Description
This Peppermint Bark Red Velvet Cake is Christmas in cake form! Gorgeous red layers with whipped peppermint frosting make this sublime!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups Cake Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 cups Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp White Vinegar
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup Red Food Coloring (mine only required 2 Tbsp to achieve my color. See note below*)
Peppermint Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 1 cup Eggs Whites (about 9)
- 2 cups Sugar
- 3 cups Unsalted Butter, cubed and at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp Peppermint Extract (I used 2 tsp for a lighter flavor.)
- 1/2 cup Finely chopped White Chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
Garnish
- 1 cup Roughly Chopped White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
- Red Velvet Cake Crumbles from when you level the cakes (this is what I used.)
Instructions
RED VELVET CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three 8-inch (20cm) round cake pans with parchment circles and spray with non stick spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and cocoa together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream the eggs, sugar, oil, and vinegar. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture slowly while the mixer is running, and alternate with the buttermilk to ensure it comes together. Repeat this process until the flour and buttermilk are all incorporated. Add in the vanilla and the food coloring.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans, and bake for 25 minutes. Check with a toothpick to ensure they are baked. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
PEPPERMINT SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
- Fill a small saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer. (I recommend doing this in the stand mixer bowl, to cut down on dishes)
- Put the egg whites and sugar into the bowl over the simmering water. Be sure that the water is NOT touching the bottom of the bowl! Stir the egg whites and sugar until dissolved and the mixture reaches 160 degrees.
- Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the mixture until medium-stiff peaks have formed and the mixture is warm to the touch – about 8 minutes.
- Reduce the mixer speed and add in the butter, once pieces at a time. Add in the peppermint extract, melted white chocolate, and salt. Beat on high for 1-2 minutes to ensure everything is incorporated and smooth.
TO ASSEMBLE
- Level the tops of the cake with a serrated knife or cake leveler. Save the scraps and crumbles for decorations if desired.
- Set one cake layer on a cake plate on a turntable cake stand (if you have one), making the bottom of the cake the top of the layer (turn the layer upside down, it will reduce the crumbs that get into the frosting.) Top the layer with 3/4 cup of frosting. Smooth to the edge of the cake.
- Repeat process with remaining two layers. Smooth additional frosting around the sides of the cake, and smooth. If you are making a crumb-coat layer of frosting, place the cake into the fridge to chill and set for about 30 minutes before you apply your final coat of frosting.
- Pipe a decorative swirl around the top (I used a 1M tip). And sprinkle with chopped peppermint bark and cake crumbles if desired.
Notes
Original recipe from Holy Sweet! by Peabody Johanson. Mildly adapted to suit my decorative adaptations and notes for how I made it.