this white peppermint cake has peppermint bark baked into the cake, and peppermint swiss meringue buttercream in between the layers.
there’s 9 days left until The Big Day, but i think i’m finally in the mood. there was a stroll through the local park featuring trees decorated by community orgs, there’s decorations (3 year old me opted to add pebbles to her paper plate ornament) on something green in the living room, there was time spent at a housewarming/holiday party (i might have worn all black, save for last minute fuzzy red socks).
so how about some white peppermint cake? i’ve gone with my favorite 6.5″ sized cake (double it and you’ve got an 8″ layer cake). it’s a vanilla cake studded with peppermint bark bits, layered with coffee simple syrup (if you want) and peppermint swiss meringue buttercream.
this cake got decorated with a mini gingerbread house (from a village transported from target’s shelves to my kitchen table), some rosemary sprigs, ground coconut and powdered sugar a la a cozy kitchen. that village was more stress inducing than it was worth (the pieces were baked together, and they kept breaking when i *gently* tried to pry them apart), so you might want to go with these mini gingerbread houses from not martha. it’s been 3 years since i tried using her instructions (see here), though they were surprisingly (and thankfully) uneventful to create. you can decorate the cake with whatever you like; however, have you ever seen such a cute white peppermint cake? i don’t want to sound presumptuous, but i think not.
1 year ago: cherry almond croquant, furikake chex mix
2 years ago: snickerdoodles, herby rice with grapes and pecans
3 years ago: coffee almond shortbread cookies, pumpkin spice waffles
4 years ago: zha jiang mian, vanilla coconut quinoa pudding
5 years ago: on toast, applesauce granola
- 3/4 cups + 2 T granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1/4 cup flavorless oil like canola
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/8 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup chopped peppermint bark
- 1/4 cup brewed strong coffee
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup + 2 T granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature, cut into tablespoons
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
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Grease two 6.5-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
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In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients except for the boiling water. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then stir in the boiling water (it will be a very thin batter). Mix in the peppermint bark. Pour into cake pans.
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Bake at 350F for 25-28 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn onto a cooling rack.
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Combine the coffee and sugar in a small saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and boil until reduced, 5-10 minutes. Cool completely.
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In the heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, combine egg whites and sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch.
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Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until it holds stiff (but not dry) peaks, fluffy and cooled.
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Switch to the paddle attachment. Add butter several tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and peppermint until smooth.
Cake from My Name is Yeh, buttercream adapted slightly from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.
Double everything if you want an 8" round layer cake!
other chocolate mint treats besides this white peppermint cake
Sounds like a yummy, peppermint filled cake that is just absolutely gorgeous!! Perfect centerpiece for any holiday table!!
oh yes this would be a fun holiday table centerpiece! might be too tempting to see in the middle of dinner (;
Heather, this cake is gorgeous! And sounds so yummy and festive! I love the gingerbread house on top – nice work!
thanks laura! gingerbread houses are such great decorations (:
Looks so festive! And I love all things peppermint! Happy holidays, Heather!
thanks michelle! same- peppermint feels so festive and appropriate for wintertime!
Stunning showstopper!!! Looks so elegant and beautiful Heather and the peppermint flavor sounds so delicious too:)
thanks maria! amazing what a mini gingerbread house and fake coconut can do (;
Peppermint is such a lovely flavour to use, and one of my favourite essential oils at present. Wishing you an blessed festive season 🙂
ooh i use extract but i should go hunt down some peppermint essential oil! i bet that’s delicious in baked goods (:
That little house! Adorable. This looks so good – I will never say no to peppermint.
little = automatic adorableness (;
Looks so festive and sounds delisious. Perfect for this time of year. Merry Christmas 😀
thanks emma! hope you had a fantastic christmas.
It’s always nice to see holiday decorations! YUM, you’re always sharing good food on your blog (as you should, haha). I like how you topped the cake off with the gingerbread house. This is PERFECT for a Christmas party dessert. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
seeing those decorations put me in the mood to finally put up my own! hope you had a great holiday season, nancy ♥
Such an adorable Xmassy little cake! I love it! I hope you had a lovely Xmas day 🙂
thanks, i did! tons of tasty food, karaoke and entertaining relatives made for a fun day. hope you had a great christmas as well!