If you know me, you’ll know how I feel about macarons (spoiler alert: I LOVE them). Last year, for Christmas, I made these Christmas Pudding Macarons, which were chocolate macaron shells, filled with a milk chocolate ganache and decorated with melted white chocolate to resemble little Christmas puddings, and these Reindeer Macarons, which were decorated to look like, well, reindeers (and, admittedly, look a little cursed, but we move. This year, I’m expanding my festive macaron horizons with these Polar Bear Macarons.

These macarons are made with a basic macaron shell recipe, which is piped into the shape of little bear heads before baking. The shells are sandwiched together with a minty, white chocolate ganache filling, then decorated with giant white chocolate buttons (for the muzzle) and melted dark chocolate. They’re cute and festive, but they’re also super customisable— you can experiment with different flavours/colours of macaron shells to make different colour bears, easily adapt the facial features and change up the flavours of the filling to make these bear macarons perfect for any occasion, be that the holiday season, a birthday party, or even a baby shower!

I’ve done lots of posts about macarons here on the blog, so I won’t be doing an in-depth tutorial for making the macaron batter in this post (you can find a super detailed tutorial for that here!). Instead, we’ll be focusing on how to make the mint filling, how to pipe the perfect, bear-shaped macaron shells and how to decorate the macarons to resemble polar bears!

Table of Contents

• Mint & White Chocolate Ganache
  • Ingredients
  • Method
• Piping Bear-Shaped Macaron Shells
• Assembling the Macarons
• Decorating the Macarons
• Recipe

Mint & White Chocolate Ganache

The ganache filling needs a few hours to chill in the fridge, so it’s best to make it before you make the macaron shells.

Ingredients

You only need three ingredients to make this filling:

• White chocolate

Use a good quality white chocolate for the best results!

• Double cream

You need a smaller amount of cream for white chocolate ganache (compared to milk/dark chocolate ganache), to ensure the ganache sets firm, because white chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids.

• Peppermint extract

Peppermint extract is readily available in most supermarkets and is the easiest way to get a minty flavour into your baked goods. Usually, you only need a couple of drops for an intense, minty flavour, but I find you need significantly more when using it to flavour white chocolate ganache! As with all flavourings though, it’s best to start small and gradually increase the amount of extract, until you’re happy with the flavour (and also bear in mind that the flavour will intensify while the ganache chills!).

Method

Because there’s such a small quantity of cream compared to the amount of white chocolate, I find that the best way to make a smooth, white chocolate ganache is to heat everything together (as opposed to heating the cream and using that to melt the chocolate gently).

To make the ganache, start by finely chopping the white chocolate. This will ensure it melts quickly and evenly, so you won’t be left with any lumps of unmelted chocolate in your ganache.

Place the cream and the finely chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl and warm gently. I do this in the microwave, on the lowest setting, in 1 minute intervals, stirring between each burst, but you could also do it over a bain-marie, if you prefer.

Once the chocolate has completely melted, your ganache is ready!

To make the ganache into mint chocolate ganache, add the peppermint extract and stir through well. As I mentioned earlier, you don’t want to add too much extract, or the mint flavour will be overpowering, but this ganache does seem to require more extract than other bakes to get a good flavour! Start with a splash, then work your way up. I ended up using about 1/8 tsp in total.

Now, just cover the filling with clingfilm, making sure to press the clingfilm directly onto the surface of the ganache (this will prevent it from forming a skin). Allow the ganache to cool slightly before putting it into the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours, until firm. Once chilled, you can use it to fill your macarons.

The longer you leave the ganache in the fridge, the firmer it will get. If you leave it for too long, it will become too firm to be piped/spread! That’s okay though, just gently warm it in the microwave/over a bain-marie again, stirring frequently, until it comes back to a spreadable consistency.

Piping Bear-Shaped Macaron Shells

Piping the macaron shells into these little bear shapes may look complicated, but it’s really not!

Essentially, the bears are made up of one regular macaron-sized circle (with a little extra on each side, for the cheeks!), along with two smaller circles on top, for the ears. I recommend using a small(ish) round tip for piping the macarons, so that you have plenty of control when it comes to piping the ears.

I’ve also created a little template, which you can download for free to use for your own macarons! While a template isn’t strictly necessary, it is helpful to ensure all of the ears are in the same place, so that all of your macarons line up with each other when sandwiched together.

Start by fitting your piping bag with a small(ish) round nozzle. I like to put my piping bag in a large glass and fold the edges down over the rim, just to make it easier to fill with the macaron batter. Fill the bag with the batter, then lay the piping bag flat on the work surface and use a dough scraper/palette knife to push the batter down towards the tip, then to pat the bag down flat. This will get rid of any extra air, ensuring your macarons bake up perfectly.

With the piping bag filled, you can get to piping your macarons. Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the paper macaron template (if using) underneath the baking paper. You should be able to see it through the semi-transparent paper, but it should not be touching the actual macaron batter.

For each macaron shell, start by piping the smaller circles for the ears. Hold the bag vertically, slightly above the surface of the tray, in the centre of each circle and apply gentle pressure, until the batter has filled the ear section of the template, then release the pressure to stop piping. The ears are small, so you won’t need to apply pressure for long at all!

Next, pipe the rest of the head. Holding the bag vertically again, start in the centre of the bear’s face. Keeping the bag vertical, guide it up ever so slightly towards the gap between the ears, before coming back down and guiding it to one side (to make one cheek). Move in a shallow arc to the other cheek, continuing to apply a constant, gentle pressure, then return to the middle of the macaron before finishing it off.

This piping technique is just a guide, though, so pipe the macarons in whatever way you find easiest. All that matters is that you create the shape of the template below (or even just a general bear shape) with your macaron batter.

Once you have piped a full tray of macarons, make sure you tap the tray firmly on the work surface a couple of times, then use a small, sharp knife/skewer to burst any air bubbles that rise to the surface, allowing the batter to fall back on itself, before leaving them at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes, until a skin forms, before baking.

Assembling the Macarons

Once the macaron shells are baked and cooled, and the ganache has firmed up nicely in the fridge, you can assemble the macarons. Start by pairing up the macaron shells, matching them as accurately as possible in terms of shape/size.

You can either pipe the ganache onto the shells, or just spread it on with a knife/the back of a spoon. Add a layer of ganache to the underside of half of the macaron shells (one from each pair).

Once you have added the ganache, sandwich the corresponding macaron halves together by gently pressing the other macaron shell down, rounded side up, onto the ganache. Macaron shells can be quite fragile, so be gentle here.

Decorating the Macarons

Now it’s time to decorate the Polar Bear Macarons! For this, you will need:

• Giant white chocolate buttons
• Melted dark chocolate (slightly cooled, so that it is a little thicker).

Place the dark chocolate into a piping bag, fitted with a fine, round nozzle. We will use this to attach the chocolate button and to pipe the facial features of the bear.

Use a small amount of chocolate to stick one chocolate button onto the lower portion of each bear’s face. This will act as the muzzle.

Then, use the remaining chocolate to pipe little faces on each bear. Place two eyes above the muzzle, then add a nose onto the muzzle itself.

Set the macarons aside at room temperature until the chocolate has hardened completely, then serve. Filled macarons are best kept in an airtight container and stored in the fridge, where they will keep for about 5 days, but they can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days, if needed. Unfilled macaron shells can be kept in an airtight container for about 5 days, but will become brittle and less deliciously chewy if left for too long.

Recipe

Print

Polar Bear Macarons

Bear-shaped macaron shells are sandwiched with a minty, white chocolate ganache filling and decorated with giant white chocolate buttons and melted dark chocolate to make these super cute, festive treats!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine French

Keyword Italian macarons, macaron, Peppermint, Polar bear, White Chocolate

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 11 minutes minutes

Chill Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 5 hours hours 11 minutes minutes

Servings 11 macarons

Equipment

• 2 piping bags
• 1 small(ish), round piping nozzle
• 1 fine round piping nozzle

Ingredients

For the mint & white chocolate ganache:

• 200 g white chocolate, finely chopped.
• 90 ml double cream
• 1/8 tsp peppermint extract, or to taste.

For the macaron shells:

• 95 g ground almonds
• 103 g icing sugar
• 72 g egg whites (split into 2 x 36g portions).
• 95 g caster sugar
• 30 g water

To decorate:

• 22 giant white chocolate buttons
• dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly.

Instructions

Make the mint & white chocolate ganache:

• Place the chopped white chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl. Heat gently (in the microwave, on low heat, in 1 minute intervals, stirring in between each burst, or over a bain-marie, stirring frequently) until the chocolate has completely melted.
• Add the peppermint extract (adding a little at a time, tasting frequently to check the level of mint flavour) and stir through well.
• Cover the filling with clingfilm, pressing it directly onto the surface of the ganache, so that a skin does not form. Allow to cool slightly before putting into the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.

Make the macaron shells:

• Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and place the printed templates (if using) underneath the paper. Fit a piping bag with a small(ish) round nozzle and set aside.
• Place the ground almonds and icing sugar into a food processor. Pulse 10 times, then sift into a large bowl, discarding any lumps. Repeat this process once more, so that you are left with a very fine powder.
• Add one of the 36g portions of egg white to the almond/icing sugar mixture. Mix well to form a thick paste, then set aside.
• Place the remaining 36g of egg white into the clean, metal (see Note 1) bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Leave aside while you make the sugar syrup.
• Place the caster sugar and water into a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir (swirl gently if necessary). Allow the syrup to continue bubbling, while monitoring the temperature with a digital sugar thermometer.
• When the syrup has reached 114°C, turn the stand mixer to high speed and begin to whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Keep the syrup over the heat as you do this.
• When the syrup has reached 118°C, the egg whites should have reached soft peaks. With the mixer still running on high speed, carefully pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Once all of the syrup has been added, turn the mixer up to full speed and beat until stiff peaks are achieved and the metal bowl has come to room temperature (about 5 minutes).
• When the meringue is ready, add 1/3 of it to the almond paste mixture. Mix vigorously to combine the two mixtures and loosen the thick paste slightly.
• Add the rest of the meringue and fold it in, using a figure of eight motion, until the mixture is homogenous and comes off the spatula in ribbons— if you leave those ribbons for 30 seconds, they should level themselves out into the rest of the mixture.
• Transfer the macaron batter to the prepared piping bag. Lay the bag flat on the work surface and use a dough scraper/palette knife to push the batter down towards the nozzle end, to push out any air. Flatten out the batter using the scraper too, to knock any remaining extra air bubbles out.
• Holding the bag vertically, just above the baking tray, apply gentle pressure to pipe the two ears. Then, fill in the rest of the bear shape with the batter.
• Once the macarons are all piped, lift the whole tray and drop it down onto the work surface a few times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a sharp knife/cocktail stick to burst the bubbles, letting the mixture fall back on itself.
• Set the macarons aside at room temperature to form a skin- on a relatively dry day, this should take about 30-40 minutes, but can take less time on drier, warmer days and more time on cold, humid days. Check on the macarons every 10-15 minutes or so, if unsure. The macarons will be ready when you can gently touch their surfaces without any batter coming off on your finger.
• When the macarons are almost ready, preheat the oven to 165°C fan. When the macarons are ready and the oven is hot, bake the macarons in the centre of the oven, one tray at a time, for 11 minutes. To check if they are done, place a finger on top of the shells and wiggle gently. When done, the tops of the macarons should not wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the tray before assembling.

Assemble the macarons:

• Once the macaron shells have cooled completely, you can fill them with the chilled ganache. Pair the macaron halves up, matching them as much as possible in terms of size/shape.
• Spread/pipe the chilled ganache onto the underside of half of the shells. Place the corresponding half of each macaron on top and gently press down to sandwich them together.

Decorate the macarons:

• Place the melted dark chocolate into a piping bag, fitted with a fine round tip. Use a small amount of the chocolate to stick a giant white chocolate button onto the lower portion of one side of each macaron, to act as the muzzle.
• Using the remaining chocolate, pipe the facial details (two eyes above the muzzle and a nose on the muzzle) onto each macaron. Set aside to harden at room temperature, then serve.
• The macarons are best eaten immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also keep the unfilled macaron shells in an airtight container, at room temperature for about 5 days, before filling.

Notes

1. It’s important to use a metal bowl for this, as not only will the egg whites whip up better, but you will be able to use the temperature of the bowl as an indication of when the meringue is ready. It’s also important that the bowl (and whisk) are completely clean. To clean them, rub a small amount of white wine vinegar over them using a piece of kitchen roll. This will remove any traces of fat/residue that will prevent your egg whites from whipping up properly.

Last year, I became obsessed with making my own version of the fluffy, festive-themed pillows that were all over Pinterest and Instagram. If you haven’t seen them before, they’re this assortment of cushions, made with a soft, teddy fleece, in a variety of festive shapes and patterns like candy canes, gingerbread men, Christmas trees— all sorts! My favourite one, though, was a cushion that looked like one of those swirly, round, peppermint candies. Because the prices were pretty steep (and I’m pretty sure lots of the ones I saw were from slightly suspicious sources), I did what any crafter would do: I said to myself, “I can make that!”. So I did! However, I was a little too late to get it done in time for the festive season last year, so I decided to make it ready for this year, instead.

To make this Peppermint Swirl Cushion, I adapted this free pattern from the Red Heart Design Team. You can also find this pattern on Ravelry. 

Table of Contents

• Materials
  • Sirdar Happy Chenille: Mini Review
• Adaptations
• Final Thoughts

Materials

To make this cushion, I used the following materials:

• 3.00mm hook.
• Sirdar Happy Chenille yarn, in the shades Lollypop (0031) and Soda Pop (0021).
• Darning needle.
• Scissors.
• 16″ round cushion form (I bought mine from Wool Warehouse).

The original pattern calls for a non-chenille, worsted weight yarn, but the yarn I used is DK weight (and fluffy, obviously!). Therefore, I used a smaller hook than the one suggested (3.00mm, instead of 5.50mm). I actually went quite a lot smaller with my hook, to get a tighter gauge, in an attempt to make my work less gappy, but, honestly, if I made this again, I think I’d go even smaller.

Sirdar Happy Chenille: Mini Review

I hate to say it but… I was not a fan of this yarn. Admittedly, this was my first time working with chenille yarn, so maybe I just don’t enjoy working with this style of yarn in general, but my goodness was it frustrating to work with!

Chenille yarn is basically made up of a central piece of thread with a layer of fluff attached all around it. The central yarn in the Happy Chenille is very… string-like (which, again, could be normal!) and breaks really easily. Also, the fluffy layer isn’t attached very securely, so my yarn kept shedding, leaving me with sad patches of plain string… Weirdly, the red shade seemed to shed much more than the white, so the white parts of the project, me and the sofa I was sat on while making this ended up covered in red fluff.

Overall, I don’t think I’d use this yarn again if I could avoid it! I’d love to try some other chenille yarns, just to have something to compare it to, but, honestly, I’m not sure I can face it just yet…

Adaptations

I did make a few changes to the original pattern for this project, just to make my cushion cover more similar to my inspiration photos. Some of these changes were more successful than others…

• Instead of crocheting over the colour not in use, I opted to carry it loosely along the back of the work.

I did this because I didn’t want the colours peeking through, which you can see has happened in the original patterns photos! At first, I thought this had worked well, but, because the work is quite open, I have had some trouble with bits of yarn poking through to the front of the work, which is a shame! I do think that using a tighter gauge could fix this, though?

• I started one side with white yarn, the other with red.

Look, the perfectionist in me wanted both sides of this cushion to be identical, but I was worried about the amount of yarn I had left. You use significantly more of the colour you start with (which I can’t quite figure out because surely it’s just the extra from the first round?), so I did start running a little low on white yarn after the first side. Instead of buying more yarn (which would have been a shame, seeing as I was so mad at it by this point), I opted to just even out my yarn usage by starting the back with red, and, honestly, you barely even notice it.

• I left the border off (and sewed the cushion together around the form).

I wanted a really clean, modern look for this cushion, so I opted to leave the candy cane-esque border from the original pattern off. Instead, I just stitched the two sides of the cushion together, right over the cushion form, making sure to stitch red section to red section with the red yarn, and white section to white section with the white yarn, for a seamless look. This does mean the cushion cover can’t be removed, but, honestly, I don’t think you could wash this yarn (even by hand) without it all falling apart anyway, so it’s no loss.

One note here: for the white shade, I was able to use long lengths of the yarn to sew up the cushion and carry them underneath the red sections to get to the next white one. Because the red yarn was so sheddy, I found it got messy pretty quickly if I tried to use a longer length, so I opted to use shorter lengths and sew in more ends (except, as you’ll soon read about, I didn’t sew in any ends, so I felt very smug… until they all started poking out… Sigh). Also, I may be complaining about using the chenille yarn, but sewing up the cushion with it was SO MAGICAL because you can be as messy as you want and it will still look absolutely perfect! 1 point for chenille.

• I increased the number of rounds to ensure good fit/account for my smaller gauge.

Because I was using a lighter weight yarn and a smaller hook, I needed to increase the number of rounds I worked so that my cushion cover would fit the 16″ cushion pad I had purchased. This was super easy to do, because the pattern is so simple and repeats every round, so I just had to keep working until it was the right size. To measure that, I just placed the work over the pad and stretched it slightly (but not too much!), so that the cover would be nice and snug, but not distorted. When two opposite points on the circumference reached the seam of the cushion form, I fastened off (leaving a long end for sewing up) and made the second side the same size.

• I didn’t darn in my ends— just tied them off and left them loose.

This is very much a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ kind of situation: this did not work. The reason why I opted to do this is not because I hate sewing in ends (although I absolutely do), but because I was worried about the darned-in ends being visible from the front of the work (again, another problem caused by the loose gauge). I figured that tying them off tightly and leaving them pretty long, so they wouldn’t come undone, was a good plan, but it was not. Any time I move this cushion, a new, unfinished end (often a sad, stringy little one) seems to pop out of nowhere, so I spend most of my time these days poking them back in to the back of the fabric. Sigh. If it isn’t the consequences of my own actions…

Final Thoughts

Okay, so I’m not thrilled with how this cushion turned out, but I still like it. I guess I just think that I could do better if I gave it another go (and as I am writing this I am having to physically restrain myself from ordering a different, fluffy yarn and trying again). Maybe if I consider this a prototype, I’ll feel better about it?

It’s not all negative though— this cushion is super soft, fluffy and festive. It’s very huggable, perhaps because it is so soft and fluffy? It was also so quick and easy to make— the pattern is so simple, but it’s also really effective! I whipped this up in no time at all (so I could make another one in no time at all too… right?).

If I did make this again, I’d definitely try and scope out a different yarn— I love the fluff of this one, but, let me tell you, I was not loving it when I was lint-rolling myself for the fifth time in a single day to remove the rather spooky-looking red fluff balls from my whole body. I also really just didn’t enjoy working with it and I think I may have developed a fear of chenille now (chenillophobia?).

Also… I’d love to see if this pattern would work with double crochets, instead of trebles? I think part of the reason the fabric is so open is because of the use of trebles, so even if I made my gauge super tight by using a really small hook, I’d still run into problems. If the pattern worked with double crochets, I could probably get away with keeping the yarn floats at the back, so I’d get the clean look I wanted, plus I’d be able to darn in the ends more easily (or, at least, there’d be fewer holes for them to poke through!). Admittedly, it would make the project much less speedy to whip up, but I’d still be interested to try it! (Oh no, I think I’ve basically convinced myself now…).

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Posting about projects I’m not 100% happy with is something I still struggle with, but I do think it’s important to share all of the aspects of the crafty life, not just the highlights!

If you're interested...

You can find the Peppermint Swirl Pillow pattern by the Red Heart Design Team here.

You can find the Peppermint Swirl Pillow pattern on Ravelry here.

You can find my Peppermint Swirl Cushion project page on Ravelry here.

Gemma

xxx

Table of Contents

• The Midnight Rain Cupcake: Explained
• Making the Mud Cupcakes
  • Mud Cakes and Moisture 101
  • Tips for Making the Two Batters Simultaneously
  • Adding Both Batters to the Cupcake Cases
  • Baking the Cupcakes
• Caramelised White Chocolate
• Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream
  • Melted Chocolate and Buttercream 101
• Making the Peppermint Buttercream Base
• Dividing the Buttercream
• Decorating the Cupcakes
• Recipe

The Midnight Rain Cupcake: Explained

The Midnight Rain Cupcake is comprised of 5 main elements:

• Chocolate mud cake
• White chocolate and caramel mud cake
• Dark chocolate and peppermint buttercream
• Caramelised white chocolate and peppermint buttercream
• Gold sprinkles

As I mentioned, developing this cupcake took me a super long time. Midnight Rain has such a specific aesthetic that I really wanted to capture in my cupcake, but just couldn’t figure out how. I tried SO many ideas, from chocolate suns/moons to two-tone icing- I even gave edible raindrops a whirl, but nothing was giving me the right vibe. After many, many attempts and redesigns and trial batches, I finally landed on a cupcake that not only tastes great, but also captures that iconic, Midnight Rain look/feel, from the decoration right down to the cakes themselves.

One of the most famous lyrics from the song is the first line of the chorus: ‘He was sunshine, I was midnight rain‘. I desperately wanted this cupcake to reflect that line and have a real sense of duality and contrast about it. The song also contains a reference to ‘peppermint candy’, so I also wanted to incorporate that flavour into the bake. My favourite peppermint-y, holiday treat is Peppermint Bark, which, by nature, includes a sharp contrast between the milk/dark (that one’s up to personal preference!) and white chocolate, so I thought it would serve as a perfect inspiration for these cupcakes.

I decided to do a half-and-half cupcake, with one half made from a regular chocolate mud cake batter, and the other half from a white chocolate mud cake batter. I had my heart SET on using mud cakes for this recipe, because it just felt so fitting, I mean, mud is literally caused by rain, right? Mud cakes were something I’d heard about, but never actually made myself. They’re essentially dense, moist chocolate cakes that are often used for celebration cakes, because they are sturdy enough to withhold the added weight of additional tiers and moist enough to make in advance. After a bit of research, it seems that mud cakes originated in Mississippi, where they were topped with marshmallows (to resemble the rocky banks of the Mississippi River), then made their way over to the other side of the pond, where the Australians did away with the marshmallows and really ran with the idea of a super moist, dense and chocolatey cake. The history is a little patchy, but I’m all for a delicious chocolate cake recipe. However, developing the recipes for the mud cake batter took me SO LONG! It was definitely the trickiest part of these cupcakes for me, but after many attempts, I think I’ve finally cracked it (thank GOODNESS).

For the icing, I used both dark chocolate and white chocolate buttercream, which I flavoured with peppermint, to really bring the whole peppermint bark theme together. The only problem with this was the colours. As I mentioned, Midnight Rain, has a super defined aesthetic- if you look it up on Pinterest, you’ll be flooded with half-yellow/gold, half-navy blue artwork. As suspicious as I am of the idea of making my food navy, I felt it kind of had to be done for this cupcake. I opted to colour the dark chocolate buttercream navy, in an attempt to limit the amount of food colouring I needed. Admittedly, in some lights, the icing looks more black than navy, and I had to use a lot more food colouring than I would have liked, but I did my best! For the ‘sunshine’ side, I wanted my white chocolate buttercream to be just a little bit more golden. It occurred to me that I could just use caramelised white chocolate, which would give my buttercream a naturally deeper tint (and cut down on the food colouring). It’s not anything crazy, but it is noticeable (and, honestly, even more tasty than regular white chocolate buttercream!).

I went back and forth on how to decorate the cupcakes- initially, I planned to do a two-tone swirl, but I wasn’t loving how the two buttercreams were melding together as I piped. In the end, I decided to use two decorative piping tips to create a pretty dollop of the white chocolate buttercream (to resemble the sun) and a ribbon of the navy buttercream, going back and forth in a crescent shape around that sun (to resemble the moon). I finished it off with some golden star sprinkles on the crescent shape, to really drive home the whole celestial, midnight vibe. Honestly, I’m SO happy with how it turned out! This style of icing, with the use of different colour buttercreams, each piped with a different decorative piping tip, is really on trend at the moment, so it was fun to try it out myself.

Once I’d decided on using caramelised white chocolate in the buttercream, I began to consider introducing that same caramel-y taste and colour into the white chocolate cake batter as well. With a little bit of research and some fiddling around with my hard-earned mud cake recipe, I managed to develop an equally moist, almost sticky toffee pudding-esque recipe for a white chocolate and caramel mud cake. It’s kind of my magnum opus.

Phwoof. That was a lot of waffling. Essentially, these are just peppermint bark-inspired mud cupcakes, with some added caramel flavour, for good measure. Both the cake and the icing is two-toned to emphasise the whole sunshine/midnight contrast from the song. As always, if you don’t particularly care about making your cupcake super Swift-y, you can decorate these cupcakes in whatever way you would like, which will make them a lot easier to make (and a lot less navy).

Making the Mud Cupcakes

As I mentioned before, I was desperate to use mud cakes for this recipe and it was absolutely only because I thought it was an iconic idea. However, every single mud cake I tried to make ended up drier than a typical sponge cake, which seemed completely contradictory to me. After many (many) attempts, I finally developed a super moist, super chocolatey mud cake recipe. A few more attempts later and I had a super moist white chocolate and caramel mud cake recipe as well, so I was ready to go.

Mud Cakes and Moisture 101

Here’s what I did to keep these cakes SUPER moist and delicious:

• Used half-butter, half-oil:

While butter gives cakes great flavour, oil keeps them much moister. By using both, you get the best of both worlds!

• Used half-caster sugar, half-brown sugar:

Brown sugar is another ingredient that helps to make cakes moist, so I’ve included it (in some form) in both of the recipes. However, you need to use a some caster sugar in order to give your cakes some structure- I found that 50/50 was the best ratio!

• Added sour cream

A lot of cake batters will include a thicker dairy product like yoghurt, buttermilk or sour cream to help provide extra moisture to the finished cake. I found that neither buttermilk nor yoghurt did enough for these cakes- you really need the extra moisture provided by the higher fat content of the sour cream to make these cupcakes super moist and delicious.

• Baked the cupcakes at a lower temperature

These cupcakes are baked at 160°C, which is quite low, especially for cupcakes! The reason for this is that a lower, slower bake is more conducive to a moist and tender finished product. You also want to ensure that you do not over-bake these cakes, or they will dry out- bake the cupcakes just until they feel firm to the touch and spring back ever so slightly.

Tips for Making the Two Batters Simultaneously

For these cupcakes, the two mud cake batters are added to the cupcake liners simultaneously and baked together for that half-and-half look. Because of this, it’s important to make the batters at the same time, because cake batters have a tendency to get tough if they are left sitting too long before baking. This can seem a little overwhelming, but, if you follow the steps below, you’ll be absolutely fine!

• Melt the chocolate/butter mixtures together one after the other, then allow to cool.

Both batters start off by melting the chocolate and butter together, in two separate bowls (one for the white chocolate + butter mixture, one for the dark chocolate + butter mixture). I do this in the microwave, one at a time, in 1-minute bursts (on the lowest setting), stirring in between until melted and cohesive. You could also do this over a bain-marie, if you prefer. Because the mixtures need to cool a little before the next step anyway, you can do one after the other without a problem- just remember to use a different spoon/spatula for each batter, to avoid cross-contamination! Once both mixtures are melted and smooth, set the bowls aside to cool.

• While the mixtures are cooling, measure out your wet ingredients.

Because both batters contain the same wet ingredients (bar one- more on that later), you can measure them all together. Whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, sour cream and vanilla, until completely combined, then set aside. When it’s time to add them to the batters, you just need to add half of your wet ingredient mixture to one bowl, half to the other. I like to mix my wet ingredients together in a jug, to make that step even easier.

• Add the sugars to each bowl.

To the dark chocolate mixture, add caster sugar and light brown soft sugar. To the white chocolate mixture, add caster sugar and dark brown soft sugar (the dark brown sugar is what gives the white chocolate mud cake its caramel-y flavour!). Because white chocolate has a higher proportion of sugar in it already, we add less sugar to that mixture at this stage than we do to the dark chocolate mixture, so everything balances out!

• Add the wet ingredients.

Now it’s time to add half of the wet ingredients to the white chocolate mixture, and half to the dark. I find it easiest to pour a little in to each bowl to start with and mix it well to loosen the mixture, then add the rest. If you’re worried about dividing it equally, weigh your wet ingredient mixture first, then divide the value by 2 and add that amount to each bowl.

• Add the coffee to the dark chocolate mixture.

The coffee (instant granules dissolved in water) is the only wet ingredient that needs to be added separately, because it is only needed in the dark chocolate batter. The coffee helps to bring out the flavour of the dark chocolate, but will overpower the flavour of the white chocolate, so you only want to add it to the dark chocolate batter. Add the coffee to the dark chocolate bowl and mix well to incorporate.

• Sift in the dry ingredients.

To the white chocolate batter, just sift in the self-raising flour and the salt. To the dark chocolate batter, sift in the self-raising flour, salt AND cocoa powder (for even more chocolate flavour).

Mix until just incorporated, then both batters are ready to go into the cases and be baked!

Adding Both Batters to the Cupcake Cases

For these two-tone cupcakes, you want to keep each batter to one side of each case. The easiest way to do this is to add both batters simultaneously, so they push up against each other and form a natural barrier. The batter isn’t super liquid, but it’s also not crazy thick, so an easy way to do this is to transfer each batter to a jug and ‘pour’ the batters into the cases. I say ‘pour’, because the batter is thicker than a typical pouring batter would be (it needs to be, to prevent the batters from merging too much!), but it will still come out of a spout- if that makes sense? If you prefer, you could also just take a spoonful of each batter and tip them into the cases at the same time- it’s just a little more finicky!

Fill each case about 3/4 of the way full- these mud cakes don’t rise quite as much as normal cupcakes, so you can afford to fill them a little higher than you normally would!

As always, I like to match my cupcake cases to my theme, so I used these navy blue cases from The Cake Decorating Co. for these Midnight Rain Cupcakes!

Baking the Cupcakes

As I mentioned, mud cakes are best baked low and slow. For that reason, you want to bake these cupcakes at 160°C (conventional oven) for 25-30 minutes, until just done. Don’t over-bake the cakes, or you might lose some moisture! Wait until the cupcakes just about spring back, then remove them from the oven.

As always, I like to remove my cupcakes from the tin as soon as they come out of the oven, to prevent the bottoms from becoming greasy. Do watch your fingers though, because both the cupcakes and the tray will be very hot!

Caramelised White Chocolate

Before you can make the buttercream, you’ll need to caramelise some white chocolate. This is super easy to do, but it can take a little while, so you’ll need to be a bit patient- I swear, it will be worth it! Caramelised white chocolate has a much deeper, more complex flavour than regular white chocolate- the caramelisation process helps to temper some of the sickly sweetness of the white chocolate, so you can just enjoy the flavour.

I caramelised my white chocolate in the microwave, but there are plenty of tutorials online for doing it in the oven as well, if you prefer. In this post, I’ll be walking you through the microwave method.

To start with, you need to melt the chocolate. Break or chop it up into pieces, then place the chocolate into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on the lowest setting in 1-minute bursts, stirring in between each burst, until completely melted.

Now, to caramelise the chocolate. Essentially, all you need to do is microwave the melted chocolate on high, in 15 second bursts at a time, stirring in between each burst. I never melt chocolate on high because it can burn so easily, but, because the bursts are so short for this, you don’t need to worry about the high heat. In fact, doing this on a lower heat will just make it even more tedious, so be brave and stick to high!

This process takes… a while. I must admit, I was getting pretty bored by the end, but, having tasted the finished product, I would absolutely do it again! At first, the chocolate won’t seem like it’s doing anything, but eventually it will start to thicken up. Don’t worry- this is supposed to happen! Any clumps/thicker parts will melt back into the chocolate as you stir in between each burst, so just keep stirring and heating, stirring and heating.

Eventually, you’ll start to notice the colour of the chocolate changing. It will go from the original pale, creamy colour to a light caramel shade. Keep going until the chocolate is a nice, deep caramel shade (or until you absolutely cannot be bothered with it anymore). Honestly, I could have taken my chocolate even further and achieved a deeper shade, but I was getting super tired at this point, so I just went with what I had… Once you’re happy with the level of caramelisation, set the chocolate aside to cool for a while before you make the buttercream.

One note here: this stuff gets HOT. I mean, you’d think it would be obvious given the fact that it’s literally called caramelised white chocolate, but I was still shocked by just how hot it was when I got a little bit on my finger. Keep your fingers well away until the chocolate has had a while (at least 20-30 minutes) to cool down!

Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream

For the icing, I made one big batch of peppermint buttercream. I then transferred about 1/3 of the buttercream to a separate bowl, before adding melted dark chocolate and navy food colouring to the larger amount and caramelised white chocolate to the smaller amount.

Melted Chocolate and Buttercream 101

Making buttercream with melted chocolate is super easy, but there are a couple of things you need to remember:

• Use a higher proportion of butter than your typical buttercream recipe.

Because chocolate sets solid at room temperature, you’ll end up with a super dense and hard, fudge-like consistency if you add it to a standard buttercream recipe. To account for this, you need to use a higher proportion of butter than usual, which will help to even out the consistency. In fact, the chocolate you use will also have an effect on this: dark chocolate contains cocoa solids, while white chocolate does not (and instead contains a higher proportion of cocoa butter). This means that dark chocolate will firm up the buttercream even more than white chocolate. The quantities I have listed below reflect all of this- I add less dark chocolate than white chocolate to the buttercream base, so you’ll end up with super silky, super tasty chocolate buttercream!

• Make sure the melted chocolate has cooled down before you add it to the buttercream base.

This is particularly important for the caramelised white chocolate, because it starts out so hot and therefore needs longer to cool down. If the chocolate is still warm, it will melt the butter in your buttercream, which might lead to the icing becoming soupy, or even separating. If this happens, it’s not the end of the world- just put the whole thing into the fridge, giving it a stir every 5 minutes or so, until it comes back to a cohesive, pipeable consistency.

Making the Peppermint Buttercream Base

As I mentioned, this buttercream base contains a much higher proportion of butter than my usual American buttercream recipe, to account for the addition of melted chocolate later. Don’t worry, then, if you taste this and feel overwhelmed by butteriness- it’s supposed to be that way!

American-style buttercream is one of the easiest icings to make- start by whipping the softened butter with an electric mixer until it is soft and pale. I use a hand mixer, but you could use a stand mixer, if you prefer. Then, mix in the sifted icing sugar, followed by the milk, and beat again until light and fluffy. That’s it!

To get the peppermint flavour into this icing, I used peppermint extract. Add a few drops to the buttercream, then give it a taste to see if the flavour is to your liking. Peppermint extract is very strong, so you only need a very small amount. Start slow- you can always add more, but you can’t take it out if it starts tasting a bit too toothpaste-y!

Dividing the Buttercream

Once you have your peppermint buttercream base, it’s time to divide it up, ready for the melted chocolate. Because of the way we will be decorating the cakes, you need more dark chocolate buttercream than white chocolate. Take about 1/3 of the buttercream base and transfer it to another bowl- this will be for your white chocolate buttercream. Add the cooled, caramelised white chocolate to the bowl and mix well until completely combined. To the other bowl, add melted and cooled dark chocolate (I do this in the microwave, in 1-minute bursts, on low), and mix well to combine.

The next step is optional, but I wanted to colour my dark chocolate buttercream so that it was more reminiscent of the Midnight Rain aesthetic I was going for. I used the Colour Mill oil-based food colouring in the shade Navy, but, honestly, the finished buttercream ended up looking more black, probably because of the cocoa powder. No matter, it was still very much giving night sky vibes, so I was happy! One thing to note though: I did have to use quite a bit of food colouring to achieve this shade. If you’re not comfortable using so much colouring, you can either omit it completely, or add a small amount of cocoa powder (you could even use black cocoa, if you have it), dissolved in hot water, to your buttercream first. This will make the buttercream darker naturally, so you will need less colouring.

Decorating the Cupcakes

With both buttercreams made, it was time to pipe it onto the cupcakes. I placed the white chocolate buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a large open star tip, and put the navy buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with a large petal tip.

I started by piping a dollop of white chocolate buttercream to one side of the cake. Keep it round, so that it ends up kind of resembling the sun- the decorative piping tip will make the dollop look a little more fancy. For aesthetic reasons, I opted to pipe the white chocolate buttercream on the side with the white chocolate cake, but I think the cupcakes would be even tastier if I had switched the orientation of the buttercream around- that way, the more bitter cake would have the sweeter icing and vice versa. It’s up to you, though!

Then, I switched over to the navy buttercream with the petal piping tip. Hold the piping bag perpendicular to the surface of the cake, with the thicker end of the petal shape nearest to the cake and the thinner end pointing up in the air.

Keep the bag in this position the whole time you are piping, so that you achieve upright ribbons. The aim is to pipe one continuous ribbon, back and forth, and form a crescent shape around that sun ‘dollop’ we just created. Start at one end, applying gentle pressure, then work back and forth, increasing the width of the ruffles as you approach the middle of the crescent. Once you’ve reached the centre, gradually decrease the width of the ruffles, working your way around the sun to finish off the moon shape.

And there you have it! A sun and moon, in buttercream form.

To finish off the cakes, I opted to scatter some gold star sprinkles over the navy moon buttercream, just to really heighten the whole midnight vibe. I got these sprinkles from Waitrose, but you can use whatever you have/can find!

And that’s it! My Midnight Rain, peppermint bark-inspired cupcakes. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about this process- let me know if you give this recipe a try!

Gemma

Recipe

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‘Midnight Rain’ Cupcakes

Inspired by Taylor Swift's song 'Midnight Rain', these half-and-half cupcakes are made with two mud cake batters: dark chocolate and white chocolate & caramel, then topped with two types of peppermint buttercream: dark chocolate and caramelised white chocolate, so they're perfect for everyone, whether you're sunshine or midnight rain.

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword Caramelised white chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Midnight Rain, Mud cake, Peppermint, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift Cupcakes, White Chocolate

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Equipment

• 12 navy blue cupcake cases (see Note 1).
• 2 piping bags
• 1 large open star piping tip
• 1 large petal tip

Ingredients

For the mud cake batters:

• 75 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 75 g white chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 90 g unsalted butter, split into 2x45g portions.
• 50 g caster sugar, split into 1x30g and 1x20g portions.
• 30 g light brown soft sugar
• 20 g dark brown soft sugar
• 90 g sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil).
• 75 ml milk
• 3 eggs
• 100 ml sour cream
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water.
• 190 g self-raising flour, split into 1x90g and 1x100g portions.
• 10 g cocoa powder
• fine sea salt

For the peppermint buttercreams:

• 70 g white chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 30 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped.
• 290 g unsalted butter, softened.
• 320 g icing sugar, sifted.
• 3 tbsp milk
• peppermint extract
• navy food colouring (see Note 2).

To decorate:

• golden star sprinkles (see Note 3).

Instructions

Make and bake both mud cake batters:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (conventional oven). Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with navy cupcake cases and set aside.
• Place the dark chocolate and one of the 45g portions of butter into a medium-sized microwaveable bowl. Melt in the microwave on the lowest setting, in 1-minute bursts, stirring between each burst, until smooth. Repeat this process with the white chocolate and the remaining 45g of butter, in a separate bowl. Set both bowls aside to cool slightly.
• Once cooled, add the 30g portion of caster sugar and all of the light brown soft sugar to the dark chocolate mixture. Stir well to combine. Add the remaining 20g portion of caster sugar and all of the dark brown soft sugar to the white chocolate mixture. Stir well to combine.
• In a large jug, whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract. Add half of this mixture to each bowl and mix well to combine (see Note 4).
• Add the coffee, dissolved in the hot water, to the dark chocolate mixture and mix to combine.
• Sift the 90g portion of self-raising flour into the dark chocolate mixture, along with the cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Then, sift the remaining 100g of self-raising flour and another pinch of salt into the white chocolate mixture. Stir both mixtures separately, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
• Transfer each batter to a separate jug, then pour both batters simultaneously into each cupcake case, to give the half-and-half effect. Fill each case about 3/4 of the way full, then bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until they just about spring back when touched.
• Once baked, remove the cupcakes from the tin immediately, to prevent the cases from becoming greasy. Place onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely before decorating.

Make the peppermint buttercreams:

• Start by caramelising the white chocolate. Place the chocolate into a microwaveable bowl, then melt in the microwave on low heat, in 1-minute bursts, stirring between each burst, until smooth.
• Once melted, start caramelising the chocolate. Place the chocolate back into the microwave on high heat, in 15-second bursts, stirring between each burst, until the chocolate has turned a deep, golden colour. This will take a little while, so be patient.
• Once you are happy with the level of caramelisation, set the chocolate aside to cool. It will be very hot! While it is cooling, melt the dark chocolate in a separate bowl and set aside to cool as well.
• Once both chocolates have cooled to room temperature, make the peppermint buttercream. Place the softened butter into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and soft. Mix in the icing sugar, followed by the milk, then beat again until light and fluffy.
• Add a few drops of peppermint extract to the buttercream and mix well to combine. Taste and add more extract, if desired.
• Add 1/3 of the buttercream to the cooled, caramelised white chocolate and mix until completely combined. Add the remaining buttercream to the melted dark chocolate and mix until completely combined. Add navy food colouring to the dark chocolate buttercream until your desired shade is achieved (see Note 2).

Decorate the cupcakes:

• Transfer the white chocolate buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large, open star tip. Transfer the dark chocolate buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large petal tip.
• Pipe a large, circular dollop of white chocolate buttercream, to one side on the surface of a cooled cupcake. Switch to the dark chocolate buttercream and, holding the bag so that the thicker end of the petal tip sits against the surface of the cupcake, pipe a ribbon back and forth, forming a crescent shape around the white chocolate dollop. Repeat this process for the remaining cupcakes.
• To finish, scatter a few golden sprinkles onto the navy buttercream crescents.
• Store the cupcakes in an airtight container, at room temperature. Stored like this, they will keep for 3-4 days.

Notes

1. Navy cupcake cases: I used these.
2. Food colouring: I used the Colour Mill Oil-Based Food Colouring in the shade Navy. However, I had a couple of problems with this: my icing ended up more black than navy (probably because of the dark chocolate) and I had to use quite a lot of food colouring. Feel free to use a different shade of blue colouring, add some dissolved cocoa powder to the icing base to make it even darker (so you need less colouring) or omit the colouring altogether. 
3. Golden star sprinkles: I used these sprinkles from Waitrose.
4. Dividing wet ingredients: If you are worried about dividing the wet ingredients evenly, weigh the mixture, then divide that value by 2. Simply add this amount to each bowl for a perfect division. I find it easiest to mix a small amount of the wet ingredients into each bowl first, to loosen the mixtures, then add in the rest. 

Some notes before we get into the project:

• The stitch used in the original pattern is called ‘moss stitch’. It is also known as ‘linen stitch’ (what I am used to calling it). This is just a case of there being multiple names for one stitch- if you have done linen stitch before, you have done moss stitch and vice versa!
• When I have used linen stitch before, I have frequently run into problems with my tension. Because of the chain 1 in between every double crochet, the overall tension within the blanket can vary massively. I’ve yet to find a solution to this when using linen stitch for larger projects (e.g. baby blankets that are worked straight, as opposed to c2c). However, I did not run into this problem when using linen stitch in a c2c format (much to my relief!). If, like me, you love the stitch but struggle with your tension when working it straight, I would definitely recommend giving it a try with c2c. Having said that, if you have any tips for maintaining a consistent tension with linen stitch normally, please let me know!
• Finally, just a heads up that the original pattern uses American crochet terms. Keep this in mind if you use British terms (like me) and want to try this pattern out for yourself.

Now we have covered that, let’s get into the materials I used for this project:

• 4mm crochet hook
• 2x100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK in Claret (1123)*
• 2X100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK in Cream (1005)*
• Darning needle

*I did not use the full amount of yarn- my finished blanket was 61cm square and weighed about 240g, including the border. I used about 120g of each colour.

Right! Into the action!

I used the instructions provided in the original pattern to make a square blanket, as opposed to a rectangular one. I did also extend my blanket slightly, completing 14 stripes while increasing and another 14 while decreasing (the original pattern calls for 11 for each). This was just to make my blanket a little bigger, because I felt it was a little too small as it was. Other than this, I followed the original pattern to the letter, alternating between claret and cream for my stripes.

For the edging, I opted for a very simple double crochet border. I achieved this by placing 1dc at the end of each row along the sides and (dc, ch1, dc) in each of the corners. This provided a simple edging that gave the blanket a neat finish, but did not detract from the striking impact of the modern stripes.

Overall, I really love this baby blanket. I think it looks beautifully festive, without being too overtly Christmassy or (dare I say it?!) tacky. Plus, it was a real joy to make! Let me know if you try it out for yourself!

Gemma

xxx

A few things to note before we get into it:

• Traditionally, peppermint bark uses dark chocolate instead of the milk chocolate I use here. My excuse for this is that I have an excessively sweet tooth! Milk chocolate is just my preference. Having said that, my family members have a significantly lower tolerance for sweetness and they love this bark just as much as I do. Of course, if you would rather use dark chocolate, go ahead!
• I am by NO means a professional chocolatier! In the recipe card below, I have given quite vague instructions (‘melt (and temper) the chocolate’). In the following section of this post I tell you how I do this. While my method does produce a bark that sets at room temperature and has a lovely snap, I haven’t quite nailed achieving the shiny finish (not that it really matters… the bark still looks very pretty)! I have read that it can be more difficult to temper smaller quantities of chocolate. Maybe that’s my problem! If you have your own method for tempering chocolate that works well for you, use that instead (and please tell me all about it!).
• I haven’t included any servings/dimensions for this recipe. It is a very adaptable, customisable process, so you can make as much or as little as you want, make more smaller shards or fewer larger shards- whatever you want! The quantities given below make about 360g of bark.

Anyway, let’s get into the recipe!

The first thing you need to do is crush the candy canes. I like to do this in a mortar and pestle, but you can also use a ziplock bag and a rolling pin. You want to aim for a variety in texture- some dust, some small pieces. Keep all of the pieces relatively small to make the bark easier to eat later.

Once you have your crushed candy canes, you can move on to melting (and tempering…) your chocolate. Tempering can be a bit of an involved process, but it’s worth it to get a finished product with a beautiful snap. Tempering your chocolate also means you can keep the bark at room temperature and that it will melt in your mouth, just like chocolate should!

I melt and temper my chocolate using a microwave. I start by melting the chocolate for 1 minute at a time on the lowest setting, stirring in between each blast. You want your chocolate to be completely melted and to be at the correct melting temperature. I use the following temperatures for tempering:

Once you have reached the correct melting temperature for your chocolate, you need to cool the chocolate back down to its cooling temperature. As the chocolate cools, I stir it frequently to agitate the molecules, which helps with the tempering process.

When the chocolate has cooled sufficiently, I place it back into the microwave for about 10 seconds, still on the lowest setting, to bring it back up to the ‘tempered’ temperature. You need to work quickly at this stage, because the chocolate needs to be used while it is ‘in temper’ (i.e. at the ‘tempered’ temperature)!

Now you have your tempered chocolate, you can pour it onto a lined baking tray and spread it out into a thin, even layer. You the need to set it aside to harden while you repeat the process with the white chocolate.

Do you see what I was talking about earlier? My chocolate is perfectly hard and snappy at this point, but it just doesn’t have that beautiful shine you see on professional chocolates! Ah well, there is always another mountain to climb. Let me know if you have any tips and tricks of your own when it comes to tempering chocolate!

Anyway, as I said, you now need to repeat this process with the white chocolate. Yes, I know, how tedious! I promise it will be worth it in the end, though.

So, again, melting, tempering and then spreading the white chocolate into a thin layer, this time right on top of that now-hardened layer of milk chocolate.

Now, working quickly so that the candy canes have time to stick to the chocolate before it sets, you need to sprinkle the crushed candy canes all over the surface of the bark.

You should end up with a slab of chocolate that looks something like this. So pretty! You’ll want to let it set for about 30 minutes, so that it has enough time to harden completely. Once it has set, you can snap it into shards.

And then you’re done! You can eat it, store it at room temperature, or package it up and give it as gifts. I can guarantee it won’t last long, whatever you do!

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Peppermint Bark

Layers of milk and white chocolate, sprinkled with crushed candy canes: a perfect, festive treat!

Course Snack

Keyword Candy, Chocolate, Christmas, Peppermint

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Setting Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Author Gemma

Equipment

• Digital thermometer
• Mortar and pestle
• Baking tray, greaseproof paper, spatula, microwave safe bowl

Ingredients

• 180 g Milk chocolate
• 180 g White chocolate
• 2 Candy canes

Instructions

• Line the baking tray with greaseproof paper. Set aside.
• Crush the candy canes using a mortar and pestle. Aim for a mix of fine dust and small pieces.
• Melt (and temper) the milk chocolate. Spread it onto the lined tray in a thin, smooth layer. Set aside at room temperature to set.
• While the milk chocolate layer sets, melt (and temper) the white chocolate. Pour over the hardened milk chocolate layer and spread out to the edges. Working quickly, sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the chocolate. Set aside at room temperature and allow to harden completely, about 30 mins.
• Once the peppermint bark has hardened completely, break into shards. The bark can now be stored at room temperature, packaged into bags and given as gifts, or enjoyed immediately!