These peppermint hot chocolate cupcakes have a rich chocolate cake base filled with creamy chocolate ganache, then topped with a light peppermint whipped cream. And then sprinkled with marshmallows and crushed candy canes of course.
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Why You'll Love These Cupcakes!
- Filled with peppermint chocolate ganache - the rich, creamy chocolate ganache has crushed candy canes for extra flavor and a crunchy texture!
- Topped with whipped cream - I love topping hot chocolate with whipped cream so obviously I had to top these hot chocolate cupcakes with a light, stabilized peppermint whipped cream!
- Moist chocolatey cupcake base - these chocolate cupcakes are moist, fudgy, and full of rich chocolate flavor!
- Super easy to decorate - all you need to make these cupcakes beautiful are some mini marshmallows and crushed candy canes!
These hot chocolate cupcakes are perfect for the winter holidays! If you need more holiday inspo, be sure to check out the rest of our Christmas recipes!
Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make these peppermint hot chocolate cupcakes!
- Vegetable oil - I use oil instead of butter in these cupcakes to help keep the cake super moist and delicious! You can also use canola oil or a neutral olive oil.
- Cake flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
- Cocoa powder - My absolute favorite cocoa powder to use in my baking is the King Arthur Flour Triple Cocoa Blend! It's a blend of natural, Dutch, and black cocoa and is perfect for any baking. But you can easily substitute unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa instead!
- Peppermint extract - You can find peppermint extract next to the vanilla at the grocery store or online! Just note that peppermint extract is very strong, so you only need a little bit for great peppermint flavor!
- Dark chocolate - Use dark chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't combine as smoothly as chocolate bars. If desired, you can use milk chocolate instead.
- Heavy whipping cream - This is for the ganache and cannot be substituted.
- Candy canes - You can use crushed candy canes or crushed peppermints for the topping!
- Whipped cream - It's not hot chocolate without homemade whipped cream! To make the whipped cream more stable, I like to add powdered gelatin to it but that's optional. You could also do toasted swiss meringue if you're feeling fancy!
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
This dark chocolate peppermint ganache is super easy to make, but I just have a couple quick notes!
- Use a spatula to combine the ganache as opposed to a whisk, so you don't incorporate any air.
- I recommend making the ganache a few hours before the cupcakes so that it has time to set.
Finely chop the dark chocolate and place into a large bowl.
Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
If desired, add in some crushed candy canes to add texture and flavor to the ganache!
How to Make Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and peppermint extract.
Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Let the chocolate cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of thickened chocolate peppermint ganache.
How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream
You can use just regular whipped cream if you don't have gelatin lying around, but for piping I always prefer to stabilize the whipped cream so that it stays nice and pretty (aka doesn't start melting down the side of your hot chocolate cupcakes after 12 hours).
You can also check out this blog post for all of my other tips for making good whipped cream!
- Add the water to a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin on top. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
- Transfer the gelatin mixture to the microwave and microwave for 5-10 seconds, until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Stir the mixture, then set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, combine the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. Whip the mixture until it starts to thicken and soft peaks form, then turn the mixer to low speed.
- Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture until well combined. Increase the mixer to medium speed and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
For chocolate cupcakes, I like to use these chocolate brown cupcake liners for a more seamless look!
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with the peppermint ganache.
For these big beautiful frosting swirls on these peppermint hot chocolate cupcakes, I use the 1M tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
If you don't like whipped cream and you're feeling fancy, you could also do toasted Swiss meringue on top! Just use the meringue recipe from my s'mores cupcakes!
After frosting, garnish with mini marshmallows, chocolate curls, and crushed candy canes.
WAIT TO DECORATE until immediately before serving! The crushed candy canes will bleed into the whipped cream frosting and it starts to look funky after a few hours. They're still delicious but for the best presentation, hold off on the crushed candy canes until the last minute.
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes are best eaten the same day, but will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days!
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the edge of a chocolate bar for narrow curls or the side of a chocolate bar for wider curls. I like to keep the chocolate curls in a container in the freezer so that they stay fresh and don't melt!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have different properties so that can not always be swapped 1:1. In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Christmas Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons crushed candy canes, substitute ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil, substitute canola oil or light olive oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 teaspoons flavorless powdered gelatin
- 2 tablespoons water
Garnish
- crushed candy canes
- chocolate curls
- mini marshmallows
Instructions
Chocolate Ganache
- Finely chop the dark chocolate and place into a large bowl.
- Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
- Pour over the chopped chocolate and let sit for about two minutes.
- Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
- Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
- If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
- If desired, add in some crushed candy canes to add texture and flavor to the ganache!
Chocolate Cupcakes
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and peppermint extract.
- Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- Let the chocolate cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of thickened chocolate peppermint ganache.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Add the water to a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin on top. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
- Transfer the gelatin mixture to the microwave and microwave for 5-10 seconds, until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Stir the mixture, then set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. Whip the mixture until it starts to thicken and soft peaks form, then turn the mixer to low speed.
- Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture and mix on low until well combined. Increase the mixer to medium speed and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Note: if the gelatin mixture thickens up too much before you add it to the whipped cream, just pop it back in the microwave for 3-5 seconds. It should be a pour-able consistency.
- Transfer the stabilized whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe swirls on each cupcake.
- Top with mini marshmallows, chocolate curls, and crushed candy canes.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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James P. says
Every so often Google gives me an amazing search result, and this absolutely tops my list. I made these to surprise my boyfriend and he thought they were to die for!