Chocolate Peppermint Cake

The drive to New Orleans. I-10. I cried the whole way. Leaving Baton Rouge for the first time. Leaving MawMaw Shirley. The apartment near campus is small. I put the cast iron pot on the stove. I put the recipe card on the counter. The apartment became mine. Not through decoration. Through the pot.

I called MawMaw Shirley. She said, "How is the kitchen?" I said, "Small." She said, "Small kitchens make big food. Big kitchens make lazy cooks." Then she said, "Make a roux tonight." I said I had nothing to put in it. She said, "Make the roux anyway. The roux comes first. The rest follows." So I made a roux at 10 p.m. in a new city. Dark, chocolate, thirty-five minutes. I put nothing in it. The making was the homecoming.

MawMaw Shirley told me the roux comes first—the rest follows. So when I finally had something to follow it with, I wanted it to match: dark, rich, a little intense, nothing apologetic about it. This Chocolate Peppermint Cake has that same quality the roux taught me—you give it time, you don’t rush the color, and what comes out is something that fills a small apartment kitchen with a smell that says someone lives here now. The peppermint cuts through the deep chocolate the same way that phone call cut through the loneliness—sharp, clarifying, alive.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (includes cooling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process preferred)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 cup hot strong-brewed coffee
1/2 cup neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
For the peppermint buttercream:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies, for topping

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the parchment. Dust lightly with cocoa powder and tap out any excess.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly blended and no lumps remain.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, hot coffee, oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. The coffee should be hot—it deepens the chocolate flavor significantly.
Make the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and glossy. The batter will be thin—this is correct. Divide evenly between the two prepared pans.
Bake. Bake for 32–35 minutes, rotating the pans once halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
Make the buttercream. Beat the softened butter on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add the heavy cream, peppermint extract, and pinch of salt. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 2 minutes until light and spreadable. Taste and adjust peppermint if needed.
Assemble and frost. Place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread a generous layer of peppermint buttercream over the top. Set the second layer on top, pressing gently to level. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining buttercream, smoothing as you go.
Finish and serve. Press the crushed candy canes over the top of the cake just before serving so they stay crisp. Slice with a clean knife, wiping between cuts for neat layers.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Peppermint Cake — The Dark, Rich Thing You Make When You Need to Begin