Chocolate Peppermint Marble Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This Chocolate Peppermint Marble Cake is the perfect holiday centerpiece!  Soft and buttery with swirls of chocolate and peppermint that will explode in your mouth and have you thinking Christmas is already here! The extra drizzle of chocolate ganache sprinkled with crushed candy canes will make this moist marble cake a family favorite.

Thanks go out to Minerva Dairy for supplying me with samples of their high quality, small-batch butter to make this cake a rich and delicious treat.

Marble Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Marble Cake has always been a favorite in my family. My mom used to bake it for special occasions, parties, and whenever she wanted to surprise us with a sweet treat. I can still remember biting into the chocolate cake, then combining it with the vanilla side for one big flavor explosion in my mouth.

This cake is even more rich and dense with the addition of butter instead of shortening. I received some Minerva butter to sample and the creaminess and richness of the 85% butterfat was totally apparent.

Minerva has been producing high-quality butter products for over 125 years. They are the oldest family-owned creamery traditionally making slow-churned, small-batch butter from pasture-raised cows.

Believe me, if you’re a butter fanatic, I mean, putting butter on just about everything, you will love the taste of this butter! Find out more about Minerva Dairy.

Making this cake is so much fun. I usually make the chocolate vanilla variety but for the holidays I thought a touch of peppermint would be perfect. And the combo of the peppermint and chocolate was absolutely divine. Why I haven’t tried it sooner is beyond me!

It’s fun to make with the kids or just for them to eat but it’s also special enough for holiday get-togethers. It uses typical ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now, except maybe for the candy canes, and the steps are simple and easy to follow.

Tips for Baking A Perfect Moist Marble Cake

• Make sure the bundt pan is greased and floured well. I like to use a nonstick spray and make sure it gets into every crack and crevice. This will ensure your cake comes out beautifully with design intact.
• Check to see that your baking powder is still viable. If there is no date, just place ½ teaspoon baking powder in a bowl and pour ¼ cup boiling water over it. If it bubbles up rapidly, it is still good.
• Your butter, eggs, milk should be at or close to room temperature to blend well with dry ingredients.
• The oven should be preheated and be at the exact temperature required. Place in the center of the oven so the air can circulate evenly around the cake as it bakes.
• When measuring flour, make sure to spoon it into a measuring cup to get the correct measurement. Too much flour can make your cake dry.
• I used a bundt pan for this recipe, just like my mom, and the time required is for this type of pan.

This is one dessert that will get oohs and ahhs from a crowd. And when you cut into it and they see the marbling, they’ll demand the yummy recipe.

You can also make just vanilla instead of peppermint by eliminating the peppermint extract and adding 3 teaspoons of vanilla in place of two.

Want something entirely different? Add almond, hazelnut, orange, raspberry or butter rum extract for a totally new taste sensation.

More Christmas Sweets for the Holiday

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies are great to make for Christmas cookie swaps and exchanges.

Pistachio Shortbread Cookies with white chocolate chips are buttery and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Apple Pecan Monkey Bread is perfect for breakfast.

Applesauce Fruitcake has warm spices and is a wonderful Christmas dessert.

Candy Bar Cake made with Milky Way candy bars.

Swirled Chocolate Cheesecake is a rich, creamy, and stunning dessert.

Find lots more Christmas dessert ideas here on 2CM!

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Chocolate Peppermint Marble Cake

5 from 7 votes

Print Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 406kcal

Author: Linda Warren

Ingredients

• 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ t salt
• 3 t baking powder
• ¾ cup Minerva Dairy unsalted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 ½ cup whole milk or ½ whole milk & ½ half n half
• 4 egg whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• ¼ t soda

Chocolate Ganache

• 6 oz dark chocolate
• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan very well.
• Combine flour, salt and baking powder in medium bowl. Set aside.
• Cream butter, sugar and 2 T milk until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
• Beat egg whites one at a time into mixture.
• Stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture alternately with remaining milk.
• Add vanilla extract.
• Divide batter into 2 equal parts and place in separate bowls.
• Add ½ teaspoon peppermint extract to one batter.
• Melt chopped chocolate in a microwave safe dish in 30 second increments, stirring in-between, until smooth and completely melted.
• Add baking soda to chocolate then pour into batter that does not contain peppermint extract.
• Drop by spoonfuls into greased and floured pan alternating the chocolate and white batters.
• Bake for 50 min or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes then invert onto wire rack and let cool completely.
• Once cool, make chocolate ganache.
• Warm heavy whipping cream, just below boiling stage, then add to finely chopped dark chocolate. Stir until smooth and chocolate is completely melted.
• Drizzle over cake. Immediately sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of hot ganache then let cool.

Notes

Tips for Baking A Perfect Moist Marble Cake

• Make sure the bundt pan is greased and floured well. I like to use a nonstick spray and make sure it gets into every crack and crevice. This will ensure your cake comes out beautifully with design intact.
• Check to see that your baking powder is still viable. If there is no date, just place ½ teaspoon baking powder in a bolw and pour ¼ cup boiling water over it. If it bubbles up rapidly, it is still good.
• Your butter, eggs, milk should be at or close to room temperature to blend well with dry ingredients.
• The oven should be preheated and be at the exact temperature required. Place in the center of the oven so the air can circulate evenly around the cake as it bakes.
• When measuring flour, make sure to spoon it into a measuring cup to get the correct measurement. Too much flour can make your cake dry.
• I used a bundt pan for this recipe, just like my mom, and the time required is for this type of pan.

Nutrition

Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 262mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 471IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 3mg

This post has been updated and was first published on December 23, 2019.