With the holiday season in full swing, you can never go wrong with a classic holiday flavor: peppermint. Combined with chocolate, it’s my personal favorite flavor combo for Christmastime, and there’s no easier way to blend these flavors than with chocolate peppermint bread.
Normally, making a cake can be a lot of work during such a busy season, but this simple chocolate peppermint bread with a cake-like texture (much like a pumpkin bread) is easy to whip up and make in significantly less time than it would take to frost a traditional cake. Drizzle with a basic icing and crushed peppermint candies for a little crunch and extra peppermint flavor!
Make a few loaves of this chocolate peppermint bread at a time this holiday season so you can give them as gifts, bring them to parties or simply enjoy them at home.
Easy Peppermint Chocolate Bread
Ingredients:
- For the Cake:
- butter: 1/2 cup, room temperature
- sugar: 1 1/2 cups
- salt: 1/2 tsp
- vanilla extract: 1 tsp
- peppermint extract: 1 tsp
- baking soda: 1/2 tsp
- cocoa powder: 2/3 cup
- eggs: 3
- milk: 3/4 cup
- flour: 1-1/4 cups
- For the Topping:
- powdered sugar: 1 cup, sifted
- milk: 1-3 Tablespoons
- peppermint candies: 15, crushed
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Step 2: In one bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Step 4: Add each egg, then the peppermint and vanilla and mix well until combined.
Step 5: Add 1/3 of the flour, then milk and alternate until the batter is smooth.
Step 6: Bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before icing.
Strep 7: To make the icing, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and a little milk at a time until just smooth enough to drizzle.
Step 8: Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake and top with crushed peppermint candy for added flavor and crunch. Slice and serve!
