Chocolate Peppermint Dream Cake

Course Cakes, Desserts

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 15

Servings people

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

For the peppermint cream:

1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
3/4 cup cream cheese room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract or more to taste
2 drops Red Food Coloring

For the chocolate ganache:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

For the cake:

Melt the butter and chocolate chips together over low heat in a pan on the stove. Stir until smooth and no lumps remain. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs and sugar together until well incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix.
Add the cooled chocolate/butter mixture (can still be slightly warm) and mix with the egg/sugar mixture until well blended.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Pour into a well-greased 9-inch round cake pan. (I highly suggest lining the bottom of the pan with greased parchment paper).
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for five minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake and then cool for an additional ten minutes.
nvert the cake onto a cake stand or serving platter and cool completely. (Remove the parchement paper if it is stuck to the cake)

For the peppermint cream:

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until combined.
Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
Add the peppermint extract and food coloring and beat until well blended.
Spread on top of cooled cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the chocolate ganache:

Heat the cream in a medium-sized pan on the stove over medium-high heat to almost boiling. Remove from heat.
Carefully pour in the chocolate chips, making sure that all of them are covered by the cream. Let sit for five minutes. Stir until smooth and glossy.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more, until spreadable. Spread over the top (and sides, if desired) of cake.
Refrigerate until ready to serve, or sprinkle with crushed candy canes and then refrigerate.

Notes

Impress your guests this holiday season with Chocolate Peppermint Dream Cake. A luscious confection with layers of super rich chocolate and refreshing peppermint.

It looked like a candy cane bomb had been dropped in my kitchen. Little, dangerous shards of pepperminty goodness covered my floor, my counter, and my table. Other small, pointy bits reached far-flung places where they still lay, yet to be discovered. If you have bare feet, beware! You may be impaled by your favorite Christmas candy!

How did my kitchen turn into a war zone? How did this candy cane assault happen? It was all because of this epic Chocolate Peppermint Dream Cake. And my apparent lack of skill when it comes to crushing candy canes. But don’t worry! I’ve learned a few things so that when YOU make this epic Chocolate Peppermint Dream Cake, your kitchen will not need to be surrounded by plastic cones and cordoned off with yellow “danger” tape.

Impress your guests this holiday season with Chocolate Peppermint Dream Cake. A luscious confection with layers of super rich chocolate and refreshing peppermint.

Candy Cane Snowflake

First, you’ll need to chop or crush your candy canes. The best way to do this is to drop about six full-sized candy canes into the food processor or blender and pulse them a few times (between 5 and 10) until you get the consistency you want.

The second-best way to crush candy canes is to put them inside a FREEZER-grade plastic bag! Don’t just use a sandwich bag, or your broken candy canes will just chew through the plastic and make a big mess. Close the bag, squeezing out as much air as you can, and then hit it with a rolling pin or hammer. Some people even like to double-bag their candy canes, or cover the bag with a kitchen cloth while they are hammering. I will tell you that trying to gently cut the candy canes with a large knife on a cutting board is a recipe for a peppermint minefield on your kitchen floor. Don’t do that :)

To create your snowflake shape, you’ll need to cut a snowflake out of waxed paper. First, use your cake pan to trace a circle on the waxed paper and cut it out. Fold the circle in half, then in half again.

Once you have it folded in quarters, fold that into thirds so that it is in the shape of an ice cream cone.

Now cut the bottom tip at an angle. This will create your star center.

Continue cutting along the sides whichever shapes you want. Then unfold your snowflake.

Now your cake should have chilled for about 45 minutes to an hour. You need to make sure that the ganache is pretty set. Touch it gently to make sure it doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Gently lay the snowflake on top of the ganache and smooth it down the best you can.

Then place your crushed candy canes over the top and gently press them into the open spaces.

Now slowly peel the waxed paper snowflake off, and voila! Showstopping Chocolate Peppermint Dream Cake!

Refrigerate until ready to serve (it is fine if you refrigerate it uncovered). This cake is SUPER rich and will easily serve 16 people. Now, can somebody tell me if they sell pre-crushed candy canes at the store?

Making this recipe? Don't forget to rate the recipe below and tag #iheartnaptime on Instagram. Thank you! XO