High Altitude Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

These festive, high altitude chocolate peppermint cupcakes start with soft and moist chocolate cupcakes with a hint of peppermint. They’re frosted with the prettiest red and white swirled peppermint buttercream, and topped with peppermint candy. This is a lovely recipe for the holidays!

You might also love this pink peppermint candy cane ice cream, peppermint brownies with cream cheese frosting, and candy cane Christmas cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Chocolate + Peppermint. Chocolate and peppermint is a delicious combination, and these peppermint chocolate cupcakes are both rich and refreshing with the dark chocolate cake and cool, minty frosting.

Easy to Decorate. As you’ll see in the photos below, these chocolate cupcakes with peppermint buttercream are so easy to decorate with pretty red and white swirled frosting. A simple stripe of red food coloring painted inside the piping bag transfers onto the white peppermint buttercream frosting, creating lovely stripes and swirls.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 recipe Chocolate Cupcakes. For today’s chocolate peppermint cupcakes, my popular high altitude chocolate cupcakes are the perfect base recipe. I omitted the espresso powder, but you could certainly leave it in, or even add a little more, to make peppermint mocha cupcakes.
• Peppermint Extract. A little peppermint extract in the cupcakes adds more flavor to complement the buttercream.

Buttercream

• Butter + Shortening. For a whiter color in the frosting, I recommend using half butter and half shortening, rather than all butter.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Vanilla + Peppermint Extracts. Flavor. Be sure to use peppermint, not mint extract.
• Food Coloring. You’ll need “super red” gel food coloring. To decorate your peppermint swirl cupcakes, paint a stripe of the food coloring inside the piping bag. When you pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, the white frosting will pick up the red color for a pretty striped effect.
• Candy. To decorate the cupcakes, a variety of starlight mints, peppermint gems, mini foil wrapped chocolate balls or truffles, mini candy canes, crushed peppermint or soft peppermint balls all look pretty on top of the swirled buttercream.

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

• Prepare the Chocolate Cupcakes as instructed, then cool completely before frosting.
• Baker’s Note: Omit the espresso powder and add 1/2 tsp peppermint extract to the cupcakes.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening for 1 minute until smooth. You can replace the shortening with butter, if preferred, but using half butter and half shortening will make a whiter buttercream, for a prettier red and white contrast.
• Separately, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture by spoonfuls, mixing until combined, but clumpy.
• Add the extracts, and increase the speed to medium. Whip the buttercream for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 more minute.

Decorating

• Fit a 16-inch disposable piping bag with tip 1M.
• Use a small, clean craft brush and paint stripes of the red gel food coloring up the inside of the piping bag. You can do anywhere from 2-4 stripes, depending on how much red striping you want on the buttercream.
• Carefully fill the piping bag half full with the buttercream, trying to keep the stripes of food coloring from smearing too much.
• Pipe swirls of buttercream on top of the cooled cupcakes. Before refilling the bag, you may need to repaint the stripes.
• Top the cupcakes with candy.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store leftover cupcakes?

Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Note that candy canes and peppermint candy tends to melt and get sticky as it sits on the leftover cupcakes, so I recommend waiting to decorate the cupcakes until ready to serve them.

What piping tip did you use?

I used tip 1M.

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