Moist Chocolate Peppermint Cake
Print Pin VideoThis Chocolate Peppermint Cake is the perfect holiday treat! Rich, moist chocolate cake layers are infused with a hint of peppermint and paired with a light, fluffy peppermint whipped cream frosting. Finished with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes for extra crunch, it’s ideal for holiday parties or cozy nights in!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Chocolate Peppermint Cake
- 1¾ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (75 g) cocoa powder - Dutch processed preferred (see note 1)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt - only use ½ tsp if using salted butter in this recipe
- 1 cup (200 g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (180 g) milk - room temperature, whole milk
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter - melted
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavored vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 2½ tsps vanilla extract/essence
- ¾ tsp peppermint extract/essence
- ¾ cup (180 g) strong hot coffee - I use 1 tbsp instant coffee powder in 180g (¾ cup) hot water, but you can use espresso as well.
Peppermint Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1½ cups (345 g) mascarpone - cold
- 1 cup (115 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners' sugar
- 1½ tsps vanilla extract/essence
- 1½ tsps peppermint extract/essence
- 2¼ cups (515 g) heavy cream - cold
Extra
- 3 (or more) candy canes - for decorating. I crush mine (see video for demonstration).
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8-inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release). Line the bottoms with parchment paper as well.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In a large bowl add in brown sugar, white sugar, milk, melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract/essence. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
- Add in presifted dry ingredients from earlier to the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add in hot coffee and mix with a whisk until well combined. The mixture should be smooth, but avoid overmixing.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans from earlier. Drop the cake pans lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the cake pans for 20 minutes, before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. Once cooled, prepare the frosting.
Peppermint Whipped Cream Frosting
- In a large bowl, combine mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla and peppermint extract/essence. Mix on a low speed until well combined and smooth. If using a stand mixer use the whisk attachment.
- Add in heavy cream and mix on a low speed for about 10 seconds (to allow everything to combine without the cream splattering), and then turn up the speed to a medium-high and whip until you reach stiff peaks. Keep a careful eye on the mixture as you don't want to overwhip the cream.
- Once the cakes are cool you can assemble the cake and once ready to serve, sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top for a bit of extra texture (if you put them on too early they may melt). See blog post above or recipe video to see how I assembled mine 🙂
Video
Notes
Note 1. Dutch-processed cocoa powder has a smoother and less acidic taste compared to natural cocoa powder. It also has a darker/richer color so will give you that deep chocolate color (like my chocolate sheet cake). One way to check if a brand of cocoa powder is Dutch processed is to check the package and see if it has any acidity regulators in the ingredients list. The cocoa will also be darker and less of a bright brown color (compared to natural cocoa).
Note 2. If using a convection oven (fan bake), bake at 160 °C (320°F) as the fan function bakes food faster.
Nutrition
Calories: 709kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 226mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 1306IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
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