Peppermint Churro Layer Cake Recipe
Nothing says the holidays like chilly weather, toasty treats, and best of all: peppermint! It’s minty, refreshing, and goes well in everything (at least to me. I’ve literally been adding it to almost everything...)
This year, to celebrate the holidays, I was inspired by the festive flavored churros that are all over the Disneyland parks and decided to make a peppermint churro layer cake!
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The Ingredients
A peppermint churro flavor is essentially a peppermint and cinnamon sugar cake. However, to really make this a “churro” cake, I also made the cake batter similar to how you’d make churro batter. Then I really leaned into the peppermint flavor with the frosting of the cake by making it purely peppermint flavored.
The ingredients used for the cake are pretty standard cake ingredients, but for the frosting of the cake, I tried a peppermint meringue frosting which was very smooth, fluffy, and minty!
The Process
Starting off with the dry ingredients, I sifted them all together, and set them aside. Then I creamed the butter with the sugar, and followed it up by beating in the oil and other liquid ingredients.
To make sure the cake batter was not overbeaten, I mixed in the dry ingredients in halves until all the ingredients were just combined.
After dividing the batter into two cake pans, I baked them in the oven at 350F for around 25-30 minutes. I’m still getting used to my oven and its quirks so I ran into some minor issues with the baking of the cake. The center wasn’t entirely baking while the edges were already done. If you run into this issue, lower the temperature of the oven and cover the cake with tin foil and continue baking until you can put a toothpick through the center and it comes out clean or with a few crumbs. I had to reduce my oven temperature to around 320F and baked for an additional 15-20 minutes before the center was fully baked.
I allowed the cake layers to cool on a cooling rack while I made the cake frosting.
To start, I used a double boiler set up to whisk the egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt until the sugar was dissolved and the mixture was like a thick syrup. I used a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of the mixture until it was 165F, then took it off the stove and used a mixer to whip the egg whites until it reached soft peaks. This took a pretty long time, at least 5-8 minutes. Then I added the peppermint and vanilla extract and whipped for another 5 minutes or so until the frosting had stiff peaks, and then the cake was ready to be frosted.
Using my handy dandy microwave plate and mini spatula, I frosted each layer of the cake. I should always remind myself to be extra generous with the layer of frosting between the layers, so that it can be more pronounced in the cross section! After the cake was fully frosted I sprinkled some crushed candy canes at the top, and then it was ready to cut and enjoy!
The Results
If you love peppermint and cinnamon you will love the flavor of this cake! The peppermint was very fragrant from both the cake itself and the frosting, and the cinnamon sugar churro flavor came through nice and subtly.
I loved how the light brown color contrasted with the bright white frosting. And again, I should have been more generous with the frosting layer between the cake. But overall, I would consider this cake a success! It was tasty and flavorful, but not too sweet!
As a plus I was able to share this with a bunch of friends, and they also seemed to really enjoy!
Peppermint Churro Cake
Ingredients
Cake
ºoº 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
ºoº 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
ºoº 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
ºoº 1/2 tsp salt
ºoº 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
ºoº 1/4 cup vegetable oil
ºoº 1 1/2 cup sugar
ºoº 1 tbsp vanilla extract
ºoº 4 large eggs
ºoº 3/4 cup milk
ºoº 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
ºoº (Optional) crushed candy canes
Frosting
ºoº 1 1/2 cups sugar
ºoº 1/2 cup light corn syrup
ºoº 6 large egg whites
ºoº Pinch of salt
ºoº 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
ºoº 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
ºoº 1/4 cup crushed candy canes
Directions
Cake
Line cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides
Combine flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt - sift
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - around 2-3 minutes
Add in the oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and cream for another 2-3 minutes
Add eggs in one at a time and mix until mostly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl
Add half the dry ingredients into the batter and mix until mostly combined
Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined
Add the rest of the of the dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth
Be careful not to overmix
Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then move to cooling racks to cool completely
Frosting
Fill a medium saucepan with 1-2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium high heat
Combine the sugar corn syrup, egg whites,2 tablespoons of water, and salt to a bowl and set over the saucepan, don’t let the bowl touch the water
Whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is 165F on a candy thermometer (about 8 minutes)
Remove the bowl from the pan and beat with a mixture until soft peaks form about 5 minutes
Increase mixer to high and beat until fluffy and cool about 4 more minutes
Add the vanilla and peppermint extract and beat until combined
Frosting the Cake
Place 1 cake layer on a plate and spread the frosting on tiop, s
Sprinkle candy canes
Add another cake layer and spread more frosting
Frost the sides
Sprinkle more candy canes on top
Notes
ºoº If your cake center is not baking properly, lower the over temperature and cover your cake with aluminum foil and continue baking until the center is fully baked
ºoº I substituted the milk with oat milk
ºoº Feel free to play with the amount of peppermint depending on how strong you'd like the flavor to be