This peppermint bark cake is going to bring all the holiday magic! It has soft chocolate peppermint cake layers with a striped candy cane filling and toasted marshmallow frosting. The chocolate cake is made with dutch-processed cocoa powder, keeping it nice and rich, while the filling is a simple American buttercream. This is the perfect festive cake for your holiday party!
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I am on a peppermint roll! After making my peppermint mocha cake, I knew I wanted to make more of a classic peppermint bark cake.
My marshmallow meringue frosting is one of my go-to frosting recipes right now. It's actually really simple to make, but it looks impressive. You can have it as is, or toast it to get an amazing toasted marshmallow effect. Perfect for the cozy winter months!
It has a few components to it, but you can make the cake layers up to 2 days ahead of time!
Grab your ingredients
- Peppermint Extract: Make sure you're using peppermint extract. Spearmint or just 'mint' extract can end up giving toothpaste vibes (not what we're going for here)
- Cocoa Powder: I'm using dutch-processed cocoa powder. It's richer and darker in color than natural cocoa powder.
- Buttermilk: The secret to our super soft and moist cake!
- Eggs: You'll need whole eggs for the cake and egg whites for the frosting.
- Cream of Tartar: Don't skip this out! It'll help stabilize your meringue frosting.
Let's Make This Cake!
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In another bowl or jug, whisk all the wet ingredients (except the hot water!) until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Pour in the hot water - this is going to bloom the cocoa powder, making it darker and richer.
- Pour into two 8-inch round cake pans and bake in the oven.
- Make your American buttercream! Only do this once both cake layers are completely cool. We'll divide the frosting in half, and divide one half red.
- Pipe out the frosting in a bullseye pattern on the first cake layer, this will give us that beautiful candy cane striped filling!
- Make your marshmallow meringue frosting. Cover the sides and top of the cake with the frosting.
- Optional, but toast the frosting with a kitchen blowtorch - be careful!
My Cake Baking Tips & Tricks
- Different Frosting. Want even more chocolate? Swap out the marshmallow frosting for chocolate fudge frosting.
- Cooled Cake Layers. Make sure your cake layers are completely cool before you start assembling the cake! Otherwise, everything will slide off.
- Toasting the Cake: If you want to toast the frosting, carefully use a kitchen torch. I have also tested toasting this frosting under the broiler in the oven. It does work, but the color is much more grey instead of a golden brown!
Want More Christmas Desserts?
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Thank you!
Ella
Recipe
Peppermint Bark Cake
This peppermint bark cake has soft chocolate peppermint cake layers, a candy cane striped peppermint filling, and toasted marshmallow frosting! This is the perfect holiday cake for your next Christmas party!
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 water
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
Meringue Frosting
- 4 large (120 grams) egg whites room temperature
- ¾ cup (175 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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 water
- 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, 4 cups (480 grams) 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.
Marshmallow Frosting
- Place the egg whites, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl - I prefer using a metal bowl for this.4 large (120 grams) egg whites, ¾ cup (175 grams) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, pinch kosher salt
- Fill a saucepan with an inch or two of water on the stove and place over medium-low heat, so the water begins to simmer. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves. It'll go from thick to frothy. To test, I like to (carefully!) lift the whisk up and rub the mixture between my fingers. You shouldn't feel any of the sugar.
- Take the bowl off the double boiler and place in your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a handheld mixer). Add the vanilla.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Beat on high speed for 5 minutes, or until you get stiff and glossy peaks.
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 marshmallow frosting.
- Carefully toast the meringue with a kitchen blowtorch.
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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: You can store the cake in the fridge for 3-4 days. I recommend letting it come to room temperature before enjoying! I do find that because of the meringue frosting, the cake is best enjoyed on the day of frosting.
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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