction the stripes are facing!** Crumb coat cake and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Trim icing sheets (if needed - sometimes they come with little white borders that we don't need) and remove from backing. Apply to chilled cake, aligning the bottom and pressing gently up the cake to adhere. At the corners, trim excess icing sheet vertically, and fold over the top of the cake (it's ok that these overlap on top). Repeat on all sides until covered.
  5. For the bow, trim icing sheet into strips of desired bow width. Position one longer strip at the bottom-center of one side of the cake, and lay it across the top, and then over to the over side. Repeat on the remaining blank sides to create the criss-cross of the bow. You may need to use a tiny bit of leftover buttercream or edible glue to adhere these strips to the icing sheets covering the cake.
  6. Then, with two medium-length strips, create two loops that meet in the middle, and wrap the juncture with a smaller loop (seam side down) to create the bow. Use edible glue to adhere together. Cut another two smaller strips, and position to originate under the bow extending towards the edge. Again, use a tiny bit of leftover buttercream of edible glue to adhere.

Notes

* I'd suggest marking the cake board to designate the 'front' of the cake. Given the stripes are all in one direction, you want to be sure you cut across the front of the cake to achieve the checkerboard red/white design cross-section!
* If the buttercream looks curdled at some point, simply continue mixing until it is smooth and glossy.
* I am not sponsored in any way, but I've enjoyed using the icing sheets from https://www.sugar-art.ca/collections/icing-frosting-paper.