It’s Peppermint season! Really, peppermint is good at any time of year, but there is something magical about peppermint at the holidays. The brightly colored candy cane is eye catching, and the sweetness brings me back to my childhood when I would get those tiny candy canes from the mall Santa. Each year, I would craft my wish list and look forward to my parents taking me and my brothers to see the man in the red suit. After listening to my requests, the nice man would hand me the bit of peppermint that I would savor. I grew up in a small town, and it was also tradition to drive out to a local farm house that went all out for Christmas with lights and music everywhere. The house became such an attraction that the owners would have Santa greet children in the cars lined up the street, and this Santa would pass out the tiny candy canes too. As if tiny candy canes weren’t enough, I would also find that Santa had left a GIANT candy cane in my stocking Christmas morning. Like I said, peppermint brings me back to the magic of childhood.
This cake is a recipe I developed to celebrate the season. It has something for everyone with white chocolate and dark chocolate and bits of peppermint. It’s peppermint bark in the form of a cake. I hope you make this cake and that you, too, are reminded of happy childhood moments. Enjoy!
Some Tips:
I like the clean flavor of a peppermint oil, but use it carefully- a little goes a long way. Also, make sure your peppermint oil is food grade and not something to be used in a diffuser.
If your liquor cabinet is not as well stocked as mine (my 21 year old son recently took a part time job as a bar tender while he finishes college), you may need to pick up the liqueur. I use Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur in this recipe. A clear creme de cacao would be a fair (and less expensive) substitute.
The first step in cake preparation is to set out your ingredients before you will need them.
This is part of the recipe, but highly optional. I do find it keeps the cake moist and adds a bit more white chocolate flavor.
Most baking recipes call for that standard 350, but I found that baking this at 325 kept the white cake from becoming too brown too soon.
The buttercream recipe will make more than enough to fill, frost, and decorate this cake as shown in the pictures. You will probably have more than you need. Also bringing back fond childhood memories- I suggest making sandwich cookies with graham crackers and that leftover frosting!
The key to good frosting is to mix it thoroughly. Often, people fail to mix the frosting until it is light and fluffy. Instead, they end up with sugar paste. You are unlikely to over mix this frosting!
Peppermint Bark Cake
A Peppermint Bark Cake celebrating the magic of the season. White chocolate cake layers and dark chocolate peppermint ganache filling with buttercream and candy canes. A beautiful and tasty addition to your holiday table.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
For The Cake:
1 cup butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup white chocolate liqueur
*Optional Simple Syrup: 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 2 Tablespoons white chocolate liqueur
For the Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/8 teaspoon peppermint oil
For the Buttercream:
2 1/2 cups (5 sticks) butter, 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt
For the Decoration:
Pieces of peppermint bark (I used Ghirardelli), crushed candy canes, and chocolate drip.
*Optional Chocolate Drip: 1/3 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 and prepare three 8″ round cake pans with cooking spray and parchment paper lining the bottoms.
For the Cake:
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or with a hand held mixer, mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy; about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and the vegetable oil. Blend well and then add the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the buttermilk and the white chocolate liqueur. Divide batter evenly between the three pans and bake for approximately 25 minutes. You want the cake to rise and be done in the middle, but not appear too dark. An overbaked cake is a dry cake. Let the layers sit and cool for 5-10 minutes before turning them out of the pans. Once removed from the pans, brush with simple syrup.
For the Simple Syrup: In a small sauce pan, bring the sugar and water to a boil just until you can see the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add the white chocolate liqueur.
For the Filling:
In a bowl or a saucepan, warm the heavy cream to steaming, but not boiling. This is one of the few things I actually use my microwave for. Add the chocolate chips and let sit for 1-2 minutes to melt. Stir the melted chocolate and cream together and add the peppermint oil. Set aside to cool. This will need to be at room temperature or cooler to use as filling. You can speed up the process by placing the bowl in the refrigerator, remembering to stir the mixture occasionally.
For the Buttercream:
In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, mix the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix it until it is light and fluffy.
To Assemble:
Make sure all cake layers and filling are cooled to room temperature. Place one layer of the cake on a plate or stand and pipe buttercream around the edge to act as a dam for the filling. Place half of the ganache on the cake layer and top with cake layer #2. Repeat with the buttercream and filling, finishing with a cake layer for the top. Use more buttercream to frost the top and sides of the cake. I encourage creating a crumb coat and letting that chill for 10 minutes before continuing with more frosting and decoration. After frosting your cake, you could add the optional chocolate drip. Melt the chocolate chips in warm heavy cream. Spoon the warm chocolate onto the cake, or use a bottle/dispenser to create drips. Use decorative tips to pipe frosting rosettes on top, wedge pieces of peppermint bark onto the top of the cake, and crush candy canes to sprinkle on the sides and top. Have fun and be creative!
Notes
This cake has a number of components, take your time and break it down into steps. I often make layer cakes over the course of two days by making my components on day one and assembling on day two.
I use Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur in this recipe. A clear creme de cacao is a fair substitute.
Keywords: Peppermint, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Candy Canes, Holiday Cakes
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