Last week, I found myself with a little more time on my hands than I normally do in the evenings (most evenings are spent editing photos, recording recipes, responding to emails, writing blog posts, basically they’re usually spent do my computer work for this blog,) buuut last week, I finished my computer work early, and found that I had a little time to do some extra experimenting. Which is one of my favorite things to do. There’s something magical for me in creating a new recipe, building it from scratch. If you saw what’s going on inside my head when I’m creating, you’d laugh, because it probably looks a little like a squirrel on steroids. I’m not actually sure what that looks like, buuut that’s what I imagine it looks like, because my brain is going about a thousand miles an hour in sooo many directions!

Anyway, I’ve had this idea in my head of infusing candy canes into a recipe. See I love the flavor of candy canes in a recipe, but I don’t usually love the crunchy texture of candy canes with soft cake, it contradicts too much for me. So I thought, I’d be a little creative with things. I mixed the candy canes with some milk, and a little extra sugar on the stove top and melted them down into a peppermint syrup. Then I used the peppermint syrup as part of the liquids for my cake.

And guuuys, I am sooo happy with how these turned out! The first time I made them was a little rough, because I added the flour directly to the hot syrup and that was a no go, it basically cooked the flour before it could be combined with anything else. But the second time around, I let the syrup cool more, and then added it to all the ingredients, and we achieved success!

Guys, I am seriously so so proud of these cakes, they’re sooo delicious! They’re soft, and chocolaty, with a subtle taste of sweet peppermint. Then they get topped with a light fluffy whipped cream!

They’re perfect Christmas cake! Honestly, they kind of remind me of peppermint hot chocolate but in cake form! Ummm yes please!!!

Alrighty friends, let’s get down to business! To defeat the huns! (Please tell me you got that reference.)

How to make Mini Peppermint Chocolate Cakes

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1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a small sauce pan, over medium heat combine two candy canes and the milk.
3. Stirring constantly, heat the milk until the candy canes are completely melted. Then stir in the sugar until it’s dissolved.
4. Remove the candy cane mixture from the heat.
5. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder.
6. Add the oil to the candy cane syrup, then add in the warm water.
7. Stir the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients.
8. Stir in the vinegar, and then mix in the chocolate chips.
9. Line the bottom of the mini spring form pans with wax paper. (Pro Tip: Lay the bottom of the pans on the wax paper, and trace them with a pencil. Then using scissors, cut out the wax paper circles, the wax paper will fit perfectly in the bottom of the pans.)
10. Pour the cake batter into the two pans.
11. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted into the middle of the cake and comes out clean.
12. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
13. Using a knife, go around the edge of the pans to loosen the cakes.
14. Undo the cake rings, and push each cake out of their pan. Remove the bottom of the pan and the wax paper from each cake.
15. Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack, and let the cakes cool completely. Then top with whipped cream.
16. Crush the remaining candy cane and sprinkle on top.

For the Whipped Cream

1. In a mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract.
2. Using the electric hand mixer, beat the cream until it becomes fluffy and holds its shape.