North Pole Cake
A moist and soft dark chocolate cake, filled and frosted with fluffy peppermint buttercream, and a surprise inside with candy cane striped buttercream between each cake layer. A white chocolate dipped peppermint stick on top is the perfect North Pole decoration!
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Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Peppermint Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 tsp peppermint extract
- 2-4 tbsp whole milk, if needed
- red gel food coloring
North Pole Decoration
- 1 thick peppermint stick or candy cane
- 2 tbsp white chocolate chips or white candy melts
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then whisk until completely combined.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, oil and vanilla until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk for about 30 seconds until well combined and mostly free of lumps.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Tap the pans lightly on the counter a few times to pop any large air bubbles. Bake the cakes on the center rack for about 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it, and the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and shortening for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar and meringue powder, mixing to combine.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and peppermint extract; whip on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy, adding the milk as needed for desired consistency.
Assembly
- Set aside 1 cup of the buttercream, and add red gel food coloring to color it red. Fit two piping bags with tip #12 (medium sized round tip). Fill one piping bag with the red buttercream, and the other piping bag with white.
- Place one of the cooled cakes on a cake board. Starting with the white buttercream, pipe a swirl around the cake, leaving a gap in between the lines, all the way from the outer edge to the middle. Now take the red buttercream and pipe a swirl that fills in the gap around the white swirl.Place a second cake layer on top, and repeat piping the swirls of white and red buttercream. Top with the last cake layer.
- Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, and chill for 30 minutes, then frost the cake with a final swirly coat of buttercream.
The North Pole
- Melt the white chocolate. Dip the tip of the peppermint stick in the white chocolate, and let it drip down the stick just a little. Wait several minutes for it to set, then dip it again, letting a few more drips run down. Continue dipping the peppermint stick in the white chocolate, maybe 4-5 layers, until you're happy with how the chocolate looks.
- Insert the peppermint stick on top of the cake. If you like, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.
Notes
Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier for up to 3 days.
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