Today I am so excited to share with you a modified version of our favorite cake recipe: Chocolate Peppermint Cake. I shared this last year on Sweet C’s Designs, but now I am sharing it with you here, with my girl Courtney’s blessing, of course. When I married into my husband’s family I was given a great gift: the gift of their traditional birthday cake recipe. It is called “Decadent Chocolate Cake,” and it’s from an old Silver Palate cookbook of my mother-in-law’s that is falling apart from use and love. It truly is decadent. I adore it. The cake is so moist, and the frosting is more like fudge than frosting. Mmmm….
We were invited to have dinner with some family friends last year and I was put in charge of the dessert. (My favorite food assignment, by the way!) I decided to mix up the Decadent Chocolate Cake recipe by giving it a holiday twist. The crushed candy cane made the cake a bit stickier, but it was still divine. My husband (who, I will freely admit it, is a much more skilled cook than I) says that the extra sugar changed the chemistry of the cake, so you could try adding a teaspoon or so of peppermint extract instead of a crushed candy cane if you so desire. The frosting was perfect. I totally finished the cake off for breakfast the morning after I made it. (I wish I were kidding….I have problems.) 😉
It is worth noting that we live in Denver, which is very high altitude and very dry, so you may have to adjust the recipe a bit if you live at sea level. (Although living in lower, very humid St. Louis this cake always turned out dynamite, so maybe not!) If you want to make the traditional cake then just leave out anything pepperminty and you will be good to go!
This cake takes some effort, but it is worth it. I will walk you through the steps in pictures and then type the recipe in a straightforward, list format at the end of the post. Now let’s get cooking!
You start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Now boil 1 cup of water and pour it right into your mixing bowl over 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and a stick of butter. Leave it there until the butter and chocolate are melted. (You can stir it occasionally to speed up the process.)
Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 cups of sugar, and two egg yolks, one yolk at a time. Mix well after each addition.
Mix a 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 cup sour cream in a seperate bowl. Let stand for a few minutes while you work on the next step. It will sort of froth up a bit.
Time to get festive! Finely crush a candy cane until it is a powder. I used my dad’s Vitamix. That thing is AMAZING. If you so choose, you could use peppermint extract instead of a finely crushed candy cane. I would guess it would take a teaspoon or so, but I haven’t tried it, so experiment at your own risk.
Now you are going to sift together your dry ingredients: 2 cups MINUS TWO TABLESPOONS of flour (weird, I know), 1 teaspoon baking powder, and the finely crushed candy cane. I don’t usually bother to sift together the dry ingredients, let’s be honest, but I do in this recipe. I just love it too much to mess with it.
Whisk the sour cream mixture into the batter. Now add the dry ingredients and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until they are “stiff but not dry.” Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the batter. Now scoop the remaining egg whites into the bowl and fold them into the batter with a spatula.
Grease and flour your bundt pan (I am lazy, so I use Baking PAM) very well. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for approximately 40 – 50 minutes, or until the sides of the cake are pulling away from the pan and a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean. Cool the cake in the pan for a bit, then turn it out of the pan very carefully and let it cool completely prior to frosting.
Once your cake is cool it is time to make the frosting. This is very easy, but don’t walk away from it. It needs stirring! Combine 2 Tablespoons butter, 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, 6 Tablespoons whipping cream, 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a sauce pan. Melt and combine the ingredients over low heat, whisking and stirring consistently. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Let the frosting cool slightly and add a bit more powdered sugar if needed to achieve a spreadable thickness.
Spread the frosting onto the cake while the frosting is still warm. I made my husband frost the cake while I was running around getting our kids ready, and I forgot to take a picture of the process. He uses a small spatula and drizzles it over the top and then spreads it gently. Now decorate it with some coarsely chopped candy canes if desired.
Mmmmm….ENJOY!
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups (MINUS 2 TABLESPOONS) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 candy canes, one finely crushed and one coarsely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ¾ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 6 Tablespoons whipping cream
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar (or more as needed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour boiling water over unsweetened chocolate and butter. Let it stand until melted.
- Stir in vanilla and sugar.
- Whisk in egg yolks one yolk at a time. Mix well after each addition.
- Mix the baking soda and sour cream in a seperate bowl. Let stand for a few minutes.
- Finely crush a candy cane until it is a powder. (If you so choose, you could use peppermint extract instead of a finely crushed candy cane. I would guess it would take a teaspoon or so, but I haven't tried it, so experiment at your own risk.)
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and finely crushed candy cane.
- Whisk the sour cream mixture into the wet batter.
- Now add the dry ingredients and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until they are "stiff but not dry."
- Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the batter.
- Scoop the remaining egg whites into the bowl and fold them into the batter with a spatula.
- Grease and flour your bundt pan (I am lazy, so I use Baking PAM) very well and pour in the batter.
- Bake for approximately 40 - 50 minutes, or until the sides of the cake are pulling away from the pan and a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan for a bit, then turn it out of the pan very carefully and let it cool completely prior to frosting.
- Once the cake has cooled COMPLETELY you can prepare the frosting.
- Combine frosting ingredients in a sauce pan.
- Melt and combine the ingredients over low heat, whisking and stirring consistently.
- Let the frosting cool slightly and add a bit more powdered sugar if needed to achieve a spreadable thickness.
- Spread the frosting onto the cake while the frosting is still warm.
- Decorate the cake with some coarsely chopped candy canes if desired.
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The cake looks amazingly delicious!! You had me all the way until the egg whites. I’ve tried countless times to make stiff egg whites and have not succeeded. It’s like my achilles heel. Ugh!! I blame it on the fact that I live in Houston, TX where the humidity is its own presence…lol!! I’m pinning this recipe for later. Thanks so much!!
Maybe you need to whip them on a higher speed for much, much longer?? I find more success with a hand mixer for egg whites. We got this to work in St Louis, which is also sickeningly humid, so I hope you can too!! Good luck!
This is going on my to do list for this weekend!
Thanks!
Yum!!!
I’m stopping by from Link Party Palooza! You had me at chocolate and peppermint in the same recipe! This cake looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it.
I would love for you to drop by my blog at http://www.littledairyontheprairie.com