Here's a recipe for mini cakes filled with whipped peppermint chocolate ganache and topped with a rich chocolate ganache glaze and broken candy canes.
Chocolate + Peppermint
And so the chocolate peppermint recipes continue! Mostly because I still have candy canes. Although I love peppermint candy, I'm not really into the whole candy cane thing. They're a little bit unwieldy and messy to eat. So the only thing I can really do with candy canes is bake yummy holiday treats with them. My hands are tied! I have no choice in the matter!
I've posted some relatively light holiday desserts this month, but now it's time for something decadent. We all need to indulge a little during this time of year, right? (Note that I didn't say over-indulge.) The good thing about these mini-cakes is that they're portion-controlled—and believe me, with two kinds of chocolate ganache involved, portion-control is a good thing. One is enough for anyone! (Oh, and if you have leftovers, these freeze quite nicely.)
About the Recipe
I wanted to make mini-cakes instead of one big ginormous cake—I figured I could either make a sheet cake and cut smaller circles out of it or use cupcake tins. I went the cupcake tin route and turned the finished cupcakes upside down (after shaving a little cake off the top so they'd stand flat). If you want to make traditional cupcakes, you can simply omit this step and rather than cutting the cakes into layers, use a pastry bag to fill each cupcake with the whipped ganache. No matter how you assemble these, they will turn out fabulous. I mean, you can't go wrong with chocolate ganache and peppermint, right?
Recipe
Ingredients
Whipped Chocolate Peppermint Ganache Filling
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp peppermint extract
Chocolate Cakes
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp butter softened
- 1 ½ cups white sugar (organic for vegan-friendly)
- 2 eggs
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
Chocolate Ganache Glaze & Candy Cane Topping
- 9 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 candy canes crushed
Instructions
- Start by making the whipped ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- Remove cream from heat and pour over chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
- Allow ganache to cool to room temperature. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
- Remove chilled ganache from refrigerator. Using a hand mixer, beat at low speed until stiff but still spreadable. Fold in peppermint extract.
- While the whipped ganache is chilling in the fridge, start the cakes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Continue beating and add eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Carefully add flour mixture and milk while beating on low speed.
- Fill sprayed muffin cups ¾ full—you should have 16 cupcakes. Bake for 15–17 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.
- Right before you're ready to start assembly, make the chocolate ganache glaze. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- Remove cream from heat and pour over chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Allow ganache to cool slightly.
- Now it's time for assembly! Cut the rounded top off of each cupcake so they stand flat when turned upside down. Feed this to your children and/or significant other. Cut the remaining cake in half lengthwise so you have two layers. Spread one layer with whipped ganache and sandwich the two layers back together by pressing firmly. Using a spatula, smooth over any ganache that's oozing out of the enter. Repeat for all cakes and return them to the wire racks.
- Place parchment paper under wire racks. Using a large spoon or ladle, drip chocolate ganache glaze onto cakes. To fully frost them, use a spatula to distribute glaze evenly over entire cake. Sprinkle tops of cakes with candy cane pieces.
Melissa says
Oh, my! Chocolate and peppermint is my favorite combination! This looks amazing!
The Type A Housewife says
Me too! Well, chocolate and peanut butter is pretty high on my list of favorites too. But at this time of year, you definitely can't beat chocolate and peppermint. 🙂
Liz @ A Nut in a Nut says
Oh mama, this looks divinely decadent!
The Type A Housewife says
Next time you're in the Raleigh area, you need to stop by--I have a bunch in the freezer still. 😉
Kelly says
With something so rich and decadent - a little bit definitely goes a long way. These look like perfect portions.
The Type A Housewife says
Yeah, sometimes you think you want a huge slice of cake (or whatever), but by the time you get to the end of it, you start feeling sick! That is totally not enjoyable.
Kelly says
My husband does that with pretty much everything. His eyes are ALWAYS bigger than his stomach. Then he's in pain on the couch after meals.
Amy says
Oh my gosh, I am drooling on my computer. That looks awesome!!
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! I'm more of a cook than a baker, so I was pretty impressed with myself. 🙂