The Witchery

This was the other cake I had brought to my friend's Holiday Party. I invented this one a few years ago after a rather disastrous first attempt at using peppermint extract. Who knew that when switching out vanilla extra for peppermint, the ratio was not 1:1 - it was more 1:0.25. That first cake has been forevermore christened the "Crest Cake". And like any good baker, I learned from my mistakes. And the following cake is seriously wonderful.


Peppermint Patty Cake

The Cake
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (either Natural or Dutch - both work)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by rubbing with butter, sprinkling with flour and tapping out extra. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together with a wooden spoon then set aside. In small bowl combine eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat well with hand mixer. Slowly add boiling water and mix. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and fold and stir until smooth. Pour batter into pans, dividing evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove cake from pans and cool on racks.

The Filling
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 Tbsp milk
1/4 to 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (depending out minty you want it - I tend to be cautious)

Mix everything together in a stand mixer until blended and smooth

The Glaze
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz dark chocolate
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the semisweet chocolate to the cream and let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk the melted chocolate into the cream until smooth. Let the chocolate icing stand until slightly cooled and thickened, about 15 minutes. If it doesn't seem think enough to cling to the sides of the cake, add the powdered sugar and blend thoroughly.

Putting it all together
Place wax paper under the cooling rack of one of the cake layers. Place 2/3s of the peppermint filling onto the bottom layer of the cake, spreading it out past the edge of the cake. Place the second cake layer on top of the first. Use the remaining 1/3 of the filling to even out any gaps in the cake layers (you want the sides as flat as possible). Using a spatula, start covering the sides of the cake with the glaze. Once the sides are completely covered, pour the rest on the top and spread evenly.

I used a cake stencil and powdered sugar to stencil on the pattern of a candy cane on top. Came out looking (and tasting) very good.