This moist peppermint mocha cake has chocolate peppermint cake layers, candy cane striped filling, and mocha frosting! This peppermint cake is perfect for the holidays, especially when you slice into it and see the beautiful cane cane filling. The filling might look complicated, but it's as easy as pie (as easy as candy canes? Not a saying, but you get it!)
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You might remember my peppermint chocolate cupcakes and their two-toned candy cane striped frosting from last year! I wanted to try something similar but with a layer cake.
By making circles of red and white frosting, kind of like a bullseye, on the first cake layer, you get this gorgeous candy cane striped effect. I can't get enough of it! The whole cake is then frosted with a chocolate mocha buttercream, giving us all the fancy coffee shop vibes.
If you want more peppermint bark vibes (hi, who doesn't?), then try my peppermint bark cake! It doesn't have any coffee in it, and it's covered in a toasted marshmallow frosting.
Grab your ingredients!
- Cocoa Powder: I'm using dutch-processed cocoa powder, and not unsweetened cocoa powder. Not sure what you've got? Check the ingredients label! If it says 'acidity regulator' or 'alkali', you've got dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Oil: Adding a neutral oil (think vegetable or canola oil) makes this cake MOIST and soft!
- Peppermint Extract: Make sure you're using peppermint extract and not spearmint. Spearmint extract is going to make your cake taste like toothpaste!
- Red Food Gel: I'm using my favorite Americolor food gel in the shade Super Red.
- Espresso Powder: We're going to mix some fine espresso powder with milk into the frosting to give us that coffee taste.
Let's Make This Cake! ❤️
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in one bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, whisk all the wet ingredients (except for hot coffee!) until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Pour in the hot coffee.
- Pour the chocolate cake batter into two 8-inch round cake pans. Bake in the oven at 350. Let the cakes cool completely before you frost them!
- We're going to make the two colored frostings from one frosting recipe (work smarter, not harder!) Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt. Pour in the heavy cream.
- Take out half of the frosting into a piping bag, set aside. Add a few drops of red food gel and mix until you have the color you want. Place in another piping bag. Place one cooled cake layer down on your plate. Pipe the frosting in a bullseye pattern until you get to the middle.
- In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, make the mocha frosting. Combine butter with confectioners' sugar, salt, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Once light and fluffy, whisk milk with some espresso powder. Mix to combine. Frost your cake and enjoy!
Two-Toned Frosting ❤️🤍
I knew when I was first testing this peppermint mocha cake that I wanted to decorate it with even more red and white frosting, to give you a hint of what was inside!
Here's how you do it (I promise, it's easy but looks so fancy!). You'll need 3 piping bags and a large piping tip. You've already got the red and white frosting in two separate piping bags from doing the filling. Place both of them into a larger piping bag, making sure the ends of both bags are in the tip of the larger bag. Start piping!
My Tips & Tricks
- Cooled Cake Layers. Make sure your cake is completely cool before you start frosting. Warm cake + cold frosting = slip n' slide.
- Decorating. I decorated this cake with peppermint swirl frosting and peppermint candies! If you want to be ✨extra✨, how about decorating with these candy cane peppermint shortbread cookies?
- Storing. Because of the buttercream, I recommend storing this mocha peppermint cake in the fridge! Let it come to room temperature before enjoying. If you've sliced the cake, place a piece of parchment paper on the exposed slice to help stop it from drying out.
Made This Recipe?
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Mocha Peppermint Cake
This is the mocha peppermint cake of dreams! Soft chocolate peppermint cake layers are sandwiched with candy cane striped frosting, and then covered with a mocha buttercream. I've decorated the top with candy cane swirls! This is the perfect cake for Christmas.
Equipment
- 2 8-inch round cake pans
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
- Piping Bags
Ingredients
Peppermint Mocha Cake
- ¾ cup (65 grams) cocoa powder dutch processed
- 1 ¾ cups (350 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 cups (220 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) hot coffee
Mocha Frosting
- 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups (480 ml) confectioners' sugar
- ½ cup (41 grams) dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons espresso powder
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
Filling
- 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups (480 grams) confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- red food gel
Ella's Baking Tip!Weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale for the best results!
Instructions
Peppermint Mocha Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter or grease two 8-inch cake pans and line it with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.¾ cup (65 grams) cocoa powder, 1 ¾ cups (350 grams) granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 cups (220 grams) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- In a large jug, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, peppermint and vanilla extract.¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract, 2 large eggs, 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- Slowly pour in the ingredients from the large jug and mix until just combined.
- Slowly add the hot coffee and mix. Your batter will be very thin and it makes a lot of cake batter!1 cup (240 ml) hot coffee
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted
- Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans. Let them cool completely on a cooling rack.
Candy Cane Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter with the confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy.2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter room temperature, 4 cups (480 ml) confectioners' sugar
- Add the peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix once more. I make sure to stop the mixer once in awhile and scrape the sides of the bowl, that way everything is getting well combined!1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon peppermint extract, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pour in the heavy cream and mix once more. At this point your frosting should be smooth and silky. If it's too thick, feel free to add more heavy cream a tablespoon at a time.¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- Remove half of the frosting and place in a large piping bag with a round tip, or a snipped off tip.
- Add your red food gel to the remaining frosting and mix to combine. Depending on the brand of food gel, you may need more. I'm using Americolor Super Red.red food gel
- Place the red frosting in a separate piping bag, also with the edge snipped off or a round tip.
Mocha Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, combine the room temperature butter with the confectioners' sugar, salt, vanilla extract and cocoa powder on low speed.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup (41 grams) dutch processed cocoa powder, 2 sticks (226 grams) unsalted butter, 4 cups (480 grams) confectioners' sugar
- Mix the milk with the espresso powder. Pour into the frosting and mix until combined.1 ½ teaspoons espresso powder, ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
Assemble the Cake
- Place one cooled cake layer down on your plate or cake stand. Using the two piping bags, pipe frosting in concentric circles like a bullseye. I like to try to get 2-3 red rings at least, that way you have a really striking pattern when you cut into the cake!
- Add the second cake layer on top. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the mocha frosting.
- To get the candy cane swirls on top, place the red and white frosting in a large piping bag, fitted with a piping tip. I'm using the Wilton 1M. Pipe swirls on top and enjoy!
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Notes
My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven't tested the recipe with this method.
Ingredients: I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.
Salt: If you don't have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note, I'm using Diamond Crystal kosher salt and not Morton salt which is too salty!
Cocoa Powder: I'm using dutch processed cocoa powder (not sure what you have? Check the ingredients. If it says 'acidity regulator' or mentions 'alkali', then it's dutch processed).
Peppermint Extract: make sure you're using peppermint extract and not mint extract, which is just going to taste like toothpaste.
Food Gel: my favorite brand of food dye is Americolor! I usually use the shade 'super red'
Storage: Store the cake in the fridge for 3-4 days. I recommend letting it come to room temperature before enjoying!
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below! You can also tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can see what you made!
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