Peppermint Chocolate Cake

I'm giving martha stewart a run for her money this holiday season! my roommates and I decided to have a family christmas dinner before we all head home for the holidays and I signed up for mashed potatoes and dessert. to begin, my mashed potatoes rocked. I added half a cup of whipping cream and two tablespoons of butter and bam, mashed goodness everywhere.

as for dessert, I was stumped with what to make, so after scouring my cookbooks and googling 'holiday desserts' - this recipe appeared from martha stewart. it was incredible. this cake was super easy to make (we had to whip it up quickly because for some reason we forgot that the turkey needed to go in the oven, too...) and had amazing results.

the cake itself was moist because of the 1/2 cup of buttermilk and it transferred from the pan to the cooling rack without losing a crumb. the icing was similar in texture to ganache rather than frosting, but it was where the peppermint flavour came from. the crushed candy canes were an added touch because I had thirteen sitting in a box waiting to be used.

I am really impressed with myself. not only did lindsay and I pull off an entire turkey dinner with all the fixings, but as the finishing touch this cake turned out way better than I ever could have anticipated. I'm extremely happy with myself and will probably make this again to feed to my family over the holidays.

school is finished for the semester and I'm headed home on the weekend to spend two weeks with my family. I can't wait to tackle the christmas baking and eat all the good food that will surely be placed in front of me!

for good measure, here is oliver dressed as an elf. it was difficult to get him to sit still to capture a good image but you get the idea - he's not a happy elf. 

I hope everyone is gearing up for christmas with minimal stress! until next time, happy making!