Festive mini holiday cakes made with a chocolate peppermint whipped ganache filling and topped with a rich ganache glaze and a dusting of crushed candy canes.
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.
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