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A chocolate cupcake with a swirl of white chocolate peppermint frosting on top! These white chocolate peppermint cupcakes are sure to be a hit with your friends and family this holiday season!
So I’m just going to say. I love cupcakes. There I said it and I don’t care who knows it!
And when the cupcakes are topped with a fun pink swirly buttercream on top, tastes like candy canes. You know I’m a fan.
Hello white chocolate peppermint cupcakes. I’m a huge fan. Now don’t worry if you are not a cupcake making queen, I will walk you through this.
How To Make These Peppermint Cupcakes
First things first. Prepare your pans and pre-heat that oven. My Favorite Go To Cupcake Liners Are These.
This is a one bowl cupcake recipe that couldn’t get easier. Yes one bowl. I told you this is the only recipe you will ever need.
In a large bowl you need to combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) and simply whisk to combine.
In the same bowl you then add your wet ingredients- milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and eggs. And whisk, whisk, whisk again.
Then you need to add in your boiling water. I add in the espresso powder to the boiling water before adding to the cupcake batter. Be careful at this point, when stirring in the hot espresso water. The batter will be thin.
To fill your cupcake pans, I find it easiest to pour the batter into a liquid measuring cup and pour then into my cupcake pans.
You want to fill these up about 3/4 of the way to leave a bit of room for them to rise and create that beautiful domed cupcake.
Tips For Making Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes
- Be sure to measure your flour accurately. For a full tutorial on how and why, read this post.
- Be sure to use natural unsweetened cocoa powder not dutch process. They are not the same. You can read about the differences here.
- When baking these, it’s best to rotate the pans halfway through their baking time. Every oven can have hot spots so they may not bake evenly. Give them a turn in the oven, so they all bake up pretty.
- Once they are baked, be sure to take them out of the pans and cool on a cooling rack. Leaving them in your pans means they will continue to bake and could end up dry.
How To Make The Swirled White Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream
These cupcakes the first time I made them I absolutely fell in love. Of course it was the frosting that had me swooning. The white chocolate and mint together. Um, perfection. And the pretty swirled colors? How could you not eat one?
Now once you have let them completely cool you will want to top them with the best vanilla buttercream ever.
This buttercream frosting is the one I use time and time again. It’s a traditional American buttercream frosting made with powdered sugar, but it’s not cloyingly sweet like some can be. It’s smooth with just the right hint of sweetness.
This recipe is actually from Cook’s Illustrated and it’s seriously the best ever. The secret is making sure to mix it for 8 minutes on high in your stand mixer. Seems like a lot, but all that mixing introduces a lot of air into the buttercream making it super light and fluffy.
I added in some cooled melted white chocolate and a little bit of peppermint extract to make this frosting extra festive.
If you find you need just a bit more help making cupcakes, then be sure to check out my 15 tips for perfect cupcakes. It’s got all the tips and tricks you need to be a cupcake making rock star in no time!
And if frosting has got you running a little scared, I got you. This is the post I wrote on how to frost the perfect cupcake and it includes a quick video for you too!
If you want to master making buttercream, then you may like my Buttercream Basics Guide!
How To Make The Frosting Swirly Twirly
Swirly twirly frosting- what’s not to love right? And yes, you too can have perfect swirls of buttercream atop your perfectly chocolate cupcakes! (I sounded like an infomercial, right there , didn’t I?) But the easiest way to achieve cupcake greatness?
Here’s how…after you make your frosting, separate it into two bowls, coloring one pinky/red. Then fill two separate pastry bags (no tip). Then in a larger pastry bag (with your tip) place those two separate bags side by side inside the larger one. Just be sure to snip the ends off each before placing them inside. You with me so far? You might find you filled them too full to fit (totally guilty of this myself) and you may need to squish some out before proceeding on. And now with both inside the larger bag, go ahead and swirl your frosting on! It’s so easy, and you end up with a perfect two toned frosting swirl!
You can watch a video on how to achieve this swirled buttercream look.
And that’s it! Time to take a bite!
More Peppermint To Enjoy
If you make these cupcakes, snap a photo, just include the #bostongirlbakes so I can see it!
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And don’t forget to check out my Buttercream Basics Guide!
Chocolate cupcakes with White chocolate peppermint frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (63 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
For the White Chocolate Peppermint Frosting
- 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter softened, (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 1/2 cups (383 g) confectioner sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 Tbs. Heavy cream
- 4 oz. white chocolate melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare cupcake pans with liners.
- In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water. Batter will be very thin at this point.
- Pour into cupcake liners. Fill about 2/3 full.
- Bake about 22-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before adding the frosting on top.
- For the frosting: Cream the butter first until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner sugar and beat for another 1 to 2 minutes until combined. You may want to scrap down the bowl at this point. Then add the extracts and heavy cream. Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Take off the stove and let cool for a minute before adding into the frosting. Then mix on high speed for 8 minutes until light and fluffy.
- When cupcakes are cooled, then using a pastry bag and tip swirl the frosting on top. Decorate with sprinkles!
Notes
- Be sure to measure your flour accurately. For a full tutorial on how and why, read this post.Â
- Be sure to use natural unsweetened cocoa powder not dutch process. They are not the same. You can read about the differences here.
- When baking these, it’s best to rotate the pans halfway through their baking time. Every oven can have hot spots so they may not bake evenly. Give them a turn in the oven, so they all bake up pretty.
- Once they are baked, be sure to take them out of the pans and cool on a cooling rack. Leaving them in your pans means they will continue to bake and could end up dry.
Comments & Reviews
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