Peppermint Bark Cake

I don’t know about you but the flavors of peppermint bark are irresistible to me. The rich dark chocolate, the creamy white chocolate, and the bright pop of peppermint ~ they’re all here in this classic peppermint bark cake. It treads the line beautifully between festive and fussy:

• The chocolate cake is easy and foolproof: no mixer, no creaming (you could even use a box mix for a shortcut.)
• The peppermint buttercream frosting is gentle on the peppermint, softened with a good dose of vanilla so everybody loves it.
• The bark is store bought (Costco’s is delicious) but you can certainly make your own peppermint bark if you prefer.

the chocolate cake is flawless

The base of my peppermint bark cake is Ina Garten’s famous chocolate layer cake that I’ve made countless times and adapted it over and over again ~ the thin batter that requires no mixer and no creaming, you just need a bowl with a whisk.

Make it ahead and assemble the cake the next day ~ so convenient!

How to crumb coat a peppermint bark cake

Because this cake is so tender, and because it’s a dark chocolate cake under white frosting, it can help to give it a quick “undercoat” of frosting before you go in for the final coating. It sounds like an extra step, but it makes the cake look fresher and avoids those dreaded crumbs in your snow white frosting.

1. Start by spreading a very thin layer of frosting over the top and around the sides ~ just enough to lightly cover the cake. Don’t stress about the crumbs you see; that’s the whole point, you’ll cover them later.
2. Once it’s coated, pop the cake into the fridge for about 15 minutes. The chill firms up that first layer and locks in any loose crumbs so your finishing coat goes on clean and neat.
3. After the short rest, you’re ready to frost for real.

peppermint bark cake faqs

the bottom line

My peppermint bark cake is a lovely cake for Christmas, December birthdays, and holiday parties all month long. The flavors are appealing and it has a pretty decoration anyone call pull off ~ no fussy piping! The American buttercream style frosting dries to a crusting finish, which I love. It’s almost like peppermint fudge.

The chocolate cake is perfect, and the peppermint element is soft and subtle, it doesn’t hit you over the head. This is a pretty and ‘do-able’ holiday cake you might find yourself repeating year after year.

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Peppermint Bark Cake

5 from 1 vote

This peppermint bark cake combines rich chocolate layers with creamy peppermint buttercream and festive candy topping for an easy Christmas showstopper. No mixer needed for the cake, and store-bought peppermint bark makes decorating effortless.

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Prep Time:30 minutes minutes

Cook Time:35 minutes minutes

Total Time:1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

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Equipment

• 2 8 inch cake pans (note this is a thick cake so your cake pans need to have at least 2" sides)

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

for the cake dry ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

wet ingredients

• 1 cup half and half or buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee

frosting

• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
• 5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted (sift after measuring)
• 6 Tbsp cream
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract*
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

garnish

• peppermint bark, broken into shards

Instructions

for the cake

• Preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper discs.
• Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.
• Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
• Divide the batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 35 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
• Allow the cakes to partially cool in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting. The cakes can be made a day ahead and kept wrapped in plastic before frosting.

for the frosting

• While the cake bakes make the frosting. Note: I make my frosting in my food processor, it makes a quick silky lump free frosting that never breaks. You can also do it in a stand mixer or with electric beaters.
• Load the room temperature butter, sugar, cream, and extracts into your food processor and pulse/process until it becomes smooth and creamy. Add more cream if it's too dry, and more sugar if it's too runny.
• Frost the completely cooled cake. First the center, then the sides and top. See post for notes on how to crumb coat the cake before adding the final layer of frosting.
• Decorate your cake with peppermint candy shards. You can use smaller pieces around the base, and larger pieces on top.
• The cake will be at room temperature for the first day, but leftovers should be refrigerated.

Notes

*Be careful not to add too much peppermint extract: it is potent and can easily be overwhelming. I found 1/2 teaspoon to be enough.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, chocolate, Chrismtas, dessert, layer cake, peppermint, winter

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice · Calories: 412 kcal · Carbohydrates: 76 g · Protein: 4 g · Fat: 12 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 0.1 g · Cholesterol: 32 mg · Sodium: 305 mg · Potassium: 144 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 63 g · Vitamin A: 166 IU · Vitamin C: 0.2 mg · Calcium: 42 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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