Chocolate Peppermint Cake

This incredibly delicious chocolate peppermint cake is topped with a chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes! Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this rich and moist peppermint chocolate bundt cake!

Ingredients

I used a Nordicware Brillance Bundt Pan but any 10-12 cup bundt pan will do.

• Dutch-process Cocoa Powder. I much prefer the taste of Dutch-process cocoa to natural cocoa powder. Dutch-process provides a much smoother, richer chocolate flavor. But most of the acidity has been stripped so for recipes that call for chemical leavening agents like this one, you should not just swap out natural cocoa.
• Hot Strong Coffee. Coffee does not make the cake taste like coffee, it instead blends with the chocolate to enhance the chocolate notes for an ultimate rich, chocolate cake. If I don't have any coffee in the house, I will use a teaspoon or two of espresso powder mixed with hot water. We will bloom the cocoa powder with the hot coffee, most people use hot water but since coffee compliments chocolate so well I skip straight to a strong coffee!
• Salted Butter. I like to use salted butter but you could use unsalted and just add a pinch more salt. Since we are cooking the butter, cocoa powder, and coffee together you can just grab the cold butter straight out of the fridge, no need to soften it!
• All-Purpose Flour. Make sure you measure your flour properly. Too much or too little flour can drastically affect the structure of the cake. AP flour is also known as plain flour in some parts of the world!
• Granulated Sugar. The sugar plays two parts in the cake, the sweetness, and the structure! You can also use caster sugar.
• Baking Soda. For baking soda to activate you need acid and buttermilk plays that role in this recipe.
• Baking Powder. This chemical leavening agent is already active but you don't want too much of it because it could cause the cake to rise and fall drastically while baking or also create a metallic taste.
• Salt. Salt not only balances out the sweetness but also helps other ingredient's flavors shine bright!
• Vegetable Oil. I love the taste of butter-based cakes but butter does not retain as much moisture in a cake as oil does. So for that reason, I love to use a combination of both butter and oil.
• Buttermilk. Like I said earlier this is used to help activate the baking soda but buttermilk also provides extra moisture to the cake.
• Sour Cream. Sour cream also provides intense moisture and since sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products it also helps create a rich texture.
• Vanilla Extract. Pairing vanilla with chocolate just enhances the chocolate flavor. Use the good stuff, no imitation vanilla, please!
• Peppermint Extract. You have to be careful to measure properly, this is very potent!!
• Large Eggs. Eggs act as a binder but also provide richness and structure to the cake. Your eggs should be at room temperature. 

If you love mint check out my andes chocolate chip cookies.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and grease a 10-cup Bundt pan heavily, make sure you get every nook and cranny so the cake will release from the pan properly.

In a medium saucepan over low-medium heat cook together the cocoa powder, hot coffee, and butter. Stir frequently and let cook until all of the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and let cool for ten minutes or so.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Once the cocoa mixture is cooled add the vegetable oil, sour cream, buttermilk, peppermint extract, and vanilla.

Mix to combine once fully combined add the eggs and whisk to combine.

Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until fully combined, make sure there are no flour streaks left behind but don't over mix the batter or you risk a tough cake.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 38-42 minutes, if you stick a knife in the center of the cake it should come out with no wet batter, moist crumbs are okay. Let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack then place a wire rack on top of the cake and flip over to invert the cake onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Place the cake on a serving plate when fully cooled and ready to add the chocolate frosting.

In a small saucepan add the cream and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes to warm it, you don't want to boil it though.

In a large bowl add the chocolate, peppermint extract, and corn syrup then pour the warmed cream directly over it.

Let it sit untouched for 5 minutes then using a whisk mix well together until a shiny homogenous chocolate ganache is formed. Store in the freezer for 20 minutes, I stir every 5 minutes or so, to chill the ganache and thicken it a bit.

When ready to use I like to pour it into a measuring cup with a pour spout to easily drizzle it on the cake.

When you are ready to serve the cake sprinkle on crushed candy canes. If you add the candy canes ahead of time they will almost kind of melt into the ganache so I prefer to add them at the last minute.

Store the cake in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you are in a very warm environment I would store it in the fridge but let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving.

How to freeze

I would suggest freezing the cake unfrosted then make the chocolate ganache on the day you want to serve the cake.

To freeze the bundt cake let it cool completely on a wire rack then wrap in plastic wrap tightly, twice. Then wrap it in foil. This helps prevent as much air from getting into the cake as possible.

To thaw the cake let it sit in the fridge overnight or let it sit on the counter at room temperature for a couple of hours.

More chocolate cake recipes

For a standard chocolate layer cake check out my best chocolate cake recipe. We use it all the time.

My sister's birthday request is often this salted caramel chocolate cake recipe!

This triple chocolate cherry cake my friend Averie makes is absolutely scrumptious!

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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