Peppermint mocha cupcakes are perfect sweet treats for the holidays! A dark chocolate cupcake with a hint of espresso, swirled with peppermint buttercream frosting, chocolate drizzle, and crushed peppermint candy. These cupcakes taste just like Christmas and your favorite holiday coffee shop drink.
Ingredients for Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
- Chocolate chips: I love using semisweet or dark chocolate chips for this recipe.
- Dark cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder. My favorite is the Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder.
- Boiling water
- Espresso powder: Use instant espresso powder as opposed to espresso grounds.
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Eggs: Large eggs, room temperature.
- Vegetable oil: You can also use canola oil or another neutral baking oil.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract actually enhances the chocolate flavor of the cupcakes.
Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature.
- Peppermint hard candy: Finely crush peppermint candy with a food processor. You want the candies to turn into a very fine powder. You can also use crushed candy canes!
- Powdered sugar: Icing sugar/confectioners sugar.
- Vanilla extract: A bit of pure vanilla extract adds great flavor.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor and balances out the sweetness.
- Heavy cream: Lightens the buttercream to make it fluffy.
Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate chips: I love using semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate chips for this recipe.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream works perfectly.
Tools & Supplies for Making Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
How to Make Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
- Preheat and prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcake batter: Stir together the chocolate chips, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and boiling water. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until combined. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Bake the cupcakes: Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake the for 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the candy cane buttercream frosting: Use an electric mixer to whip the unsalted butter for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and peppermint hard candy powder and mix until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and salt, and then drizzle in the heavy cream. Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip the frosting for 5 to 10 minutes until light and fluffy and the peppermint candy is fully dissolved.
- Make the chocolate ganache: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to heat in 15 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate ganache is smooth and shiny.
- Assemble the cupcakes: Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with the candy cane buttercream frosting. Pipe a swirl of buttercream onto the cupcakes. Drizzle the slightly warm chocolate ganache over the cupcakes and then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Recipe Tips
- Check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes to learn my favorite tips and tricks to bake the best cupcakes.
- Be sure to pulverize the peppermint candy to dust. The finer the candy powder, the better the buttercream will whip up. Basically, we want it to act just like powdered sugar. If there are small chunks of peppermint candy in the powder, it can also clog up your piping tip. Use a food processor!
- The candy cane buttercream frosting will appear to be very thick and dense at first. For this buttercream, you will want to whip it for between 5 and 10 minutes for it to become light and fluffy. This helps fully dissolve the peppermint candy.
- Store the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I recommend removing the cupcakes from the refrigerator about an hour before serving to bring to room temperature.
Click here to see a quick video on how to make these peppermint mocha cupcakes! Follow Cake Me Home Tonight on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more recipe videos and baking tutorials!Â
Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
- ¼ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
- ¾ cup boiling water
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup finely crushed peppermint hard candy or candy canes
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache
- ¼ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Additional Ingredients
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint hard candy or candy canes
Instructions
Chocolate Mocha Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl or a glass liquid measuring cup, stir together the semisweet or dark chocolate chips, dark cocoa powder, boiling water, and instant espresso powder until the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk gently until just combined. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined and smooth.
- Portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners about â…” full. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, whip the room temperature unsalted butter for butter for 5 minutes until it is light and fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar and crushed peppermint hard candy and mix on low speed until combined. Add in the vanilla extract and salt, and then drizzle in the heavy cream.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip the buttercream for 5 to 10 minutes until the peppermint candy is fully dissolved and the buttercream is smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat the chocolate chips and heavy cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and continue to heat in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate ganache is smooth and shiny.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip with the candy cane buttercream frosting. Pipe a swirl of buttercream onto the cupcakes. Drizzle the slightly warm chocolate ganache over the cupcakes and then sprinkle with additional crushed candy canes.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
Bre says
Could you use your peppermint buttercream with the extract instead of this recipe that calls for crushed up peppermint?
Courtney says
Yes! Absolutely!
Kelli Wixom says
These cupcakes were DIVINE! I love all things chocolate and peppermint and I’m still drooling thinking about these cupcakes.
Courtney says
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the cupcakes! 🙂 Thank you so much for rating and commenting!