We’re back again with another Christmas-flavor inspired cake! This time we’re diving head first into a cake inspired by one of my favorite Costco picks – white chocolate peppermint pretzels!

Inspiration:

They’re honestly one of those treats I can’t resist once the bag is open. Thin crispy pretzels, covered in white chocolate, and topped with all kinds of crunchy peppermint bits – it was always destined to be a cake. With a lot of you asking year after year if I was going to make one, I finally whipped one up this year that’s a tasty as the treat they’re inspired by!

image source: Amazon

Have you tried them before?? They’re simply irresistible.

Peppermint Cake:

The cake itself is my white cake with a little touch of peppermint, and I added a pretzel crust along the bottom. The sweet and salty flavors come through beautifully in this cake and I LOVE how it turned out!

BUTTERCREAM

As for the buttercream, I stuck with my same white chocolate buttercream I’ve been using for years and merely added a bit of peppermint extract to give it just enough peppermint in each bite. The white chocolate comes through by making a ganache and adding it straight into the buttercream. Make sure to use really yummy quality white chocolate chips for this one.

Make sure to grab peppermint extract, not mint extract. They taste different, and you’re going to want that Christmas peppermint flavor!

Crust:

The crust is a MUST! The pretzel really ties it all together. For most of my crust recipes, you don’t have to pulse together the ingredients for very long, but for this one, I suggest getting those pretzels down to almost a powder. They’ll press evenly in the cake pans, and will hold their shape when being sliced into at the end. As always, cold cake & a sharp hot knife make the cleanest cake slices.

The stripes are tricky, but with practice, they become less of a pest and more of a pleasure to create! I have a video here of the process (CLICK HERE).

That’s in! Just in time for Christmas, this cake is sure to be a people pleaser at any holiday gathering you have coming up this week.

I’d love to see your Baking with Blondie creation! Make sure to tag @bakingwithblondie on Instagram so I can join in on the fun. 🙂

Happy caking!
xo, Mandy

Get the Recipe: White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Cake

Soft Peppermint Cake baked into a Pretzel Crust with White Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream.
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Ingredients
 

Pretzel Crust

  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
  • 5 oz pretzels
  • 3 Tablespoons brown sugar

White Peppermint Cake

  • 3/4 cup buttermilk , room temperature
  • 2/3 cup sour cream , room temperature
  • 4 egg whites , room temperature
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 1 box white cake mix , I used Duncan Hines

White Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream

  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 sticks (or 1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 7-9 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream (yes, again, at the end to control consistency).

Extras

  • red Americolor or Wilton gel coloring
  • Thin Stripe Cake Comb
  • Crushed Peppermint
  • Wilton 1M piping tip
  • White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels

Instructions
 

White Peppermint Pretzel Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, then prep three 6” cake rounds with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour to prevent sticking. Set aside.
  • In a food processor, blend together the butter, pretzels and brown sugar until a fine crust forms. Press the crust firmly into the prepared baking pans with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup for an even layer.
  • In a large mixing bowl, hand whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, egg whites, oil, vanilla, and peppermint extract until thoroughly combined.
    Then sift in the cake mix and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix. Split the batter evenly between the prepared cake rounds.
  • Bake for 30-32 minutes until the center is baked through. Remove cake rounds from the oven, then let the cakes cool in the pan for a minute before flipping them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap and chill cakes before assembly.

White Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream

  • In a small microwave safe bowl, stir together the white chocolate and heavy cream and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir, then repeat until the white chocolate chips have melted completely. Let cool for about 3 minutes.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it’s light and fluffy, then add in the white chocolate ganache mixture, salt, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Whip up to combine and then scrape down the sides with a spatula.
  • With the stand mixer on low speed, add in the powdered sugar about a half cup at a time. It will be thick. Add in a little more heavy cream to thin it out if needed (1 Tablespoon at a time from the 1/4 cup listed at the end), and then flip the mixer on high speed for 2 minutes to lighten the color and texture of the buttercream.

Assembly

  • Place a cardboard cake round on a cake turntable. Spread on a little bit of buttercream in the center of the round and spread it out with an angled icing spatula. Place down the first chilled cake layer in the center (crust side up). Add on an even layer of buttercream; spread it thin with an angled icing spatula. Add on the next cake layer and repeat.
  • Crumb coat the cake, freeze for 2 minutes, then add on a final coat of white buttercream. Use the stripe cake comb to create clean indents (I have several tutorials for this on my Instagram page).
  • Freeze the cake for about 15 minutes. While the cake is in the freezer, tint the remaining buttercream with red gel coloring (the color will intensify with time, so you don't need to go overboard on the coloring). Add the red buttercream to a piping bag without a tip and pipe in the thin stripes.
  • Working quickly, smooth out the red buttercream until the clean stripes start to form (it takes time, so have patience and watch those stripes slowly start to appear while applying a little pressure).
  • Add on a little crushed peppermint along the bottom outside of the cake, then pipe (with the Wilton 1M piping tip) swirls on top. Top it all off with a few white chocolate peppermint pretzels and a little sprinkle of crushed peppermint.