Description

This Chocolate Peppermint Cake is a festive and delicious layered cake featuring rich, moist chocolate cake layers infused with peppermint flavor and topped with a smooth, fluffy peppermint Swiss meringue buttercream. Decorated with crushed candy canes and festive sprinkles, it's perfect for holiday celebrations or any time you crave a minty chocolate treat.

Ingredients

Scale

Chocolate Peppermint Cake:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
3/4 cup hot water or hot coffee
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract (optional)

Peppermint Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

6 large egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar, lightly packed
2 cups unsalted butter, cubed and room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract or more to taste
Bright white color gel
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
Red color gel

Assembly:

1/2 cup crushed candy canes plus more for outside of cake
Candy cane sprinkles

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease three 6-inch round baking pans, dust them with cocoa powder, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Combine Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add all dry ingredients and stir to combine thoroughly.
Mix Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients, pouring the hot water or coffee slowly to avoid cooking the eggs if very hot.
Make Batter: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
Divide and Bake: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, using a kitchen scale if desired for accuracy. Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out mostly clean.
Cool Cakes: Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Prepare Swiss Meringue: Combine egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Place the bowl over a hot water bath and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and smooth (about 3 minutes or until it reaches 160F).
Whisk Meringue: Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whisk on medium-high until stiff peaks form and the bowl feels cool (about 5-10 minutes).
Add Butter: Switch to the paddle attachment and slowly add cubed butter, mixing until the buttercream is smooth.
Flavor and Color Buttercream: Add vanilla and peppermint extracts and whip until smooth. Remove 1 1/2 cups of buttercream, add powdered sugar and red color gel to achieve desired red color for decoration. Use bright white gel to whiten remaining frosting if preferred.
Assemble Cake Layers: Place one cake layer on a serving plate, spread about 2/3 cup buttercream on top, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup crushed candy canes. Repeat with remaining layers.
Crumb Coat: Frost the outside of the cake with a thin crumb coat and chill for 20 minutes.
Final Frosting and Decoration: Apply a final thick layer of frosting, smooth using an icing smoother and a cake comb. Pipe red dollops of buttercream on top using a 1M tip, then pipe smaller white dollops between them using a 4B tip. Decorate the cake bottom with crushed candy canes and sprinkles.

Notes

Ensure no egg yolks remain in your egg whites and that your mixer bowl and whisk are completely grease-free to achieve stiff meringue peaks.
The buttercream may look curdled while mixing; continue whipping until it becomes completely smooth.
Use hot coffee instead of water to enhance the chocolate flavor.
You can adjust the peppermint extract amount to match your preferred mint intensity.
For a brighter white buttercream, use bright white gel coloring or try adding a tiny amount of lemon juice.
If you don't have a stand mixer, use a hand mixer and a heatproof bowl to achieve the meringue.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 420 kcal
Sugar: 38 g
Sodium: 220 mg
Fat: 24 g
Saturated Fat: 14 g
Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 48 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 5 g
Cholesterol: 70 mg