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These White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes are a festive treat for the Holiday season. They have a soft and tender vanilla peppermint cupcake topped with a delicious white chocolate peppermint frosting. It's like candy canes turned into delicious cupcakes.
These fun and festive White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes are perfect to serve for friends and family during Christmas time. They have a moist vanilla peppermint cupcake and are topped with a white chocolate peppermint frosting. To make them extra festive they are decorated with crushed candy canes and a mini candy canes.
For more cupcake recipes, try Red Velvet Cupcakes, Hot Chocolate Cupcakes and Gingerbread Cupcakes.
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Vanilla peppermint cupcakes: These vanilla peppermint cupcakes are incredibly soft and tender.
- White chocolate peppermint frosting: This frosting is so delicious, easy to pipe with and brings a perfect festive flavor.
- Perfect for the festive season: These cupcakes are perfect to serve for any special occasion during the Holiday season.
INGREDIENT NOTES
These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour: Gives a light and airy cupcakes. I prefer using all-purpose flour with a protein amount that is between 10-11%
- Sugar: The granulated sugar helps sweeten, as well as give moister to the cake.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Help leaven and rise the cupcakes, so it has light and fluffy texture.
- Salt: Helps enhance the flavor of the cupcakes.
- Egg: Take it out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking, so it comes to room temperature. (depending how warm your kitchen is).
- Oil: Use a flavor neutral oil, such as canola oil.
- Sour cream: Sour cream gives lots of moister to the cupcakes, as well as helps give the cake a great structure.
- Butter: The butter is used in the buttercream and in the cake. Bring it out and let it come to room temperature.
- Peppermint extract: Peppermint extract is added to both the cupcakes and frosting.
- Red gel food coloring: Use red gel food coloring or vegan food coloring for the perfect red color. My favorite brand is Sugarflair Colours.
- White chocolate: Use chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips for the frosting.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - CUPCAKES
Here is how to make and bake these White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes. This recipe needs a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer.
The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.
Before starting preheat the oven to 160ºC/ 320ºF conventional oven. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan lined with cupcake paper liners.
STEP 1: Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set it aside. In a mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment add the butter and sugar and mix it together.
STEP 2: Add the eggs one at a time into the mixture and mix on low until combined. Continue by adding half of the dry ingredients, continuing on low speed, mixing until just combined.
STEP 3: Then add the sour cream, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and peppermint extract and mix until just combined. Finally add the other half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
STEP 4: Add ⅓ of the batter into a separate bowl and add the red gel food color. Gently fold it together with a rubber spatula until combined. Alternate by adding a bit of each of the two batters into the 12 cupcake liners and with a toothpick swirl the two batters together. Bake them for 20-23 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - FROSTING
STEP 1: For the frosting, melt the white chocolate and heavy cream together over a bain-marie or in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge (it’s important that it’s not too hot).
STEP 2: In a bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter on medium/high speed. Add the white chocolate ganache and mix it in until incorporated.
STEP 3: On low speed, add the vanilla extract, peppermint extract and the sifted powdered sugar in 2 portions. Mix in the powdered sugar at low speed, until each addition is fully incorporated.
STEP 4: Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a star piping tip, e.g. Wilton 8B. Pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes and decorate with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes and a mini candy cane.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
- Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
- Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.
FAQ
I recommend using a cake tester or toothpick. When the time has passed, per the recipe, insert the cake tester in the in the center of one of the cupcakes and once it comes out clean, with no cake batter on it, then it's done.
Store the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, and unused frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. When ready to pip the frosting on the cupcakes, let the frosting come to room temperature before giving is stir to remove the air bubbles. Then pip the frosting on the cupcakes and they are ready to be enjoyed.
Yes you can replace it 1:1 with Greek yogurt.
HOW TO STORE
Store the frosted white chocolate peppermint cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. Let them come to room temperature before enjoying them. They are best enjoyed within 1-2 days.
Other Holiday Recipes To Try
Make sure leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats. To get more ideas by following me on Pinterest.
White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
Ingredients
VANILLA PEPPERMINT CUPCAKES
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 70 g butter room temperature
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 150 g sour cream 14-18% room temperature
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil e.g. canola oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ teaspoon red gel food coloring or vegan food coloring optional
WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT FROSTING
- 100 g white chocolate
- 20 g heavy cream
- 200 g butter
- 350 g powdered sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract depending on how strong you prefer the flavor
- Candy canes for decoration
The US customary cup measurement serves as a rough estimate, as it can have uncertainties, so for precise results, it's recommended to weigh your ingredients using a digital scale in grams. Baking is both an art and a science, which most often requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
VANILLA PEPPERMINT CUPCAKES
- Before starting, preheat the oven to 160ºC/ 320ºF conventional oven. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan lined with cupcake paper liners.
- Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set it aside.190 g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment add the butter and sugar and mix it on medium/high speed for 3 minutes.70 g butter, 200 g granulated sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time into the mixture and mix on low until combined.3 large eggs
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue by adding half of the flour mixture, continuing on low speed, mixing until just combined.
- Then add the sour cream, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and peppermint extract and mix until just combined.150 g sour cream 14-18%, 2 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Finally add the other half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, give the batter a gentle fold to make sure all of the ingredients have combined.
- Add ⅓ of the batter into a separate bowl and add the red gel food coloring. Gently fold it together with a rubber spatula until combined.½ teaspoon red gel food coloring or vegan food coloring
- Alternate by adding a bit of each of the two batters into the 12 cupcake liners and with a toothpick swirl the two batters together. Bake them for 20-23 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool on a cooling rack. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cupcakes from the cupcake tin and let them cool down completely.
WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT FROSTING
- Melt the white chocolate and heavy cream together over a bain-marie or in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge (it’s important that it’s not too hot).100 g white chocolate, 20 g heavy cream
- Take the butter out of the fridge 10 minutes before starting and cut the butter into cubes. Sift the powdered sugar.200 g butter, 350 g powdered sugar
- In your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter for 5 minutes on medium/high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix 2 minutes more. Add the melted white chocolate and mix it in until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix to make sure it’s fully incorporated with the butter, for about 1 minute.
- On low speed, add the vanilla extract, peppermint extract and the sifted powdered sugar in 2 portions, mix in the powdered sugar at low speed, until each addition is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix for 1-2 minutes on low speed.2 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼-1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a star piping tip, e.g. Wilton 8B.
- Pipe the buttercream on the cupcakes and decorate with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes and mini candy canes.Candy canes for decoration
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