Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

A hot cocoa cupcake with others lined up behind and around it.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

My rich and delicious Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes are so tasty no one will ever know they're made with a cake mix hack! Perfectly festive for the holidays, they're easy to make and ready in just 35 minutes.

Course Dessert, holidays

Cuisine American

Diet Low Salt

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings cupcakes

Calories 231kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix
6 ounces hot chocolate mix
1 cup warm water
¾ cup vegetable oil
5 eggs large
2 teaspoons peppermint extract divided
1 cup Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips
1 pint heavy cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar add an additional Tablespoon if needed
Red and green sugar sprinkles for garnish
Red and white paper straws cut into thirds (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together cake mix, hot chocolate mix, water, oil, eggs and 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract until just combined.
Fold in the peppermint baking chips.
Fill the cupcake cups ¾ of the way (an ice cream scoop works great for this).
Bake 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely.
In a large, cold metal bowl and using an electric mixer, whip together heavy cream, powdered sugar and remaining peppermint extract until it forms fluffy, slightly stiff peaks.
Pipe whipped cream onto the tops of the cupcakes.
Sprinkle with red and green sugar sprinkles and place a straw into each cupcake at a diagonal angle. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Don't overmix. Once your cake mix ingredients are just combined, stop mixing — if you overdo it, your cupcakes will come out tough.

Use an ice cream scoop. It's the best way to fill the cupcake cups evenly! Remember to fill them just ¾ of the way to prevent overflow.

Cool completely. If you try to frost your chocolate and peppermint cupcakes when they're still warm, the whipped cream will slide off.

Play with the minty flavor. Definitely feel free to adjust the amount of peppermint extract and Andes baking chips you use. More will of course make the mint more pronounced, while using less will give you a more subtle flavor.

It's best to serve these right away. Freshly whipped cream holds up decently in the refrigerator for a few days, but it has the best texture right after you make it.

Ingredients to prep ahead- You can pull the eggs out of the fridge about 30 minutes before getting started to make mixing easier. You can also make and freeze the cupcakes and then thaw and frost when you are ready to serve.

Leftovers and storage- Store any leftover cupcakes in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

Nutrition