Amazing Chocolate Peppermint Dessert - Peppermint Bark Cupcake

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Make a chocolate peppermint dessert that everyone will love!

Something about the cooler weather and the holiday decorations makes peppermint a favorite of my palate. Peppermint patties, candy canes, and perhaps most of all a good Peppermint Bark Cupcake satiate the sweet freshness that I so crave when the season turns wintry. Here is a delicious recipe for a Peppermint Bark Cupcake that I am salivating over.

What is the best chocolate peppermint dessert?

Chocolate and peppermint are the perfect holiday pair. Every time I drink hot cocoa, I love sprinkling some peppermint candies on top.

So of course when I am thinking about holiday baking ideas, I always go back to those two main ingredients.

And my favorite desserts to bake are cupcakes. I love how they are already perfectly portioned out. You can decorate them to fit any occasion.

So, when I was trying to figure out the best chocolate peppermint dessert, making cupcakes was almost a no-brainer. I made these with my favorite homemade chocolate cake recipes and topped with a fluffy and light homemade peppermint buttercream frosting.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Cake

When you find something that works, you don’t change it up. And that is what I did with this cupcake recipe. I have made a variety of different chocolate cupcakes with it and it never fails. This recipe is light and fluffy with just the right balance of chocolate.

The entire recipe is at the bottom of this post. One thing to keep in mind when you are making your own homemade cupcakes: when you are adding the flour, alternate between flour and milk. Don’t just add all the flour at once. This will keep the flour from overflowing but it also helps it all mix in better.

How to Make Homemade Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

I love making my own buttercream frosting. At its simplest form, buttercream frosting is basically just butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. To make this a peppermint frosting, I just added some peppermint extract.

The Best Peppermint Bark Recipe

In my recipe, I used premade peppermint bark to place on top of the cupcakes. But if you want to make your own peppermint bark, you can find my favorite recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction. Her recipe has white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, peppermint extract, and candy canes. It’s pretty easy!

Peppermint Bark Cupcake Recipe

Here’s the recipe for my favorite chocolate peppermint desserts ever – peppermint bark cupcakes!

Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients:

1 1/3 Cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 TBSP unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 Cup sugar
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 Cup whole milk1 Cup white chocolate chips

Frosting Ingredients:

1 Cup soft unsalted butter
4 + Cup powder sugar
4 TBSP heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
Pieces of Peppermint Bark

Chocolate Cupcake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, and salt stirring together. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl.
Beat the eggs one at a time, after each addition, then add in the vanilla.
Alternating add the flour mixture with the milk; beating well.
Fill the lined cupcake tins 3/4 full.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the cupcake tin for 10 minutes.
Move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting Directions:

Cream the butter and powder sugar until it looks light and creamy.
If it doesn’t cream, add several drops of the heavy whipping cream until it creams.
Test to see if the frosting can form and hold a stiff peak by taking a spoonful of frosting and turning the spoon upside down. If the frosting stays on the spoon, it is ready if not then….
Add more powder sugar 1/2 C at a time…. mix well.
Add the peppermint extract, stir well.
If ready scoop the frosting into a pastry bag with a large tip.
Twist the open end of the pastry bag to push the frosting to the tip.
Start by frosting on the outside edge of the cupcake working to the center of the cupcake.
Add a piece of Peppermint Bark on top.