Striped Candy Cane Cake
Six alternating layers of red and white striped cake made with my favorite bakery-style white cake recipe, paired with striped peppermint buttercream. It looks and tastes like a candy cane in cake form, inside and out!
Servings 15 slices
Equipment
- Six 6-inch cake pans
Ingredients
Candy Cane Cake
- 2 1/2 Cups (265g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 Cups (300ml) full-fat buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in notes
- 2 drops red food coloring see notes for natural options
Peppermint Buttercream
- 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppemint extract
- 1/4 Cup whole milk, room temperature
- pinch of salt, or to taste
- 3-5 drops red food coloring
Garnish (Optional)
- 6 mini candy canes 4 whole, 2 crushed
- 4 peppermints
Instructions
Make the Candy Cane Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and prepare six 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and fitting a parchment paper circle to the bottom of each pan.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cream it together with the butter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl and paddle at the halfway point. Turn the mixer to low and add the egg whites one at a time, mixing until they are just combined and scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla, increase the mixer speed to high and beat for 1 minute.
- Turn the mixer off and add the flour mixture all at once. Mix the ingredients on low speed until just combined, then slowly pour in the buttermilk. Continue mixing at low speed for about 30 seconds, until the batter is uniform and combined. The batter will be slightly thin.
- Divide the batter evenly in half between two bowls. You should have about 620g of batter per bowl. Keep one half of the batter uncolored (for the white cake layers) and whisk in a few drops of red food coloring to the other half (for the red cake layers).
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake. If you're using six 6-inch cake pans, you'll have about 200g per pan to create three white cake layers and three red cake layers. Bake them for 18-22 minutes, or until they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If you're using two 8-inch cake pans, you'll add all of the white batter to one pan and all of the red batter to the other. Bake them for 30-35 minutes or until they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pans and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the Peppermint Buttercream
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add the vanilla, peppermint, milk, and salt and mix on low for another minute until fully incorporated.
Assembly
- Once the cake layers are completely cooled, level them to get rid of any domed tops and create even layers. If you baked two 8-inch layers, torte them in half to create four 8-inch layers. Add a swipe of peppermint buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake layers, alternating red and white colors with about 1/4 inch of peppermint buttercream filling in between each cake layer. When you get to the final cake layer, place it upside down on top of the stack, then crumb coat the cake with peppermint buttercream. Refrigerate the cake for 15-20 minutes to let the crumb coat firm up while you prepare the rest of the buttercream.
- To create the striped design pictured: divide the remaining buttercream between two separate bowls. Leave the first bowl uncolored or add a few drops of icing whitener to brighten the white. To the second bowl, mix in a few drops of red food coloring until you achieve a rich red color. Add the white buttercream into one piping bag and the red buttercream into another, then cut off about 1/2 inch opening from each bag. Starting at the bottom of the cake, pipe alternating stripes of red and white buttercream onto the cake, keeping your hand as straight as possible to create straight lines. Then, smooth the buttercream with an icing smoother to create a smooth finish.
- Divide the rest of the buttercream amongst additional piping bags fitted with your favorite piping tips. I used Tip 1M with half of the white buttercream for rosettes, Tip 4B with the red buttercream, and Tip 32 with the rest of the white buttercream. Pipe the buttercream in a cascading formation, then press mini candy canes and peppermints into the buttercream (if making ahead, save adding the candy for the day you're serving the cake to keep it looking fresh).
Notes
*DIY cake flour recipe: if you can't find cake flour locally, here's how to make a homemade version using all purpose flour and cornstarch. Keep in mind that if you do use the homemade version, the gram measurement will weigh more (295g instead of 265g) since all-purpose flour is heavier than cake flour.
*DIY buttermilk recipe: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with 1 1/4 Cups of whole milk. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe.
*Red food coloring: any red food coloring will work for this, but I particularly love AmeriColor Super Red. If you're looking for a natural option that doesn't contain Red 40 or Red 3, I love this one by Enco Naturals as well.
Make ahead tips:
- The cake layers can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature.
- The peppermint buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency.