Christmas Peppermint Pound Cake

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Soul Food

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1 20

Total Time: 1 40

Servings: slices

Calories: 418kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Festive holiday pound cake flavored with sweet peppermint, vanilla, and almond notes

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Equipment

1 10-cup bundt pan
1 stand mixer or hand mixer
1 mixing bowl
1 whisk
1 silicone spatula or kitchen spoon

Ingredients

For the Pound Cake Batter

1 pound butter softened to room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
4 cups flour
¼ cup peppermint crunch plus more for decorating
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Frosting

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
20 drops red food coloring optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour inside of bundt pan and set aside.
Using stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream butter for three minutes or until it is glossy, smooth, and a slightly lighter shade of yellow. Add sugar and beat for another two minutes then beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by extracts.
Meanwhile, whisk together flour, peppermint crunch, and salt.
Add half the flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until incorporate then add remaining flour mixture and stir until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan
Place pan onto middle rack of oven and bake for about one hour 20 minutes or until the exterior is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the interior comes out clean.
Let baked cake set in pan for about 10 minutes then invert out of pan to cool fully.
While cake cools, mix the frosting ingredients until glossy, uniform, and fluffy. Frost the cake once fully cooled then sprinkle with more peppermint crunch over top.

Notes

Preparation

You can bake this cake up to three days ahead of time. Just follow the storage instructions below.

Variations

Food Coloring is optional for dyeing the glaze a bright red color. You can also use beet root powder to achieve a stunning color without chemicals. Or try other festive colors you and your family might enjoy for the season like icy blue or deep green.
Marble Batter - You can add coloring to half the batter to create a peppermint swirl pound cake. Check out this simple trick in action in my strawberry swirl pound cake recipe!
Add Chocolate - For a peppermint mocha pound cake, reduce the almond extract by half and add in ¼ cup of cocoa powder with the dry ingredients.
Pan Shape - This recipe fits into a 10-cup bundt pan or a tube pan or two medium sized-loaf pans.

Storage

Store covered at room temperature for up to four days then refrigerate in an airtight container beyond that for up to one week.

You can freeze this cake whole or in slices for up to three months. I recommend freezing it without frosting for the best experience once thawed. Wrap it snugly with plastic wrap then aluminum foil before placing in the freezer.

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