The holiday season isn’t the only time of the year when it’s important to show people you care. Extend the human interaction of love and giving; the holidays bring out these traits in people. I started to bake when I was around 8 years old, and I realized that my favorite part of the baking process was giving my goodies to my friends and family. The thought of making someone happy through your time and hard work is something that brings me so much joy.
At the start of December, I like to plan out my baking for the holidays for the end of the month. My family and I celebrate Christmas, and with our festivities come years of traditions that started when I was a kid and full-on took over the holiday treats. A few years back, I read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. While reading this book, I realized that I thrive on acts of service and gift-giving. That’s what fulfills me most and how I show I care about my friends is giving them something I spent my time on.
This holiday season, since we’re back in Montana with our family, I’m excited to host, cook, and create for my friends and family. A few years back, I dabbled into peppermint baked goods. The combination of peppermint and chocolate is such a rich and classic holiday flavor profile. Whether you enjoy this flavor in a cup of warm cocoa or chocolate covered pretzels, I know you’ll love this cake.
Chocolate cake is a family staple for our Christmas dinner. Holiday food traditions differ for every family, and I think that is what makes each dinner special. We always have a warm chocolate quickbread, chocolate crinkle cookies, lemon bread, and classic sugar cookies. A few years ago, I switched our classic chocolate quickbread to a peppermint chocolate quickbread, and the excitement over this cake was overwhelming. Not only was the chocolate flavor rich, but the brightness of the peppermint helped develop the flavor profile with the sweet and bright elements in the cake.
With all the cooking, family time, and work hours during December, I made sure to create this recipe in a way that is a set and forget style recipe. Take 15 minutes to make the batter, pop it into the oven for 55 minutes, and walk away. Easy, fluffy, sweet, and warm, this cake is a holiday must! If your family is sensitive to peppermint, you can always bake the cake with half the amount of candy, or omit it altogether.
Let’s bake and turn on music that speaks to your holiday!
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Gluten-Free Peppermint Chocolate Quick-bread
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 55
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf quick bread
Description
like Christmas in a bread! Gluten-free, and full of yummy holiday flavor!
Ingredients
Cake:
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1 cup of freshly brewed warm coffee
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1 cup of hot water
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2 tsp of vanilla extract
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1 tsp of salt
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2 large eggs
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½ cup of vegetable or coconut oil (melted)
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2 tsp of baking soda
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2 tsp of baking powder
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¾ cup of cocoa powder
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2 cups of gluten-free flour (bobs red mill 1:1 is a great one!)
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2 cups of granulated sugar
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1 cup of peppermint candy crumbles ½ in the cake the other for topping
Icing:
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⅓ cup of cashew, almond milk or regular milk or milk alternative
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2 ½ cups of powdered sugar
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1 tsp of vanilla extract
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½ tsp of salt
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¼ cup of peppermint crumbles for topping
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease your loaf pan with butter, gently tap in 1 tsp of cocoa powder to coat your loaf pan (this allows a quick release after baking)
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Brew your 1 cup of coffee and start heating your 1 cup of hot water
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In your bowl using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine your oil, warm coffee, and hot water; mix until the bowl is cool to the touch (this is important, you don’t want to scramble your eggs in step 5)
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When your bowl is cool to the touch, add in your sugar, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and cocoa powder
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Once those items are combined and your bowl is even cooler to the touch, add in your two large eggs
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Combine the eggs into your mixture and then add in your 2 cups of flour ½ cup at a time until the batter is smooth
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In a blender or food processor, pulse 2 cups of peppermint candies (you can also buy store-bought pieces), until they are the size of peas to sea salt
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Using a rubber spatula, fold in your ½ cup of peppermint candy until equally distributed in your batter
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Pour your batter into a loaf pan until you have a ¾” from the top edge of the pan
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Top with another spoonful of peppermint candy and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
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Let the loaf cool for about 1 hour
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While your quick-bread is cooling, mix together your icing ingredients. This icing will be thick in texture, so it won’t run over the cake too much
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Once your loaf is fully cool, pour your icing over the cake and top with peppermint crumbles
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Slice and enjoy!
Keywords: gluten-free peppermint chocolate cake
The best part about this cake is how easily it comes together— it’s a true set-and-forget style cake that makes your holiday baking easy but fun! I love to triple the recipe and give a loaf to my neighbors a few days before Christmas, so if they need to, they can share the recipe with their friends, family, or work potluck!
Holidays are so unique to each family, each tradition— that’s what makes it all worthwhile. Starting your own family traditions can be the best part of each year. I love sharing my favorite food with my friends and family! Happy holidays and a prosperous 2020 to you and your family!
2 Comments
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