This chocolate peppermint cake is the perfect holiday bundt cake. It is a chocolate peppermint cake with a silky chocolate ganache made with an organic sugar. This cake is moist, rich, soft and topped with candy canes.
This post is sponsored by Wholesome Sweeteners and all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Stephanie's Sweet Treats possible!
Steps To Make Chocolate Bundt Cake
This cake has a strong chocolate flavor with just a little bit of peppermint extract. I am not usually a big peppermint fan, but this cake has just a light hint of peppermint. It is perfect. Here are the steps to make it:
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make sure the flour and cocoa powder are sifted to avoid any dry lumps.
- Use Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Cane Sugar- The only sugar that you should use is the organic cane sugar! It is a fair trade and less processed sugar which is a must for holiday baking!
- Mix wet ingredients together- Mix all the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla together in a bowl.
- Slowly add in the hot water- The hot water should be steaming. Then, pour very slowly into the wet ingredients. Whisk continuously to avoid over heating the eggs. No scrambled eggs here!
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients- Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Use a mixer and mix on low until combined.
Once everything is combined, pour into the bundt pan.
The Best Organic Sugar
Wholesome Sweeteners is one of the best organic sugar companies. They have fair trade sugar and they support the farmers who harvest the sugarcane.
I strongly believe in companies that offer great product and have great company values. Since I am doing SO much holiday baking, I need a quality and less processed sugar.
How To Prepare the Bundt Pan
Bundt cakes are so much easier than layer cakes. All you need is the bundt cake and a glaze (or in this case a chocolate ganache). The hardest part is making sure the cake gets out of the pan in one piece.
You can use any 10 cup bundt pan. I used this bundt pan because I love the swirls. It has to be 10 cup to fit all the cake batter.
Next, spray the pan very generously with a baking non-stick spray. It has to be the spray with flour. Spray every inch of that pan.
Then, pour the cake batter into the pan. Bake for 32-35 minutes. The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Now, let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes. This allows the cake to slowly cool and and pull from the edges of the pan. Allowing it to sit in the pan is crucial.
Next, flip the pan onto a cooling rack and pull off the pan. It should come right off!
Silky Chocolate Ganache
This chocolate ganache is a staple that I use to make chocolate drips on layered cakes. It is silky, smooth, and pours so well over the swirls on this bundt cake.
To make it, heat the heavy cream in a sauce pan. Heat it until it starts to steam and is hot. Don't boil the cream because then it will be way too hot for the chocolate.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The hot cream will melt the chocolate as it sits. Then, stir until it becomes silky and smooth.
Immediately pour it over the room temperature cake. Use all of the chocolate because the more chocolate the better.
Decorating The Bundt Cake
The chocolate peppermint cake should only be decorated with the crushed candy cane pieces right before you serve it.
I noticed that the next day after recipe testing this cake, the candy canes melted into the chocolate. It also gave it a weird texture. It still tasted great, it just looked odd. To avoid that, decorate the cake right before it is served.
To crush up the candy canes, place them in a zip lock bag. Then, smash them. I used a rolling pin to smash the candy canes into small pieces.
Can This Cake Be Made Into A Sheet Cake?
Yes! The chocolate peppermint cake can be made into a sheet cake! Spray a 9X13 pan with baking non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Then, bake the cake for 25-30 minutes. You can top the cake with chocolate ganache and the candy canes.
Making This Cake Ahead of Time
You can definitely make this cake ahead of time, especially if your holiday to do list is long.
Once the cake is made, wrap it very tightly with cling wrap. Then, store in the fridge if you need it within a day or two. You can also store the cake in the freezer up to 30 days.
I don't recommend glazing the cake before freezing it. The chocolate ganache tastes best when it is fresh.
After, you make the cake it can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge.
Other Cake Recipes To Try
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made this cake. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Chocolate Peppermint Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Bundt Cake
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups Wholesome Sweetener cane sugar
- ¾ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 Large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup Buttermilk room temperature
- ½ cup Oil canola or vegetable
- 1 TBSP Pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Peppermint extract
- 1 cup Hot water
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips you can also use dark chips
- ¾ cup Heavy cream
- Crushed peppermint candy canes for decoration
Instructions
Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 10 cup bundt pan with baking non-stick spray. Spray it very well.
- Using a mixer, sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Add in cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix on low until combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and peppermint extract together. Slowly add in hot and steaming water. Whisk it in slowly to not over cook the eggs.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until combined. Scrape the bowl. Mix again for 20 seconds.
- Pour batter in bundt pan. Bake for 32-35 minutes. The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to a cooling rack. Let cake cool completely before decorating.
Chocolate Ganache
- Pour chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat until hot and steaming. Pour hot cream over the chocolate chips
- Let it sit for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Then, use a rubber spatula to mix the chocolate until smooth and glossy. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cooled bundt cake. Top with crushed candy canes. Keep cake at room temperature.
Stephanie k says
This cake was so good and moist! ( I didn’t add in the peppermint extract though). I was a bit skeptical of the recipe because I’ve never made a cake where I added hot water or where I added the dry into the wet, but it was soooo good!!! I will def be making again 🙂
Stephanie Rutherford says
I am so glad you loved this cake!