Chocolate peppermint patty cake

When I think of Christmas flavors, classics like peppermint inevitably come to mind.  One of my favorite store-bought treats is this peppermint bark and we get at least one tin during the season to enjoy at home alongside our homemade goodies.  I've thought about attempting a homemade version but honestly, I have a feeling the real thing would be hard to beat (never mind all the issues with tempering or needing to refrigerate a homemade version - what do they do to the candy cane bits to prevent it from melting?).

So I settled for making a little peppermint cake.  Aside from the bark, I was inspired by the peppermint brownies I made last year that turned out really well.  My son was quick to remind me that I had to make those as well.  I've since accomplished that but beforehand, I thought I'd try something new.  

I scaled this cake down from a recipe in Chocolate Cakes, a book a chocoholic like myself feels she has to have.  There are literally chopped peppermint patties in the cake itself.  It's the kind of "crazy" thing we find ourselves doing during the holidays.  

If, like me, you fear the cake might be cloying, I'm happy to report that it is not.  The proportions work (I did go light on the peppermint patties) and it's almost-surprisingly not too sweet.  I liked this cake even more than I thought I would; it's rather addictive, actually.  That could well be explained by the bittersweet chocolate ganache since I rarely dislike anything with ganache but the cake itself is moist and chewy and the whole effect is somewhat like a peppermint brownie truffle!

Now pardon my wobbly piping job on this cake.  It's the best I can do, quite frankly.  I just thought I'd take the excess ganache I had and pipe a pretty border - it is the holidays, after all!  And inspired by the delicious peppermint bark we're enjoying right now, that border created the perfect little center for me to nestle some festive peppermint bark pieces inside.  The whole thing tasted incredibly harmonious - a little crunch of the bark to go with the creamy chewiness of the cake.  This is a terrific chocolate fix for the holidays!

Rather like a peppermint brownie truffle in cake form

One last word on this cake...I always feel like a chocolate cake will be promising when it starts off with unsweetened chocolate. It's going to have deep chocolate flavor and I think you get that here, with the added bonus of that sticky peppermint flavor and texture from York peppermint patties that I used.  I went light on the patties, using less than the recipe indicates.  I think it's enough to make its presence known without being too overpowering. Give it a try.  I know I'm glad I did!

To point out the obvious, this cake will smell like dark chocolate and peppermint.  In other words, intoxicating...


Recipe:

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cake
Cake recipe adapted from Chocolate Cakes by Elinor Klivans, Ganache based on basic 1:1 ratio I typically use

- For one 9-inch round cake (I divided the recipe in half and baked a 6-inch cake) -  

For cake:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
4 ounces (115 g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 chocolate-covered peppermint patties, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces (original recipe calls for 215 grams or about 16 peppermint patties; and for my 6-inch cake, I cut each patty into 9 smaller bits)

For ganache (makes 2 cups, which is more than enough for piping additional decoration): 
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Optional garnish: chopped chocolate peppermint bark or chopped peppermint candy (i.e., chopped candy cane bits)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center.  Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.

Place butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of just simmering water.  Stir until melted, then remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla together until light and fluffy, about a minute.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, as needed.  On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate mixture until combined.  Mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and stir in the peppermint patties with a rubber spatula.  Transfer batter to the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs, about 40 minutes [28-30 minutes for a 6-inch cake].  Remove cake from the oven and let cool, in the pan, on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Run a sharp knife around the side of the cake and invert it onto the wire rack.  Gently remove the parchment paper and loosely lay it back on the cake.  Let cool completely then discard the paper.

To make the ganache, warm heavy cream and corn syrup to a light simmer.  Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate.  Let stand for 1-2 minutes.  Then whisk gently, from the center outward, until smooth and fully incorporated.  Let cool slightly until thickened but spreadable.

To complete the cake, invert the cake right side up on a serving plate.  Tuck pieces of wax or parchment paper under the cake for easy cleanup.  Spread the ganache over the top and sides of the cake.  If desired, place some of the ganache into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip and pipe a border around the edge of the cake.  Let ganache set for about 10 minutes, then fill the center with chopped peppermint bark or peppermint candy pieces .