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Peppermint Chocolate Cake

A community recipe by

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

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Introduction

The taste of this peppermint and chocolate combination is best described as the cake version of a mint Feast, one of those minty ice cream lollies with the chocolate centre that is impossible to eat without getting ice-cream all over your face. We all had them as children - I still eat them today. The cake is delightfully moist (I hate that word, moist) springy and chocolatey with just a touch of peppermint bite. The star of this cake is the topping, a thick, creamy ganache which is just begging to be microwaved for a few seconds so it becomes melty and gooey. Basically this cake is an all-rounder, in Summer, it reminds you of childhood ice-creams and should be served straight from the fridge; in Winter, it should be warmed ever-so-gently, until you're left with a comforting, oozing chocolate cake with the delicate taste of candy canes.

The taste of this peppermint and chocolate combination is best described as the cake version of a mint Feast, one of those minty ice cream lollies with the chocolate centre that is impossible to eat without getting ice-cream all over your face. We all had them as children - I still eat them today. The cake is delightfully moist (I hate that word, moist) springy and chocolatey with just a touch of peppermint bite. The star of this cake is the topping, a thick, creamy ganache which is just begging to be microwaved for a few seconds so it becomes melty and gooey. Basically this cake is an all-rounder, in Summer, it reminds you of childhood ice-creams and should be served straight from the fridge; in Winter, it should be warmed ever-so-gently, until you're left with a comforting, oozing chocolate cake with the delicate taste of candy canes.

Ingredients

Serves: 10-12

Metric Cups

Chocolate Cake

  • 100 grams self-raising flour
  • 225 grams unsalted butter (softened)
  • 225 grams caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • 100 grams dark chocolate bar (minimum 75% cocoa)
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs (separated)
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint essence

Ganache Topping

  • 100 grams dark chocolate bar (minimum 75% cocoa)
  • 300 millilitres double cream
  • 100 grams icing sugar
  • 50 grams unsalted butter (softened)
  • 4 teaspoons peppermint essence

Chocolate Cake

  • 3½ ounces self-rising flour
  • 7⅞ ounces unsalted butter (softened)
  • 7⅞ ounces superfine sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • 3½ ounces bittersweet chocolate bar (minimum 75% cocoa)
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 eggs (separated)
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint essence

Ganache Topping

  • 3½ ounces bittersweet chocolate bar (minimum 75% cocoa)
  • 11 fluid ounces heavy cream
  • 3½ ounces confectioners' sugar
  • 1¾ ounces unsalted butter (softened)
  • 4 teaspoons peppermint essence

Method

Peppermint Chocolate Cake is a community recipe submitted by Hashtagbaking and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Butter and line two 20cm cake tins.
  • Start by making the cake. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter (225g) together with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder into the mix, and stir thoroughly.
  • In another mixing bowl, separate the eggs. Add the yolks to the cake mix, and save the whites for later. Stir/Whisk the cake mix until everything is combined (it’ll look really dry now, that’s ok!). Add the milk, and the peppermint extract, and stir through.
  • Break the bar of chocolate into a small dish, and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and repeat, microwaving in 15-second bursts until all the chocolate is melted, glossy, and smooth. Leave it to cool for a minute, before stirring gently into the cake mix.
  • Using an electric whisk (or a hand whisk if you need the exercise) beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold the whites (don’t beat it!) into the cake mixture gently.
  • Pour the mixture into the buttered cake tins, and bake for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the cakes after 25 minutes, because the cooking time depends almost entirely on your oven. Pop a skewer into the centre, if it comes out clear, the cake is done. If not, give it another 10 minutes and check again.
  • Leave the cakes in their tins to cool completely, while you make the ganache topping.
  • Place a mixing bowl over a saucepan with a couple of centimetres of water, making sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the cream and the chocolate, put the pan on a medium heat, and stir continuously until everything is smooth, combined, and glorious. For the first few minutes, it will look absolutely disgusting! It will look like the cream has curdled, and you’ll think “oh my god I’ve ruined it this’ll never work!”. Just keep going, I promise it will work. Just keep stirring and stirring, being careful not to let it boil, and eventually, it will suddenly recombine and everything will be right with the world again…
  • Once the ganache has combined and is lovely and smooth, take it off the heat, and stir in the peppermint extract. Leave it to cool a little.
  • Into a mixing bowl, combine the butter and the icing sugar, and stir thoroughly. Pour in the chocolate ganache, and give everything a good mix. Leave it to cool completely (you can pop it in the fridge if you like).
  • Take the cooled cakes out of their tins, and use 1/3 of the cold ganache to sandwich them together. Use the rest of the ganache to cover the top and the sides.
  • And that’s it!
  • For decoration, I decided to make some shards of chocolate bark. This is super-simple. Melt a bar of chocolate, and spread into a rectangle on a sheet of baking parchment/greaseproof paper. Sprinkle with toppings (marshmallows, nuts, dried fruit). When it’s cooled, you can slice it into shards and stick them on the cake :)

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Butter and line two 20cm cake tins.
  • Start by making the cake. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter (225g) together with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, baking powder, and unsweetened cocoa into the mix, and stir thoroughly.
  • In another mixing bowl, separate the eggs. Add the yolks to the cake mix, and save the whites for later. Stir/Whisk the cake mix until everything is combined (it’ll look really dry now, that’s ok!). Add the milk, and the peppermint extract, and stir through.
  • Break the bar of chocolate into a small dish, and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, and repeat, microwaving in 15-second bursts until all the chocolate is melted, glossy, and smooth. Leave it to cool for a minute, before stirring gently into the cake mix.
  • Using an electric whisk (or a hand whisk if you need the exercise) beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold the whites (don’t beat it!) into the cake mixture gently.
  • Pour the mixture into the buttered cake tins, and bake for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the cakes after 25 minutes, because the cooking time depends almost entirely on your oven. Pop a skewer into the centre, if it comes out clear, the cake is done. If not, give it another 10 minutes and check again.
  • Leave the cakes in their tins to cool completely, while you make the ganache topping.
  • Place a mixing bowl over a saucepan with a couple of centimetres of water, making sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the cream and the chocolate, put the pan on a medium heat, and stir continuously until everything is smooth, combined, and glorious. For the first few minutes, it will look absolutely disgusting! It will look like the cream has curdled, and you’ll think “oh my god I’ve ruined it this’ll never work!”. Just keep going, I promise it will work. Just keep stirring and stirring, being careful not to let it boil, and eventually, it will suddenly recombine and everything will be right with the world again…
  • Once the ganache has combined and is lovely and smooth, take it off the heat, and stir in the peppermint extract. Leave it to cool a little.
  • Into a mixing bowl, combine the butter and the confectioners' sugar, and stir thoroughly. Pour in the chocolate ganache, and give everything a good mix. Leave it to cool completely (you can pop it in the fridge if you like).
  • Take the cooled cakes out of their tins, and use 1/3 of the cold ganache to sandwich them together. Use the rest of the ganache to cover the top and the sides.
  • And that’s it!
  • For decoration, I decided to make some shards of chocolate bark. This is super-simple. Melt a bar of chocolate, and spread into a rectangle on a sheet of baking parchment/greaseproof paper. Sprinkle with toppings (marshmallows, nuts, dried fruit). When it’s cooled, you can slice it into shards and stick them on the cake :)

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    What 1 Other has said

    • Hi, this recipe is incorrect! It needs 225g of flour for it to work, I discovered this after the first 2 collapsed and turned out like a brownie (still tasted good) 3rd cake turned out perfect and tasted amazing

      Posted by Bartona on 30th July 2018
    Show more comments

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