Peppermint Cake

It is Christmas time! How I love this part of the year, especially the snow, lights, colors, songs, food... Well everything about it! Baking becomes so much more fun with all the wonderful flavors with endless options for decoration. Peppermint is one of  the ingredients that I love most and the combination with chocolate is fantastic. So these were the flavors that I chose for this two tier mini cake.

The cake consists of three layers: chocolate layer cake, peppermint white chocolate brigadeiro filling, and white chocolate cake. The cake recipe is the same that I used for my white chocolate cupcake. Then I covered it with peppermint white chocolate ganache.

I made a snowflake crochet garland to decorate my table this time. I've learned how to make snowflake crochet with my mom, who is, by the way, an excellent crochet maker. She knows how to do so many different kinds, but unfortunately I just leaned two of them so far. This could be a beautiful decoration for a dessert table party, don’t you think?

Peppermint Cake

(by  Lulu’s Sweet Secrets)

White Chocolate Cake

(Makes one 6-inch cake and one 4,5-inch cake)

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 whole large eggs, room temperature

¼ cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

160g/ 5.64 ounces white chocolate

Grease cake pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and beat with the paddle attachment until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil and then add the white chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Place the white chocolate and milk mixture over the eggs and sugar and beat for a minute. Add the vanilla and mix until combine. Fold in the flour and baking powder with a rubber spoon until just incorporated (don't overmix). Fold in the melted butter.

Fill each pan with batter. Bake for 30 minutes or until risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the chocolate cake use 160g of dark chocolate instead of white chocolate. 

Peppermint White Chocolate Brigadeiro Filling

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon peppermint oil

120g white chocolate

Place all the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Over low heat, stir the mixture until thick consistency or it starts to show the bottom of the pan while you scrape it with a spoon (about 15 min).  Transfer to a greased bowl to cool.

White Chocolate Ganache Frosting

24 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon peppermint oil

Bring cream just to the boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, add chocolate and peppermint oil, and stir until smooth and glossy. Refrigerate until firm yet still pliable (45 minutes-1 hour) then stir until smooth.

Assembly

Place one 6-inch chocolate cake on a serving plate. Spread the peppermint brigadeiro brigadeiro over top. Place the white chocolate cake on top. Cover with peppermint white chocolate ganache frosting. Repeat with the 4,5 inch cakes.

To decorate the cake I used nonpareils on top of the ganache.  To decorate the cake with nonpareils:
Place the cake on a revolving cake stand. Place the cake stand inside of a big bowl. Scoop up a handful of nonpareils with your free hand and gently press them into the side of the cake, allowing the excess to drop back into the bowl. Rotate the cake as you continue to press nonpareils into the side until the sides of the cake have been fully covered.

Holly Decoration

To make the leaves will need:

1 1/8" Veined Holly Leaf Plunger Cutter (mine was from PME)

Gum paste to make the leaves

Edible glue to fix the disco dust

Emerald disco dust

To make the berries you will need:

Gum paste to make the berries

American red and Raspberry disco dust

Edible glue to fix the disco dust

I also use royal icing to decorate and fix the holy decoration. The recipe is from Sweetopia.