A Little Holiday Encourage-mint

Jump to recipe and instructions

All of 2023 seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. October lasted approximately 15 minutes, Thanksgiving was a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but somehow, the month of December has been about 16 weeks long, or at least it feels that way. But it’s finally upon us: Christmas is but one single week away. Which is great if you’re totally prepared, presents wrapped, and ready to roll. If you’re a last minute shopper, this is your reminder that the last minute is here. If you’re wondering how to knock the socks off of every family member at your holiday celebrations, I’m giving you the gift of a chocolate peppermint cake recipe with easy petal piping details that only look difficult- in short, here is your Christmas Miracle of 2023.

If you’ve yet to venture into the chocolate + peppermint flavor territory, let me walk you through this winter wonderland. Imagine a York Peppermint Patty in cake form- a single bite whisks you away to world where cake has no calories, your entire family loves every single present you gifted them, and Christmas dinner and all sides are miraculously ready at the same time. In a word: perfect (I’ll give you a moment to digest this greatness I just thrust upon you). Add a peppermint cream cheese frosting (don’t second guess it, it works in a way that’s completely unexplainable, like how Santa manages to visit the houses of every child in the world in a single night), and now you’re beginning to understand the meaning of Christmas. And at only 279 calories a slice for 12 slices, you can have your own 12 Days of Cakemas if you don’t feel like sharing.

For my cake, I simply used:

• 1 box of Krusteaz gluten free chocolate cake (or regular version if not GF)
• 111 g (1/2 cup) unsweetened applesauce
• 112 g (1/2 cup) fat free Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2-3/4 tsp peppermint extract (less is more in my book!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and bake even strips. Mix applesauce, yogurt, eggs, milk, and extract in a stand mixer on medium until things get frothy; add the cake mix and mix on medium-high for two minutes. Evenly distribute batter into pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes cleanly out the center of a cake. Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

PRO TIP: gluten free cakes last about 48 hours before they’re so stale they taste like coal in a stocking. Brush the cakes with a splash of vanilla mixed with milk to add in some extra moisture and extend the cake’s softness. I don’t like using simple syrup because it makes cakes way too sweet; using milk with a splash of vanilla doesn’t make things so sweet you’ll get a visit from Hermey the Elf to pull some teeth (he finished dental school after helping Rudolph, btw).

I went with a classic crusting cream cheese frosting to ensure my piping would work for the petals. I used:

• 8 ounces of 1/3 the fat cream cheese at room temp
• 112 grams (1/2 cup) butter at room temp
• 3 cups (360 g) Lakanto monkfruit (use regular powdered sugar if desired)
• 1/4 cup + 2 TBS milk (add more milk 1 TBS at a time if frosting still seems too stiff)
• 1 TBS vanilla
• 1/4 tsp citric acid if you like a less sweet frosting
• 1/4 -1/2 tsp peppermint extract (again, this is potent stuff, I used 1/4 tsp)
• Other items needed: Red gel dye, two 6B piping tips, red & white sanding sugar sprinkles

Whip the cream cheese and butter for two-three minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in half the monkfruit, the peppermint, the milk, the vanilla, and citric acid if using. Mix on medium speed until combined. Add in the remaining monkfruit, mixing until everything has come together.

Place a totally cooled cake round face down on an acrylic or cardboard cake disk, the slather a layer of frosting on top. Place the second cake layer face down on top of this, and slather the top of the cake with a generous amount of frosting, pushing excess over the sides of the cake. You just need a very thin layer of white frosting all over the cake to help hide any gaps in the petal piping later. Place this in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Divide remaining frosting, dying half red, and leaving the other half white. Place each color into a piping bag fitted with a 6B or other large star tip.

To make the petals, you will pipe one star on the bottom of the cake in red.

Then take an angled spatula, place it in the middle of the star, and swipe left (or give it the ol’ Tinder “No.”).

Pipe another star on top of the “tail” that the first swipe left. Repeat this around the bottom of the cake. I find it helps to wipe off the spatula on a paper towel after each swipe. You’ll have an ending point that you will just pipe a single star without swiping since you won’t have room. Be sure to start your next two layers in the same spot you started the first row so these little single stars all line up and you have a “back” of a the cake.

Now, take the white frosting, and pipe a star right above your row of red petals. BUT, this time, give it the ol’ Tinder “Yes,” and swipe left so the petals will be facing the opposite direction. Continue around the entire middle of the cake.

To finish, switch back to the red frosting, swiping right again for each petal on your top layer.

Now, for the top, I alternated piped two white petals and two red petals around the top.

For my final touches, I took a Christmas tree cookie cutter, but you can also cut out a Christmas tree shape in some Parchment paper and fix it to your cake top to create a Christmas tree outline, and then I filled this with red and white sanding sugar, pressing gently into the frosting and crevices of my cookie cutter so the sprinkles wouldn’t scatter and spill when the cutter was removed. I also had some snowflake and red ball sprinkles I placed around the top red layer of petals anywhere there was awkward white space. I placed my cake in the freezer for 15 minutes to let the sprinkles settle before carefully removing the cookie cutter to reveal a cake so Christmasy, Santa himself would throw that plate of cookies away to grab a slice of this. Check out my piping tutorial video for a more detailed step by step:

I promise if you bring this cake to your family Christmas dinner, Aunt Karen will be so taken aback that she doesn’t remember to question your life choices. And if she does, you can just shove a slice of cake her way so she keeps quiet. The magic of Christmas! In all seriousness, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, remembering what matters most–the spirit of the holiday, the love of your friends and family, and, of course, a slice of really, really good cake. ‘Til next time, my fellow eaters!

Recipe & Instructions