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These festive and super-delicious chocolate candy cane cupcakes make an easy holiday treat for kids and adults alike.
Why we love this recipe
These chocolate candy cane cupcakes fit the only three requirements of my kid-friendly holiday baking projects: they’re nut-free, they have a high cuteness to effort ratio, and they’re vaguely secular. On my best days, I can say the same for myself.
This recipe:
- Begins with our super-popular, well-behaved, and ridiculously light and tender chocolate cupcakes
- Tops them with a minty, but not shockingly minty, variation of our fabulous whipped chocolate frosting
- Dresses them up for a holiday party in mere seconds, with whole and crushed candy canes
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
For the cupcakes
- Dutch-process cocoa powder is processed with alkali. The higher pH makes it react differently in batter than regular cocoa powder, so don’t swap one for the other. It shouldn’t be too hard to find, but if you can’t get it locally, you can order it on Amazon.
- Safflower oil is my neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
- The water doesn’t need to be at an actual boil, but do ensure it’s very hot. Among other functions, it helps to develop the flavor of the cocoa.
- I prefer to leave the minty vibes to the frosting, but if you’d like to double down, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the cupcakes themselves as well.
For the mint chocolate buttercream
- I like to use a good quality cultured, salted butter to add the tiniest bit of additional dimension to the flavor of the frosting. It doesn’t taste salty at all — it just tempers the sweetness and heightens all the flavors.
- I tend to use good old powdered sugar from the grocery store and give it a sift. However, if you like, you can use organic powdered sugar. It tends to be processed with tapioca starch instead of cornstarch and have a smoother, more powerful thickening capacity.
- You can use any unsweetened cocoa powder, but the better it is, the better the result. Here I’ve used Valrhona. Normally I wouldn’t use Dutch processed cocoa for this recipe, but since that’s what you’ll use for the cupcakes, it’s fine to use it here too if you don’t already have the other variety on hand.
- A combination of vanilla extract and peppermint extract contributes a balanced minty flavor that won’t tip into overwhelm.
- To decorate the cupcakes, you’ll also need whole mini candy canes and some crushed candy cane (which you can buy or crush yourself).
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a fabulous batch of chocolate candy cane cupcakes. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
For the cupcakes
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Beat in the egg, milk, oil, and, vanilla.
- Carefully beat in the hot water.
- Bake at 350°F for about 18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting
- First you’ll whip the butter.
- Sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
- Pour in the milk, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract.
- Whip until smooth, creamy, and light. That’s it!
Expert tips and FAQs
Piped frosting like this looks a little bit fancy, but it’s so easy to do.
After you make the mint chocolate buttercream, you just spoon it into a disposable piping bag fitted with a star tip, pipe out a little bit of frosting onto a cupcake from directly overhead, and move on to the next one. Each one takes about five seconds. It’s magic.
Nestle a mini candy cane into the cupcake, sprinkle with a bit of crushed candy cane, and you’re done.
Once cooled, the cupcakes themselves do well in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days or in the fridge for up to a week. Or you can wrap them well in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze them for later use, up to about three months.
I prefer to use this frosting right away, but you can make it up to a week in advance if you need to. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, bring to cool room temperature, and whisk again for a minute before using.
I like to store any leftover frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
More favorite holiday treats
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Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 2 cups (396 grams) sugar
- 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (64 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (237 ml) boiling water
For the frosting
- 16 tablespoons (227 grams) salted butter, at cool room temperature
- 3 ½ cups (420 grams) powdered sugar
- ½ cup (42 grams) cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) whole milk, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
To decorate
- Crushed candy canes
- 24 mini candy canes
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Line two standard muffin tins with 24 decorative paper liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or in a large mixing bowl with electric beaters, mix sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed until well combined.
- Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until batter is smooth.
- Pour in boiling water and carefully mix on low until just incorporated.
- Divide batter among muffin cups.
- Bake cupcakes for about 18 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Make the frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk (or in a large bowl with electric beaters), beat the butter for three to four minutes until light and creamy.
- Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then add to mixer (with mixer off) along with milk, vanilla, and peppermint.
- Beat on low until incorporated, then on high for three to four minutes until smooth and fluffy.
Decorate
- Scoop frosting into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Pipe some frosting straight down onto each cupcake.
- Dust each cupcake with some crushed candy cane and spear with a mini candy cane, making sure it penetrates the cupcake and not just the icing so it doesn't fall out.
Notes
- Dutch-process cocoa powder is processed with alkali. The higher pH makes it react differently in batter than regular cocoa powder, so don't swap one for the other. It shouldn't be too hard to find, but if you can't get it locally, you can order it on Amazon.
- Safflower oil is my neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
- The water doesn't need to be at an actual boil, but do ensure it's very hot. Among other functions, it helps to develop the flavor of the cocoa.
- I prefer to leave the minty vibes to the frosting, but if you'd like to double down, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the cupcakes themselves as well.
- For the frosting, you can use any unsweetened cocoa powder, but the better it is, the better the result. Here I've used Valrhona. Normally I wouldn't use Dutch processed cocoa for this recipe, but since that's what you'll use for the cupcakes, it's fine to use it here too if you don't already have the other variety on hand.
- Once cooled, the cupcakes themselves do well in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days or in the fridge for up to a week. Or you can wrap them well in plastic wrap and then foil and freeze them for later use, up to about three months.
- I prefer to use this frosting right away, but you can make it up to a week in advance if you need to. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, bring to cool room temperature, and whisk again for a minute before using.
- I like to store any leftover frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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