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Wishful Thinking…

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This Hot Chocolate Cake with Peppermint Schnapps Whipped Cream is a hot chocolate flavored cake perfect for cozy days.

My mother is one of those mind over matter people, I’m sure you know the type.

Whenever we were sick (the knocked out ratty hair, snotty red nosed, swollen eyes sick) my mother would make me do my hair, put on make up and get dressed in one of my best outfits…”if you look good, you’ll feel good.”

No, I just feel like crap and now I have makeup on to run down my face when my eyes and nose run, fabulous.

But genetically it must have rubbed off a little, for I am baking with hot chocolate in order to “will” Fall into showing up early.

I am sooo not a Summer girl as many long time reader know.

And this Summer is really making me hate it just a bit more.

We are breaking heat records, my allergies are insane from always having to have the windows open, I’m injured and can’t even enjoy the outdoors, and I am allergic to half the stuff at the Farmers Market. Boo.

Bring to me my crisp mornings.

And bring to me my cool, rainy afternoons that are perfect for a blanket, good book and some hot chocolate.

Bring to me the need to bundle up when I go outside.

And bring to me the Fall foliage and more importantly the food.

I have made this cake before, using eggnog at Christmas time.

I enjoyed that so much that I thought I would use hot chocolate instead and make Hot Chocolate Cake with Peppermint Schnapps Whipped Cream.

It is after all, just a hot milk cake recipe that I messed with.

Hot chocolate is pretty much hot milk (just with a kick).

The cake turned out perfectly fine.

I point this out because usually only when disaster strikes do I chop up a cake.

But I wanted something a little different.

I wanted to feel like I was curling up with a cup of comforting cocoa.

So I dragged out my trusted pig mugs, chopped up some cake.

Put in a layer of whipped cream(spiked with peppermint schnapps), then crushed candy canes(yes, I have them year round…love those after Christmas sales) and then hot fudge.

Then more cake, candy canes, and so on…you get the picture(if you don’t just look at the picture 🙂 ).

I will say that I cheated and did not make my own hot fudge, it was a gift for my birthday(a box of chocolate, caramel and raspberry sauce) all from our local chocolate shop, Fran’s, and it is as good as anything I could make(I actually just eat the caramel sauce straight from the jar…just me and a spoon).

This cake truly did hit the spot, and more importantly, today it was 67F and rainy.

I know it won’t last(I watched the news) but it was nice to have a Fall preview.

Want More Cake Recipes?

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Hot Chocolate Cake

Hot Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  • For the Cake:
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup prepared hot chocolate(your favorite kind)
  • 1 TBSP butter
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • For the Whipped Cream:
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 3 TBSP peppermint schnapps (optional)
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • homemade or store bought hot fudge sauce
  • crushed candy canes if desired as garnish

Instructions

  1. For the Cake:
  2. Preheat oven to 325F.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until very thick; the batter should fall from the beaters in a thick ribbon.
  4. Beat in the vanilla.
  5. While you ¢re beating the eggs and sugar, heat the hot chocolate and butter in a small saucepan to just simmering.
  6. Add the hot chocolate mixture to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream as you continue beating.
  7. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  8. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring until they ¢re just combined.
  9. Pour the batter into a lighty greased 9 inch cake round.
  10. Bake for 50 minutes, or until the cake is a deep golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
  11. Remove the cake from the oven and cool it in the pan for 10-15 minutes.
  12. Run a knife around the sides of the pan.
  13. Chop up the cake into squares and place in cocoa mugs.
  14. For the Whipped Cream:
  15. Whip 2 cups of heavy cream, sugar, and peppermint schnapps on high until soft peaks are formed.
  16. Top cake with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, and crushed candy canes.
© Peabody

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Comments

  1. I love you Pea, you know I do – but I will fight you for longer summer days. Although I know the allergies can be distressful. You might be able to bribe me for ONE shorter summer day with this though. Looks insanely good!

    Reply

  3. My first visit to your blog and I love it…pics, recipes and great reading. I have to agree with Meeta above…bring me summer and I’m happy! This look sinningly good!
    Ronell

    Reply

  4. I’m with you — Fall is absolutely the best time of year, and it cannot arrive soon enough for me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this chopped hot chocolate cake, but it looks fabulous in its pig cup!

    Reply

  6. Aw…what a cute mug and with little candy canes! Let us wish fall here soon. The only thing Iike about summer are the bounty of fruits. My allergies are bothering me too. Hope you feel better.

    Reply

  9. Gosh Peabody I am so with you on the hot weather – I’ll never be a summer girl. Fall and even winter are lovely by me.

    I’m so sorry the heat is such a dran and added onto the ankle, I know it’s a killer. Wish I could help with the clock but time is simply the only thing that heals those injuries.

    This cake with all the add ons in the piggy – well, it’s just WOW! and yes it must be perfect for a pigging out!

    Reply

  10. I’m with you as well – I hate the heat, but I hate the winter as well. I’m living in the wrong state – we have been near or above 100F for weeks now, and in the winter it is freezing! I need to move somewhere that has Spring/Fall weather year round!

    But I can see how this dessert would help you feel better! That mug is so cute!

    Reply

  11. Fall is my favorite time of the year, too! I can’t wait for my husband’s fall break so we can drive a few miles up the road and see the leaves change on the mountain trees!

    That is the cutest mug EVER, and there is no better “hot chocolate” than the kind with peppermint. I always stir mine with candy canes, so I know this dessert would hit the spot!

    Reply

  12. This looks fantastic! I love to hear that other people are also waiting for the summer to end so beautiful Fall and Winter can arrive. Most people I know think this is a crazy way to feel……

    Reply

  13. mmmmm, can’t agree with you on looking forward to fall, but i am happy that we’ve cooled down a bit today too. love that pig cup, so cute!

    Reply

  14. Hi Pea! Wow, this sounds like a nice little indulgence while dreaming of fall to arrive. Your mug is absolutely adorable, and the cute candy cane must be your extra little push for cold weather. 🙂

    Reply

  16. I’m not a Summer girl either, Fall and Spring for me.

    Love your pig cup, so cute! your dessert looks fab too, and that pretty little candy cane!

    Reply

  17. I admit that used to love summer way more than I do now! These southern summers seem more out of control ho every year. Your hot chocolate cake looks very tempting, especially set against that pretty pink…the pig and the candy cane are cute touches. 🙂

    Reply

  19. Fall is my all time favorite time of year, I just wish we had it here in Cali, it is the thing I miss most about the East Coast. For some reason, seeing this post made me desperate for hot chocolate cake. It’s going to be perfect tomorrow morning for breakfast!

    Reply

  20. those mugs are so cute! i wish i made a mug of this. i can’t wait to try out the eggnog cake recipe this christmas.

    i too am a fall person. i guessed you were from seattle since you mentioned fran’s (i’m from vancouver, bc) and just checked your about page to see. must be why we had the same weather today. 😉 i was so happy to see the rain and fall-like weather.

    Reply

  23. Oh! What a beautiful and tender presentacion.The mug and the candies was the perfect complement for this wonderful hot chocolate cake. The all seassons I prefer the spring,full of colors ,life and ideal temperature.

    Reply

  24. Oh I saw the candy canes in there and I got so excited. I can’t wait for the cooler weather.

    I want to curl up with that cake right now.

    Reply

  26. It is all about the power of attraction, right? You willed it to be cooler, you believed it would happen, and it did! Now…if you could will a little of that our way, I would appreciate it!

    I love that cute little cup.

    Reply

  27. I am so with you on the need for fall to come sooner. I think I have tried to cook everything that has to do with fall just to will it here! Your hot chocolate cake looks and sounds amazing!

    Reply

  34. I love fall. While we have one here – not like the ones we had in Boston. I miss those.

    Your dessert? Yum! And the mug? A must find! 🙂

    Reply

  35. The fact that this cake is served in a pig cup kills me. And the pictures make me want to make something with whipped cream in it – this sounds delish!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] So I was nudged to enter a contest over at Culinate by one of their readers…or so their email told me. When I found out that I could enter a past post I was all over it, as time is not my friend as of late(how is it already February 1st!). Needless to say I searched my site for what said Death by Chocolate(the theme) to me. And though there were some worthy candidates, I ended up going with my Hot Chocolate Cake. Because really, is there anything more comforting than hot chocolate? I think not. Now normally I would not enter something like this. I mean sure I enter food blogging events but we don’t ever really win anything usually…just pride. And I am good with pride as a gift. However, this contest was a little too good to pass up….The Culinate Death by Chocolate Contest sends one reader, and one food blogger, on a trip for two to Napa Valley to attend the Copia Center’s annual Death by Chocolate Festival on Feburary 23, 2008, featuring a day of chocolate and wine tasting, demonstrations by pastry chefs, and other sessions with chocolate aficionados and experts. Why am I trying to win this? Besides the obvious reason of chocolate being involved, I will now tug on your heart strings to say that my husband and I have not been on a trip together in over 4 years and the last one was for a day and a half to Sea World. If you are a food blogger, I encourage you to enter, I mean the more the merrier! But if you are not entering, and you are feeling generous, I hope you will throw a vote my way! […]

    Reply

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