Peppermint Bark Cupcakes
These peppermint bark cupcakes are made by topping moist chocolate cupcakes with a creamy white chocolate peppermint frosting. This is a festive recipe that’s perfect for holiday parties, and you don’t need any special equipment to frost and decorate the cupcakes!
Homemade peppermint bark meets moist and springy chocolate cupcakes in this peppermint bark cupcake recipe.
I did my best to replicate the layers of my favorite peppermint bark when creating these cupcakes. The chocolate cupcake base stands in for the layer of semi-sweet chocolate and the white chocolate peppermint frosting mimics the peppermint-infused white chocolate topping.
For extra peppermint flavor, I decorated these cupcakes with crushed candy canes but some pieces of peppermint bark would be so cute too! These are especially perfect for Christmas and easy enough that you can even get kids involved with the decorating process!
Recipe Video
Ingredient Notes
Cocoa Powder
Make sure to use natural cocoa powder when making the cupcake batter. If you use Dutch process cocoa, your cupcakes will sink in the middle (speaking from personal experience here). If you’re curious about the difference between the two, I highly recommend reading through my post on natural vs Dutch process cocoa powder.
Hot Water & Instant Espresso
The instant espresso doesn’t make the cupcakes taste like coffee and doesn’t add a noticeable amount of caffeine. I love adding it to chocolate cupcakes because it enhances the chocolate flavor and makes the cupcakes taste even richer. You can omit the instant espresso powder, but you’ll still need to use ½ cup of hot water in the batter.
White Chocolate
In my recipe testing, I found that actual white chocolate baking bars melted the best (I really like Baker’s and Ghirardelli!). White chocolate chips will work, but they don’t melt as smoothly and tend to make the frosting grainier. If you want to try a different kind, feel free to swap out the white chocolate with milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate.
Peppermint Extract
This gives the white chocolate frosting a sweet peppermint flavor. Don’t replace it with mint extract because it’s made with spearmint and will make your frosting taste more like toothpaste than peppermint bark.
Tips For Making Perfect Cupcakes
- Don’t scoop the flour straight out of the container. This compacts the flour in your measuring cup and you’ll end up measuring out too much. Always make sure to measure your flour correctly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Don’t over mix the batter. Over mixing cupcake batter over develops the gluten in the flour and creates dense, tough cupcakes. To prevent this from happening, mix together the dry ingredients before adding in the wet. As soon as the batter comes together, stop mixing!
- Only fill each liner a little over half way full. These cupcakes will rise quite a bit in the oven and fill out the liners. If you overfill them, they’ll either dome too much in the oven or they’ll sink in the middle.
- Don’t over bake. Over baked cupcakes are dry, crumbly, and just sad. I suggest using a toothpick to test their doneness; if a toothpick inserted in the very middle comes out clean, the cupcakes are good to go!
- Let the white chocolate cool before mixing it into the frosting. If you add the white chocolate to the butter and powdered sugar mixture while it’s still warm, you’ll end up melting the butter and it will be nearly impossible to rescue your frosting. Let it cool until it’s no longer warm to the touch, this usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
How To Decorate Your Cupcakes
I used the Ateco 846 piping tip to frost these cupcakes, but the Wilton 1M piping tip is another great option that always looks pretty too! To give the cupcakes even more holiday flair, you can dye the frosting red or dye just half of it red to create a red and white swirled effect.
If you plan to color the frosting, I highly recommend using gel food coloring. It will give you an intense color without all of the liquid contained in traditional food coloring (AmeriColor and Wilton are my personal favorite brands!).
To top the cupcakes, you can use crushed candy canes like I did, but some festive sprinkles, small pieces of peppermint bark, or red sanding sugar would look beautiful too.
Want to use a different frosting? Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract to my ermine frosting, vanilla buttercream, or chocolate buttercream instead.
Can I Use This Recipe To Make A Cake?
Yes, this recipe makes enough batter for one 9-inch cake. If you’d like to make a layer cake, just double the cupcake recipe and increase the frosting recipe by half. The baking time for 9-inch cake layers should be about 25 to 30 minutes.
Can I Make Mini Cupcakes Instead?
Absolutely! Just make sure to fill the mini cupcake liners only ⅔ of the way full and reduce the baking time to 9 to 13 minutes.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these chocolate peppermint bark cupcakes. We loved the combination of rich chocolate cupcakes and cool white chocolate peppermint frosting, but if you make a different flavor of frosting I’d love to hear what you went with!
P.S. If you try this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment below to let me know how they turned out. Happy Baking!
Peppermint Bark Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (125 grams)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder (30 grams)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil (80 ml)
- ½ cup buttermilk (120 ml)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot water (120 ml)
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or instant espresso powder optional, but recommended
White Chocolate Peppermint Frosting
- 6 ounces white chocolate roughly chopped (170 grams; I recommend using white chocolate bars instead of baking chips)
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226 grams; 2 sticks)
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar (300 grams)
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (15 ml)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract I prefer to use 1 teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Optional Toppings
- Crushed candy canes
- Peppermint bark squares/pieces
Instructions
- To make the chocolate cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two 12-count muffin pans with 16 cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined.1 cup all-purpose flour,¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder,¾ teaspoon baking powder,½ teaspoon baking soda,½ teaspoon salt,½ cup packed light brown sugar,½ cup granulated sugar
- Add the oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick like brownie batter.⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil,½ cup buttermilk,1 large egg,1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the instant coffee (or instant espresso powder) to the hot water and mix until fully dissolved. Add to the mixing bowl and mix until everything is just combined. The batter will be thin, this is normal!½ cup hot water,1 teaspoon instant coffee or instant espresso powder
- Distribute the batter evenly between all 16 cupcake liners, making sure to only fill each one a little over halfway full.
- Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the white chocolate peppermint frosting: Add the chopped white chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments at 50% power, stirring well after each increment, until completely melted and smooth. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to cool while you prepare the frosting.6 ounces white chocolate
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until smooth.1 cup unsalted butter
- Mix in half of the powdered sugar on low speed, then mix in the remaining half of the powdered sugar until fully combined.2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Add the heavy whipping cream, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and salt and continue mixing on low speed until fully combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.1 tablespoon heavy cream,½ to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract,½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract,⅛ teaspoon salt
- Pour the cooled, melted white chocolate into the bowl and mix on low speed until the mixture is well combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds or until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- To assemble the cupcakes: Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your preferred piping tip and pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
- Top with crushed candy canes or pieces of peppermint bark, if desired.Crushed candy canes,Peppermint bark squares/pieces
