Chocolate Peppermint Bundt #BundtBakers

This Chocolate Peppermint Bundt starts with a mint chocolate batter, baked up tender, finished with peppermint glaze and crushed peppermint candy canes, perfect flavors for the holiday season!

This month’s Bundt Bakers event is special! Rather than choosing an ingredient or theme, our host Patricia of PatyCo Candybar asked us to choose a cake made by one of our fellow bakers to recreate. Gosh, was it hard to choose just one! 

Some of us have been baking Bundts together each month for almost 10 years so that’s a lot of lovely cakes to choose from. I scrolled down the list on our Bundt Bakers’ page and, honestly, it was a struggle. I love so many of them! I finally decided on the chocolate peppermint Bundt from Rebekah of Making Miracles because the flavors sounded perfect for the holiday season. 

If you haven’t been over to Rebekah’s blog yet, you might not know that her blog name, Making Miracles, is a reference to the beautiful babies she gave birth to as a surrogate. Several families are more complete because she was willing to help them fulfill their dream of having children. She is an amazing mom herself and a special, generous, caring person! 

Chocolate Peppermint Bundt

The original instructions say to use a 12-cup Bundt pan so, of course, I did, but I think this batter would fit quite comfortably in a 10-cup pan as well. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 cup or 240ml boiling water

6 tablespoons or 30g unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for the pan

2 1/2 cups or 312g flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup or 57g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for the pan

3/4 cup or 150g sugar

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup or 162g full fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup or 45g semisweet chocolate chips

For the glaze:

3/4 cup or 94g powdered sugar, sifted

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 peppermint candy cane (.44 oz or 12.5g), crushed

To decorate:

1 peppermint candy cane (.44 oz or 12.5g), crushed

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan by generously buttering and lightly coating it with sifted cocoa powder. 

Pour the boiling water into a heatproof measuring vessel then add the cocoa and whisk till it has completely dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool. 

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Use electric beaters or your stand mixer on medium speed to cream together the butter, sugar and peppermint extract.  Add the first egg and beat again.

Add the following two eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. 

Blend the yogurt into the mixture, followed by the cooled cocoa mixture. 

Fold in the flour mixture in batches until just until combined (do not over mix).  

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth; tap pan once or twice sharply to remove any air bubbles. 

Bake 40-45 minutes, until cake begins to pull away from edges of pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Carefully invert the cake onto the rack and allow to cool completely (or invert directly onto a cake plate if preferred).

For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, milk, butter, and peppermint extract in a small bowl, starting with just 1 tablespoon of the milk. Add more milk a little at a time until you reach pouring consistency. You may not need it all. 

Crush the candy canes in a plastic baggie using a rolling pin or a the flat side of a meat tenderizer. Stir half of the crushed candy canes into the glaze. 

Drizzle or pour the glaze over the cake then sprinkle the top with the remaining crushed candy cane. 

Allow the glaze to set before slicing to serve. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, it’s time for December’s edition of Bundt Bakers! Check out all the tributes to our Bundt Baker friends below. Many thanks to Patricia of Patyco Candybar for hosting! 

• Apple Almond Coffee Cake with Honey Glaze (from A Day in the Life on the Farm) by Making Miracles
• Chocolate Peppermint Bundt (from Making Miracles) by Food Lust People Love
• Cookies and Cream Mini Bundts (from Food Lust People Love) by Sneha’s Recipe
• Dutch Speculaas Bundt Cake (from Tartacadabra) by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Magical Ingredients Honey Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Weicher Lebkuchen – Soft German Gingerbread Bundt Cake (from Food Lust People Love) by Patyco Candybar
  

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Chocolate Peppermint Bundt!

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Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad with Mint Dressing

This Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad is light, tasty and refreshing. The salty prosciutto goes perfectly with the sweet melon and creamy goat cheese, topped with the bright taste of the mint dressing. 

I don’t remember the first time I ate melon wrapped with prosciutto but I’m guessing it was when we were living in France in the early 1990s. Such a revelation! Salty ham with sweet, ripe summer melon is divine and, as far as we are concerned, also the perfect starter just on its own. 

This salad takes that simple starter and makes it into a whole meal (or a bigger starter) by adding salad greens, goat cheese and a delicious mint dressing. It’s the sort of dish that would go over big at an outdoor barbecue, potluck picnic or baby shower. Which is why I am sharing it today. 

Since way back in 2014, I’ve been sharing recipes on the first Wednesday of every month with a group its founder named Foodie Extravaganza party. Lauren was a food blogger (and cattle rancher) when she started the group but has since become a photographer (and still a rancher.) After many years of wanting a little one, she and her husband were recently blessed with a baby girl they’ve named Lucy so this month our theme is A Virtual Baby Shower! Make sure you scroll down to see what everyone is bringing to the party to welcome Lucy!

Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad with Mint Dressing

With the ingredient amounts below, you can serve 2-3 as a main course, 4-6 as a starter or 14 as part of a party buffet where each person gets one slice of the melon along with some of the accompanying greens, ham and cheese. This recipe is adapted from one on Food.com.

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 small Charolais melon (or your favorite sweet summer melon) 

6 thin slices (2 1/2 oz or 70g) Italian Prosciutto 

7oz or 200g log chèvre aka goat cheese, well chilled (15 minutes in the freezer makes it easier to slice neatly)

6 oz or 170g frisée or your favorite strongly flavored salad greens

For the dressing – makes about 3/4 cup or 180ml:

1/2 cup, gently packed, or 15g fresh mint leaves, divided

1/4 cup or 60ml white wine or apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup or 120ml olive oil 

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 generous pinch fine sea salt

A couple of good grinds of fresh black pepper

Method

To make the dressing, blend the rest of the ingredients along with half of the mint leaves until smooth. Put the dressing in the refrigerator to chill. 

Cut the goat cheese into circles and then cut the circles in half again. 

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the melon into 14 slices and then cut the flesh off of the peel with a sharp knife. 

Arrange your greens on a large platter and top them with the melon slices. 

Rip the prosciutto in pieces and tuck them, along with the goat cheese semi circles, on top and amongst the melon slices. 

Add the reserved mint leaves to the top of the salad. 

Drizzle with mint dressing to serve.

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, today my Foodie Extravaganza group is celebrating the birth of sweet Lucy, the much-loved, long-awaited daughter of the group's founder, Lauren. We wish Lucy and her parents a long and happy life together! Check out all the tasty dishes we are sharing for this virtual baby shower!

• Classic Carol Chicken Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Cobb Dip from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Coconut Filled Tartlets - East Indian from Sneha's Recipe
• Melon Prosciutto Chevre Salad with Mint Dressing from Food Lust People Love
• Pink and Blue Sandwich Cake Cookies from Our Good Life 
• Red Velvet Cupcakes from Passion Kneaded
• Toasted Sesame Seed Crackers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tortilla Taco Cups from Magical Ingredients

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

Pin this Melon Prosciutto Chèvre Salad with Mint Dressing!

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Blueberry Orange Buttermilk Muffins #MuffinMonday

These wonderful blueberry orange buttermilk muffins bake up golden and fluffy with lots of flavor from orange zest, juice and sweet blueberries! 

Blueberries muffins always remind me of abstract art because of the way they burst and drip in unpredictable ways. What is predictable is the lovely flavor they add to baked goods, especially muffins. 

The inspiration for the blueberry orange combination came from the immense bag of clementines my husband came home from Costco with the other day. We’ve been eating and eating them but still have too many. 

I have mulled wine mulling on the stove right now with a couple and I am going to add some to mince pie filling shortly, but meanwhile these muffins used up two more! Hallelujah.

Blueberry Orange Buttermilk Muffins

With only a 1/2 cup or 100g of sugar, these muffins are just the right amount of sweet. These are the perfect breakfast or snack with a cup of coffee, hot tea or cold milk. 

Ingredients

2 cups or 250g flour

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 clementines or 1 normal orange (for zest and 1/4 cup or 60ml juice)

2 eggs

3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk

1/3 cup or 75ml vegetable oil

1 cup or 150g blueberries 

Method

Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C.  Butter your 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper liners.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Grate in the orange zest and mix.  

Juice your orange. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs,  buttermilk, juice and oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir until just mixed through. Some flour may still be showing and that's more than okay.

Set aside at least 12 blueberries for popping on the top of the muffins before baking, if desired. 

Fold in the rest of the blueberries.

Divide the mixture between the muffin cups in pan.

If you saved berries for the top, now is the time to pop one or two on the top of each cup.

Bake the muffins in your preheated oven for about 18-23 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the muffins are lovely and golden. Leave them to cool for a few minutes then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

It’s Muffin Monday, a day we celebrate the last Monday of every month. Check out the list of wonderful muffins my blogger friends are sharing!

• Blueberry Orange Buttermilk Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Clementine Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Easy Cranberry Apple Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Eggnog Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Samosa Muffins from Magical Ingredients
• 'Tis the Season Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page. 

Pin these Blueberry Orange Buttermilk Muffins!

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