Chocolate Peppermint Reindeer Cake Recipes

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. , Bake at 350° for 18-23 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For filling, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, vanilla and food coloring if desired; beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside about 1 tablespoon crushed candy. Fold remaining candy into cream mixture. Spread between layers and around sides but not over the top. , For glaze, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa and water; cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat; whisk in vanilla. Gradually blend in sugar until smooth. Add additional water if necessary. Spread over top of cake. Sprinkle with reserved candy. Chill before serving. Store in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE REINDEER CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coat two 8-inch-round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the cocoa powder and 1 1/2 cups boiling water in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until combined. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the cocoa mixture in a steady stream until just combined, then finish mixing with a rubber spatula.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and tap the pans against the counter to help the batter settle. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level.
• For the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the heavy cream and corn syrup to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand 5 minutes, then stir until completely smooth. Let the ganache sit until it has cooled and thickened to a spreadable consistency, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Place 1 cake layer on a cardboard cake circle on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to catch any drips. Spread about 1/2 cup of the ganache on top and place the second cake layer cut-side down over the ganache. Dollop half of the remaining ganache on top and spread with a large offset spatula so the ganache covers the top of the cake and slowly runs down the sides. Repeat with the remaining ganache, using the offset spatula to make a smooth, even layer over the surface and around the sides of the cake. Refrigerate until set, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• To decorate: Melt the white chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 15 second intervals on 50 percent power until melted, stirring after each interval. Let sit 5 minutes, then transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. (Alternatively, transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner.) Pipe a straight line through the center of the cake from top to bottom, then another line through the center from left to right, dividing the cake into quarters. Pipe 2 more lines to divide the cake into eighths. Pipe a circle of white chocolate around the edge of the cake. Pipe a small circle where the points intersect in the center of the cake. Place a candy-coated chocolate near the tip of each point for reindeer noses (one of them will be red). Add 2 reindeer eyes above each nose. Stick 2 pretzel twist pieces above each pair of eyes.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• For the crust: Cut the butter into pats and add to a medium heatproof bowl along with the chocolate chips. Place the bowl over 1 inch of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Once the butter and chocolate start to melt, stir to combine and remove from the heat. Finely crush the chocolate wafers in a food processor until it becomes a fine meal. In a large bowl, combine the wafer crumbs with the melted chocolate and blend until the crumbs are moistened. Reserve a heaping 1 cup crumb mixture in a small bowl. Press the remaining crumb mixture in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch diameter springform pan with 3-inch high sides. Freeze 1 hour.
• For the glaze: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and whisk until it melts. Set aside to cool until room temperature, about 1 hour.
• For the filling: Quickly mix the ice cream, crushed candies and extract in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until blended. Put half the ice cream mixture onto the frozen crust and spread out. Evenly scatter the reserved cookie crumbs over the ice cream in the springform pan, pressing the crumbs down gently. Pour half of the chocolate glaze over the cookie crumbles and ice cream Freeze for about 3 hours.
• When you about ready to repeat the layers, place the glaze back over low heat, just until pourable, but not warm. Remove the springform pan from the freezer and repeat with the remaining ice cream and glaze. Place back into the freezer for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Remove the cake from the freezer about 20 minutes before serving for easy removal of the springform sides. Release the pan sides and transfer the cake to a platter. Break off irregular pieces of the Candy Brittle and peel off the foil as you go. Press the brittle upright, candy side out, onto the top and sides of cake.
• In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar, 3/4 cup water and corn syrup until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 300 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• Place a 24-inch long sheet of foil on your work surface. Be extremely careful, the syrup is extremely hot. Pour the boiling syrup in wide zigzag lines across the foil. Working quickly and using an oiled offset metal spatula, spread the syrup evenly onto the foil, leaving a 1-inch border. Immediately sprinkle with all the candies, pressing the larger pieces into the syrup to make sure they stick. Be careful not to touch the syrup. Cool completely.

REINDEER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of three 6-in. round baking pans with parchment paper; grease and flour parchment and sides of pans., In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in butter until crumbly. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup milk and extracts; beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining milk. Gently fold in jimmies., Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., For buttercream, in a microwave, melt chocolate with cream until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly. In a heatproof bowl of a stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until blended. Place over simmering water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 8-10 minutes., Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of stand mixer, beat on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 7 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth; beat in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in cocoa through a sifter., Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Reserve remaining buttercream for decorating. Decorate as desired. Store in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray six 9-by-2-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line each cake pan with parchment paper and spray parchment.
• In a medium bowl, whisk cocoa with hot water until smooth. Whisk in sour cream; let cool. Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each; scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the cocoa mixture and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined.
• Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; peel off parchment. Reinvert cakes and let cool completely, top sides up.
• Meanwhile, fit a pastry bag with a large plain round tip; fill pastry bag with one-third of the buttercream and set aside.
• Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a cake plate or lazy Susan. Transfer one layer to cake plate and pipe buttercream around the perimeter of the cake. Using about 1 cup remaining buttercream, fill between the buttercream perimeter to create an even layer of filling; sprinkle with some of the crushed peppermint candies. Top with another layer of cake, top side down. Repeat process, filling the cake, piping the buttercream perimeter, creating an even layer with remaining frosting, and sprinkling with peppermint candies, until all the cake layers have been stacked. Spread remaining frosting all over tops and sides of cake; sprinkle top with peppermint candies. Garnish sides of cake plate with any remaining candies; serve.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT REINDEER CAKE

Steps:

• For the reindeer, make this cake recipe twice back to back.
• FOR THE CAKE:.
• Heat oven to 350. Place 3 cups of water in a saucepan and set on the stove with a high heat.
• In a stand mixer, blend sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Slowly mix into wet and when just incorporated pour in one cup of boiling water. Pulse until thoroughly mixed and pour into two parchment lined Loaf tins. Bake 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Wrap and chill well before cutting and assembling cake.
• TO ASSEMBLE:.
• Slice your loaves into two layers. Mix buttercream frosting and spread generously between each layer. Sprinkle with chopped candy cane before stacking each new layer. Chill continuously to ensure cake keeps a firm shape. Once stacked, using a serrated blade, carve out general reindeer shape. Once desire form is taken do a smooth crumb coat using additional frosting. Do final coat using clean fresh frosting. Chill when it looks how you want it and use a fork to create added grooves and dimension.
• FOR THE ANTLERS:.
• Slightly melt candy canes in a 300 degree oven and bend into desire shapes (Watch your fingers, it's hot!). Adhere to one another by placing an end under a flame for a moment and sticking to a larger piece (They burn very quickly so be stealthy and don't be devastated if any are ruined). Once done pierce the top of you cake with a pointed end and coast delicately with white candy melts.
• FINISHING TOUCHES:.
• Finish by spraying with edible pearl spray and placing a bed of coconut around your reindeer. (If you're a terrible person and don't like coconut, you can also use powdered sugar or crushed candy canes instead. Paint on a glittery red nose for an extra festive touch!

EASY CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan; line bottom with parchment or waxed paper. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 inches water to a boil. Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl; set over (not in) water. Turn off heat; let stand until melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir to combine. Remove bowl; cool 5 minutes.
• Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then eggs and buttermilk until combined. Fold in flour mixture until combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until cake pulls away from sides and a toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a wire rack (and leave inverted) to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Set cake on a serving platter. Tuck parchment or waxed paper under sides of cake. Pour chocolate icing onto center of cake and spread evenly over top and sides. Let set, about 40 minutes. Serve cake with whipped cream and chocolate shavings or peppermint candies, if desired.

LETHAL PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and flour 2 round cake pans.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together cake ingredients on low for 1 minute, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
• Increase mixing speed to medium high and beat for 2 minutes more.
• Pour batter into cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until they test done.
• Remove from oven and cool completely.
• While cooling, prepare Ganache:.
• Put all ganache ingredients in 2 cup glass measuring cup.
• Cook on 50% power in microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring well after each minute until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
• Cover tightly and let sit for 3-4 hours or until it reaches spreading consistency. If it gets too thick, place in a pan of hot water over medium heat and stir until softens.
• To make filling:.
• Place butter and cream cheese in mixing bowl.
• Cream together until smooth and fluffy.
• Add candy, sugar, flavoring (or schnapps) and about 2 Tbs milk.
• Beat, adding additional milk until mixture is fluffy.
• When cakes are cool, layer them with the filling between layers, reserving about 1/2 cup of the filling for garnish, if you wish.
• Frost layers with cooled ganache.
• Pipe remaining filling on top of cake, or just sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
• Refrigerate to set ganache.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PEPPERMINT FROSTING

Steps:

• Make the cake: Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-by-8-inch square or 9-inch round light-colored metal baking pan with oil.
• In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and eggs. Use a whisk or an electric mixer to beat the mixture until foamy and slightly lighter in texture and color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, vanilla and salt, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 1 minute.
• Whisk in the cocoa powder until combined. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and whisk until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir the espresso powder into the hot water, then add the mixture to the bowl. Whisk until incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan set on a rack for about 45 minutes.
• While the cake bakes, clean the mixing bowl and make the frosting: Add the butter to the bowl and mix on medium-high with an electric mixer until smooth, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Turn the speed to low, and slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Mix until the sugar is moistened, then add 2 teaspoons of the cream, the vanilla extract, 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and salt. Turn the speed up to medium-high, and whip until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes, adding a bit more cream a teaspoon at a time, if necessary, to make a smooth and light frosting. Taste the frosting, and add a few more drops of peppermint extract if desired. The frosting can be kept at room temperature while the cake finishes baking and cooling.
• Top the cooled cake with an even layer of frosting, then use the tip of a toothpick to dot the frosting with a few small dots of gel food coloring, if using. Use a spoon or offset spatula to swirl the food coloring into the frosting to create candy cane-like stripes - just a few swipes will do the trick. If you mix it in too much, the frosting will turn pink. Top the cake with sprinkles and shaved chocolate, if desired. Store leftover cake loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

CHOCOLATE-PEPPERMINT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix baking crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
• Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add extract; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended; pour over crust.
• Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until centre is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours.
• Beat cream in separate bowl with mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form; spoon over cheesecake. Sprinkle with crushed candy.

MAGICAL REINDEER CAKE

Steps:

• Butter and line 3 x 15 or 16cm round tins (alternatively do the baking in batches if you only have one tin). Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3.
• Gently melt the chocolate, butter and sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl on medium heat for a minute at a time, stirring until melted or, set a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Leave to cool a little.
• Beat together the eggs with the vanilla and soured cream in a bowl. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into another bowl and whisk to distribute. Stir the egg mix into the cooled melted chocolate, then fold in the flour mix and fold through until all the powder has disappeared.
• Spoon a third of the mixture into each tin (if you weigh the tins, you can get it perfectly even and your cakes will cook at the same rate and to the same height). Level off each thin layer with the back of a spoon.
• Bake until just cooked, so when a skewer poked into the centre of the sponge layer comes out with a few crumbs and the cakes are shrinking away from the tin a bit. This will take about 25-30 mins, but check after 20 to be safe as all ovens vary. Remove and cool in the tins on a wire rack, or on top of cold oven hob rings.
• Meanwhile, to make the ganache, microwave all the ingredients together in 30 sec bursts until they have all melted, stirring at each interval. Or melt everything together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Cool to room temperature before adding to the buttercream.
• To make the buttercream, beat the butter and vanilla paste until pale and creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar, beating well between each addition. (Using unrefined sugar will give the buttercream a natural caramel flavour.) Beat in the cooled ganache.
• To make the antlers, combine the sugar and butter with the vanilla paste until amalgamated but not creamed. Add the egg and combine. Mix the flour with the spices then tip that in and mix to form a dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge to firm up for 20 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface to a 5/6mm thickness. Lay the template on the dough and cut around it using a small sharp knife - make two sets in case of breakages (any additional dough can be saved). Push the lolly sticks up into the bottom of the antlers and bake for around 15-20 mins until cooked through and golden. Allow to cool.
• Make the ears by pulling a little of the brown fondant icing off the block and kneading it with white fondant icing to make a pale brown. Roll the rest of the dark brown icing out thickly on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Roll the paler icing out thinly. Cut large teardrop shapes from the lighter icing to form the ears (about 6cm in size) and stick the lighter shape on top of the darker icing with a little water. Cut a larger teardrop around the lighter shape. Fold and pinch together at the base, push a cocktail stick into the bottom of each one and set aside to firm up.
• Trim the cakes flat if they have a little hump where they have been baked. Put the first layer onto a 16cm cake board and use a little of the chocolate frosting to secure it to the board. Spread frosting over the first layer then add layer two. Sandwich together by pressing gently and add another layer of frosting to this layer. For the last layer, take the sponge and invert it on top of the other two cakes, so that the smooth part of the cake - that was on the bottom of the tin -becomes the top. This will make it nice and neat. Spread a very thin layer of icing over the whole cake to crumb coat it and chill to set for about 30 mins.
• Add more buttercream to the cake to make a clean top coat - use a palette knife or side scraper to get a smooth finish (but do save a little of the buttercream for the final flourish). Mark out the eyes with a cutter so you can see where to add them. Roll little strips of black fondant icing for the eyes and lashes, then stick these onto the cake. Mould the nose with red fondant icing and stick it on with a cocktail stick, pushing one end into the nose and the other into the cake.
• For the little collar, roll out about 100g of green fondant icing on a surface dusted with icing sugar and cut a thin strip for the bow that will fit around the base of the cake. Stick the ends together with a little water, then make a bow by folding another thin strip and stick this onto the collar with another dab of water. Scoop the leftover buttercream into a bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe some fluffy reindeer hair on top of the cake, then add the ears and biscuit antlers, pushing them in gently but firmly.

PEPPERMINT REINDEER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Remove paper liners from cupcakes. Cut in half crosswise; set bottom aside. Decorate the tops with candies for the 'eyes' and 'mouth'. Add sour cherry balls for the 'nose'. Break pretzels in half for 'antlers'.
• Spread 1 tablespoon ice cream over the bottom of each cupcake. Place decorated halves on top. Serve immediately or freeze for several hours before serving.