Chocolate Peppermint Sheet Cake

Rich Peppermint Sheet Cake with Festive Peppermint Striped Buttercream and holiday peppermint sprinkles.

Servings 12 Servings

Author Mandy Merriman - Baking with Blondie

3/4 cup buttermilk room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream room temperature
3 whole large eggs room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract you can add more if you'd like for a stronger peppermint flavor
1/4 cup cocoa
1 Box (13-15oz) Chocolate Cake Mix I used Duncan Hines

3 sticks (or 1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter left out at room temperature for 15 minutes
pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
7-8 cups powdered sugar
2-3 drops red gel food coloring if doing the stripes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prep a 9x13 sheet cake with nonstick spray, cake goop, or shortening. Set aside. *remember to use a sheet cake that can fit your stripe cake scraper if doing stripes.
In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the cake mix. Sift in the cake mix and gently stir to combine. Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-27 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add in the salt, vanilla, peppermint and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Whip up to combine. Add in the powdered sugar and whip up again on high speed for a fluffier texture. Add in the rest of the heavy cream if needed to thin and whip up again.
If not doing stripes, spread on the peppermint buttercream and then sprinkle on the festive sprinkles.

If you're doing the stripes: Spread on a layer of the white peppermint buttercream, then use the stripe cake scraper to create clean indents into the top of the cake. Freeze for 5 minutes.
Tint the remaining buttercream red with a 2-3 drops of gel coloring, then pipe in the stripe indents the colored buttercream. Use a flat cake scraper to gently pull the red into the indents and create stripes. Keep scraping! The stripes will slowly appear.
With the remaining red buttercream, using a large french piping tip, pipe a braid border on both ends, and then a couple lines down the middle.
Add on the festive peppermint sprinkles, and enjoy!