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The holiday season isn’t complete without candy canes and chocolate, and why not combine them both with these Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes?! Candy cane frosting on chocolate cake – absolutely delicious!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Candy Cane Frosting
I can’t think about wintertime without also thinking about candy. More specifically, I can’t think about wintertime without craving candy canes and chocolate!
If you’re like me and also looking for an easy Christmas dessert, this is it: Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes!
It doesn’t get simpler than this, really. You’ll make tasty chocolate mint cupcakes starting with a box mix and add some homemade candy cane frosting on top.
They’re family-friendly and relatively quick treats, perfect for the holidays. We all need more recipes like this!
This chocolate cupcakes with candy cane frosting recipe is a simple recipe that’ll go a long way during the holidays Enjoy!
Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes: Ingredients & Substitutions
For this Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes recipe, you will need …
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Super Moist cake mix – or something similar, if this isn’t available to you. You want a super moist chocolate cake/cupcake mix.
- peppermint extract – for additional minty flavor, of course!!
- chocolate chips – dark, milk, semisweet, whatever you prefer. This adds another hit of chocolate to the cupcakes.
- eggs, milk, water, and oil – standard cake-making ingredients when you have a box mix!
For the buttercream:
- salted butter, powdered sugar, and milk – the base of a buttercream frosting in three easy ingredients!
- candy cane bits, peppermint extract – again, for additional minty holiday flavor. Yum!!
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
Chocolate candy cane cupcakes are super simple, even if you’ve never baked before! Just follow these instructions, y’all!!
To make the cupcakes …
First, prep your supplies. Preheat your oven to 350F and line your cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
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Second, mix your cupcake batter. Mix your cake mix and chocolate chips, then add eggs, milk, water, oil, and peppermint extract. Use a hand mixer to combine it all.
Next, bake the batter. Grab your ice cream scoop to put the batter into each cupcake liner, and fill them about 3/4th of the way. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the cupcakes pass the “toothpick test.”
Finally, serve and enjoy! Let them cool completely on a cooling rack, then pipe the buttercream frosting onto them. Now you’re ready to chow down!
To make the frosting …
First, prep your supplies and ingredients. Crush your candy canes and make sure the pieces will go through the tip of a piping bag! Meanwhile, cream your butter with a hand mixer.
Next, add your other ingredients to the creamed butter. You’ll want to add the powdered sugar only 1/2 a cup at a time so it completely combines with the butter! After that, add milk, peppermint extract, and crushed candy canes.
Finally, finish up your buttercream frosting and use it! Make sure the candy cane bits are evenly spread through the frosting. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes if they’re cool, or put the frosting in the fridge overnight if you need to wait.
Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes: FAQs
This will make about 18 cupcakes. More than enough for a small party or the family!!
It’ll take about an hour. A half-hour is prep time, and the rest is cooking and decorating/frosting the cupcakes.
They’ll last for a week in the fridge in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can freeze them unfrosted for about a month or so!!
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Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Super Moist, 15.25 oz.
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
For the Candy Cane Buttercream
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature, 2 sticks
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ cup crushed candy canes
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, pour in the cake mix and add the chocolate chips. Mix until the chocolate chips are covered with the cake mix.
- Add the eggs, milk, water, oil, and peppermint extract. Mix with a hand mixer until all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or another method, fill your cupcake liners to 3/4-full.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the buttercream:
- In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, cream the butter.
- Add the powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the crushed candy cane pieces and mix until the pieces are evenly spread throughout the mixture.
- Once your cupcakes are completely cool, pipe the buttercream over the tops of the cupcakes.
Notes
- *NOTE: I do not follow the ingredients from the box to make the cake; I made some changes.
- If you are planning on pipping the buttercream, make sure you have all small pieces that can go through a piping tip or use a wide tip.
- If you do not have a piping bag or tip, you can use a zip-top bag and cut one corner. You can also spread the frosting with a butter knife or offset spatula.
- If the cupcakes are not completely cool when you're done making the frosting, put the buttercream into an airtight container until ready to use. If you put the buttercream in the fridge overnight, you may need to leave the container on the counter for 10 or so minutes to make it easier to frost your cupcakes.
- You can keep the cupcakes for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- The buttercream can be made the day prior and kept up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- If your frosting is too hard from being cold, I would recommend letting it come up to room temperature and not using the microwave.
- You can freeze the cupcakes for up to 6 weeks in a plastic bag. I like to freeze them for 30 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a plastic bag and take as much air out as possible.
- I would not recommend freezing the cupcakes once they are frosted.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cupcakes look so good love peppermint!!!