Peppermint Chocolate Cake

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This Peppermint Chocolate Cake is made with three layers of moist chocolate cake that are filled and frosted with peppermint buttercream and peppermint pieces! It’s finished off with a beautiful chocolate drip and is perfect for Christmas!

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Peppermint is a classic holiday flavor that is so fresh and tasty and just feels like Christmas! In a cake such as this one, there’s lots to love but here are some of my favorite things.

• Super easy. The cake layers for this dessert are based on my favorite chocolate cake recipe which is just incredibly easy to make. It uses pretty much the simplest mixing method in the book and comes together in minutes.
• So moist. The vegetable oil used in the cake batter ensures that the chocolate cake layers are supremely moist. An unbeatable texture.
• A festive flavor combo. There’s just something about chocolate and peppermint married together. It reminds me of the classic peppermint bark I used to have as a kid at Christmas time. I hope it gets you into the holiday spirit as much as it gets me.
• Impressive. Not only will the flavor of this cake have people asking you where you bought it, it’s also pretty enough to impress all your friends and family. The pop of red from the peppermint is stunning and festive.

What You’ll Need

In order to make this chocolate peppermint cake recipe, you will need the following ingredients. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.

Chocolate Cake Layers

• All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure it properly, preferably with a food scale. Too much flour is the most common culprit to a dry cake.
• Sugar – Added for sweetness, naturally, but sugar also adds to the tender texture of the cake.
• Natural unsweetened cocoa powder – While I recommend natural unsweetened cocoa and it is ideal in this recipe, you could use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Just be aware that the cakes may not rise as much.
• Baking soda – To give the cake it’s rise and contribute to the tender texture.
• Salt – For flavor! If you leave it out, you’ll have a bland cake.
• Eggs – The eggs should be large in size, not medium or extra large.
• Milk – I use 2% milk, but whole milk or buttermilk also work well.
• Vegetable oil – The vegetable oil makes the cake layers so nice and moist. You won’t want to swap this out for butter. The result will not be the same.
• Vanilla extract
• Hot water – Hot water helps the cocoa powder bloom to bring out the chocolate flavor.

Peppermint Buttercream

• Unsalted butter – Start with room-temperature butter. If it is too cold, you will find yourself with a lumpy frosting.
• Powdered sugar – To add volume to your frosting and get it a good consistency for decorating. Feel free to reduce it, if desired. Just keep in mind that adjustments change the consistency of the frosting.
• Heavy cream – Helps give you a creamy buttercream and adjust the consistency of the buttercream to make it thinner, if needed.
• Vanilla extract and peppermint extract – For flavor. I highly recommend the vanilla. It’s subtle sweetness helps to balance out the peppermint so that it’s not too toothpaste-y.
• Salt – You don’t have to use salt, but it does cut down the sweetness just a bit and amplifies the flavor of the buttercream.
• Peppermint pieces – For between the cake layers and for decorating. They add a touch of texture and a lovely pop of color.

Chocolate Ganache

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Dark or milk chocolate chips would also work, but will change the consistency of the ganache slightly.
• Heavy whipping cream – Combined with the chocolate to create ganache. Adjusting it will thin or thicken the ganache. The high fat content also keeps it nice and creamy. Swapping it for milk or something else will thin it out.

How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Here’s a basic overview of how to make this chocolaty, pepperminty masterpiece. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

Make the Cakes

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 300°F, line the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and grease the sides.
• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add wet ingredients. Stir the eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil.

• Add water. Combine the vanilla and hot water and stir it into the batter. It will be very thin.
• Bake. Divide batter between cake pans and bake for 30-33 minutes.
• Cool. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes before turning them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Make the Buttercream and Assemble the Cake

• Make the buttercream. Beat the butter until smooth and then mix in half of the powdered sugar followed by 3 tablespoons of heavy cream along with the vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and salt. Mix in the remaining powdered sugar. If the frosting is too thick, add a little extra heavy cream.
• Stack, fill, and frost. Cut the domes from the tops of the cakes and set the first layer on a serving plate. Spread 1 cup of frosting over the cake, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of peppermint pieces over the frosting, and spread a thin layer of frosting over the peppermint pieces in a few places. Stack the second cake layer on top and repeat. Add the final cake later and frost the outside of the cake.

• Make the chocolate ganache. Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil and pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow the mixture to sit fo 2-3 minutes and then whisk until smooth.
• Decorate. Drizzle the chocolate ganache around the edge of the cake, allow it to firm up a bit, and then pipe shells around the top edge of the cake with the remaining frosting and sprinkle with peppermint pieces.

Tips for Success

Perfect the texture, flavor, and appearance of this chocolate peppermint cake by following these simple tips and tricks. You’ll be a layer cake expert in no time.

• Don’t over-mix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients for the cake batter, be sure not to over-mix. This can cause the glutens in the flour to over-develop, resulting in a tough, overly dense cake.
• Cool completely. Allow the cakes to cool completely before attempting to assemble. If they are too warm, the frosting will slide off the cake layers.
• Start level. Don’t forget to remove the domes from the cake layers. If you skip this step, your cake won’t stack properly.
• Consistency matters. You want to make sure that your frosting isn’t too stiff or too runny. Stiff frosting won’t spread properly and runny frosting will slide off the cake. Do your homework beforehand and learn how you can adjust the amounts of powdered sugar and heavy cream to get the right frosting consistency.
• Frost like a pro. Don’t go in blind here, folks, check out my post on frosting a smooth cake before diving in.
• Perfect the chocolate drip. I highly recommend you take a look at my post on How to Make a Chocolate Drip Cake if you want the prettiest peppermint chocolate cake possible. I also like to use a squeeze bottle to make life easier.

Proper Storage

You can store this cake at room temperature for about 24 hours but then it should be refrigerated. I do recommend serving it at room temperature to experience the best texture and flavor.

• Refrigerator. Store the cake in an airtight cake carrier or wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap (I suggest using toothpicks to prop the plastic away from the decorations). You could also slice the cake and arrange the slices in a single layer in an airtight container. This peppermint-chocolate dream will stay good up to 5 days.
• Freezer. You can definitely freeze the cake layers and buttercream individually for up to 3 months. I don’t usually recommend freezing fully frosted cakes, but you can and this one would probably be fine. Just keep in mind that condensation that forms upon thawing may melt the peppermint pieces in the middle of the cake layers. To freeze the full cake, pop the cake in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up before wrapping the whole thing in a double layer of plastic wrap. Another options is to arrange leftover slices in a single layer in an airtight container. Store the cake in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge before diving in.

More Peppermint Desserts

Christmas is coming and it’s the season for peppermint desserts! Here are some of my other favorite recipes that satisfy that peppermint craving.

• Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Peppermint Patties
• No Bake Peppermint Cheesecake
• Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Chocolate Sugar Cookies
• Peppermint Sugar Cookies
• Peppermint Brownie Ice Cream Cake
• Peppermint Chip Layer Cake
• Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

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