White Chocolate Peppermint Cake – White chocolate peppermint cake layers with white chocolate peppermint frosting and drip, filled and decorated with crushed peppermint candies.
Tasty Tuesday with Albion Fit
It’s so nice to be back home today, but before I get started in the kitchen, it’s finally time to get this White Chocolate Peppermint Cake up here! I’ve been so excited about this cake since making it last month for today’s Tasty Tuesday over at Albion Fit. Each week they feature a different baker’s tasty treats on their blog, and today’s feature is my new White Chocolate Peppermint Cake.
White Chocolate Peppermint Cake
Two years ago, I made a chocolate peppermint cake with peppermint buttercream and chocolate ganache. It was a total hit and I’ve been dying to make another peppermint cake of some kind but just haven’t gotten around to it until now. (So many cakes, so little time!). This white chocolate peppermint cake is made up of white chocolate peppermint cake layers, using Guittard White Mint Wafers I found at Orson Gygi. The wafers have a subtle but noticeable mint flavor that blends so beautifully with the white chocolate. I also used the wafers in my buttercream and drip to give the cake a little more peppermint flavor. It’s also a plus that the wafers are so white in color too!
The cake itself is a little denser than my Light and Fluffy Vanilla Cake, but not quite as dense as my recent Citrus Cranberry Cake, which definitely has a more pound cake-like texture.
I love how each bite of this cake gives you a good taste of peppermint, but it never feels overpowering, and you still taste the white chocolate.
I used crushed peppermint candies to decorate the sides of the cake, along with some buttercream swirls using the Wilton 1M tip, and real mini ornaments I found at Home Goods. The placemats are also a Home Goods find, while the tablecloth, plates and cake stand are all Target gems.
I used four 6-inch round cake pans, but this recipe could also be made with three 8-inch cake pans. The bake time should stay about the same.
This is the perfect holiday cake and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Enjoy!
White Chocolate Peppermint Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 3 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 tsp. (4.2 g) vanilla extract
- 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
- 1 tbsp. (12 g) baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. (4.2 g) salt
- 1 1/4 cups (300 g) buttermilk room temperature
- 6 ounces (112.5 g) white chocolate
- 1 tsp. (4.2 g) peppermint extract
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 8 ounces (150 g) white chocolate
- ¼ cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp (4.2 g) peppermint extract
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.
FOR THE FILLING
- 1/4 cup (30 g) crushed peppermint candies
- 2 cups peppermint buttercream recipe above
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray four 6-inch pans or three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
- Using a double-boiler or microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate. Set aside for a minute.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed for about two minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer to medium and add the eggs, yolks, vanilla, peppermint and melted white chocolate. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix again until well blended.
- With the mixer now on low, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. This helps your ingredients to blend evenly.
- Pour the batter into prepared pans (about 12 ounces in each 6-inch pan and about 16 ounces in each 8-inch pan). Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
- Let the cake layers cool about 10 minutes in the pans and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cake layers are cooled completely, level if needed, and then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour.
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the cream and then pour it over the white chocolate chips to melt. Stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy. If needed, heat the mixture for another 20 to 30 seconds and stir until the chips are melted. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed for about two minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar until incorporated. Add the peppermint extract. Stir until incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for another 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on medium speed, add the white chocolate ganache. Once added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat the frosting for about 3 to 5 minutes.
- If the frosting gets too soft from the ganache, you can refrigerate it for a bit.
FOR THE FILLING
- Combine ¼ cup crushed peppermint with 2 cups of the buttercream.
ASSEMBLY
- Place a dollop of frosting on a cake board or cake stand. Place your first cake layer, top side up, in the center.
- Evenly spread 1 cup of the peppermint filling over the cake layer. Top with a second cake layer and then use the remaining cup of peppermint filling on top again.
- Place the final cake layer, top side down, on the second layer of frosting. Apply a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake. This is the crumb coat. Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Finish frosting and decorating the cake with the remaining buttercream and crushed peppermint.
Hi Courtney! Huge Fan and hope to get in to one of your classes soon! I have a question about the white chocolate peppermint cake. I am wondering if instead of doing 4 6″ layers would it be possible to do 3 9″ layers? I only have 9″ pans and wondering if I could make those work until I can add to my collection of cake pan sizes. IF I can would the oven temperature be the same and I would just have to adjust the cook time? Thanks so much!
Hi Haley! Thank you! You can definitely do 9-inch pans, but if you do three of them, your layers will be thinner and won’t need to bake as long. I’d probably suggest doing just two 9-inch pans. Baking time should be about the same or a couple minutes longer than the 8-inch pans. Just keep an eye on them at the end. If you want to do three layer 9-inch, I’d recommend adding an extra half of the recipe so your layers are a little thicker 🙂
Thank you for the recipe 🙂 I need to know if this make good cupcakes?
I don’t know if it works as cupcakes. I haven’t tried.
Hi Courtney! Ha ha you are probably sick of all my questions since I attending your cake class in December. I just want to bake cakes all the time now! So I split this recipe in 4 so I could make one “test” 6″ pan in my new Fat Daddio’s pans. I baked it at 350* until done (which took almost 25 minutes) and my cake ended up very domed. I think I overmixed the batter a bit, but is there anything else that I could change to minimize the amount of doming? Maybe bake at 325* for a bit longer? Thanks so much for your suggestions!
Hi! No, I’m never sick of questions. Hmmm, so it domed too much… overmixing usually causes your cakes to sink. If you try reducing the temp, only do down about 10 degrees to start with. The other thought is that you could take out about 1/4 tsp baking powder.
Hey Courtney…any tips for high altitude adjustment on the cake portion of the recipe? I’m at 6,000 ft.
This would be the perfect dessert for my upcoming Christmas lunch for the girlfriends!
Hi, you’re actually not much higher than me, so I don’t think you’ll have a problem with any of my cakes… but the one thing I always take out first when a cake sinks or I’m worried about altitude is actually the sugar. Try reducing it by 1/4 cup.
In this recipe for the frosting it says to use room temp butter but you always say to use cold butter on your instagram stories. Does it matter for this frosting
For the white chocolate, I do actually like softer butter only because the white chocolate blends better with it than totally cold butter.
How would I make this cake Gluten Free? Would I just substituted the cake flour with GF flour?
Yes!
The picture shows a white drip around the top. Can you direct me to the recipe for that portion? Thank you!
You’ll want to use one cup white chocolate chips and 1/4-1/3 cup heavy whipping cream. Just heat the cream and then pour it over the chips to melt.
Hi Courtney,
I just baked your white chocolate peppermint cake. I’m a pretty experienced baker but when my cakes cooled they shrink and went flat. I went back to your recipe and on the recipe I printed it called for 14g baking powder and then I went back to your website and pulled the recipe up again and it showed 12g of baking powder. Which amount is right? It seemed like a lot baking powder. My oven temperature was good. My baking powder is fresh. I don’t think I over or under mixed it. So I’m baffled of what could have caused this any suggestions before I make that again?
12g is right.
Hi there! I’m planning to make this for Christmas, and I noticed in the written description above the recipe you mentioned using the Guittard White Mint Wafers, which I’d also like to use. However, it looks like the recipe portion doesn’t explain how you used them or in what proportion. I’d love to get some guidance on how to properly incorporate them into the recipe.
The recipe says 8 ounces and tells you how to melt them with the cream.
Hi Courtney, I was so excited to make this cake and it is amazing. I just had a question about the buttercream, mine wasn’t nearly as smooth as yours in the picture it was easy to work with. I am just wondering if I did something wrong while making it
I don’t think you did if you followed the recipe as is. I would say, it has more to do with how you’re holding the scraper. Be sure to have the scraper at a 45 degree angle toward you and you’re not pushing too hard against the cake. I have some videos on my reels page on Instagram that might help.
Hey there – I bought the mint wafers you mention in the lead up to the recipe, but I noticed there’s no mention of them in the actual recipe instructions. How much did you use and how did you incorporate them?
Whoops sorry. I see you already answered this question for me before and I just never saw it. The recipe simply says white chocolate with no mention of the wafers specifically, so that’s why I was confused. I didn’t know if you did some of those and some white chocolate too.
I assume once assembled that this cake will freeze well??
Yup! I just made it into a sheet cake yesterday and have it in the freezer now.