Peppermint Swirl Chocolate Lava Cakes Food

PEPPERMINT LAVA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter for 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Whisk in confectioners' sugar, eggs, egg yolks and extract until blended. Fold in flour., Transfer to four generously greased 4-oz. ramekins. Bake on a baking sheet until a thermometer reads 160° and edges of cakes are set, 14-16 minutes., Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Run a knife around sides of ramekins; invert onto dessert plates. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Serve immediately.

PEPPERMINT LAVA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter for 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Whisk in confectioners' sugar, eggs, egg yolks and extract until blended. Fold in flour.
• Transfer to four generously greased 4-oz. ramekins. Bake on a baking sheet until a thermometer reads 160° and edges of cakes are set, 14-16 minutes.
• Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Run a knife around sides of ramekins; invert onto dessert plates. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Serve immediately.

MINT SWIRL FUDGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan., In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, 1/2 cup water, cream cheese, oil and eggs; beat on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Remove 1-1/2 cups batter to a small bowl; stir in creme de menthe syrup, extract, and if using, food coloring until blended., In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons water and cocoa powder until smooth; add to untinted batter. Add melted chocolate. Spoon half of the chocolate batter into prepared pan. Carefully top with green batter; do not swirl. Top with remaining chocolate batter., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely., In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, chocolate and enough water to reach a drizzling consistency. Spoon over cake; if desired, sprinkle with crushed candies.

PEPPERMINT SWIRLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour. Divide dough in half. Stir peppermint extract and food color into one half of dough. Divide each color of dough in half.
• Shape each piece of dough on generously floured surface into rope, 12 inches long. Place 2 ropes, 1 red and 1 white, side by side. Twist ropes. Repeat with remaining 2 pieces of dough.
• Cut twisted ropes into 1/2-inch pieces; shape each into ball. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten to about 1/4-inch thickness with greased bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar.
• Bake cookies 7 to 9 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool.

MOLTEN PEPPERMINT-CHOCOLATE CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a small heavy saucepan, heat butter and chocolate over low heat until blended, stirring constantly; transfer to a large bowl., Add eggs, egg yolks, sugar, extract and salt to chocolate mixture; mix well. Stir in flour. Pour into four greased 6-oz. custard cups or ramekins., Place custard cups on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160° and edges of cakes are set., Remove from oven; let stand 1 minute. Run a knife around sides of cakes; remove to dessert plates. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT LAVA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter your ramekins, or use a large muffin tin.
• Melt the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments until smooth.
• Let the chocolate cool for 2 minutes, then add in the powdered sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, peppermint extract and whisk well.
• Sift in the flour and whisk until just combined.
• Add the batter evenly to the muffin tins.
• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the sides are set and the middle is still slightly jiggly.
• Let them rest for 1 minute then add a cookie sheet on top of the muffin tin then flip over.
• Serve with ice cream and crushed peppermint candies.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PEPPERMINT FROSTING

Steps:

• Make the cake: Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-by-8-inch square or 9-inch round light-colored metal baking pan with oil.
• In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and eggs. Use a whisk or an electric mixer to beat the mixture until foamy and slightly lighter in texture and color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, vanilla and salt, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 1 minute.
• Whisk in the cocoa powder until combined. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and whisk until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir the espresso powder into the hot water, then add the mixture to the bowl. Whisk until incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap on the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles. Bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan set on a rack for about 45 minutes.
• While the cake bakes, clean the mixing bowl and make the frosting: Add the butter to the bowl and mix on medium-high with an electric mixer until smooth, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Turn the speed to low, and slowly add the confectioners' sugar. Mix until the sugar is moistened, then add 2 teaspoons of the cream, the vanilla extract, 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and salt. Turn the speed up to medium-high, and whip until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes, adding a bit more cream a teaspoon at a time, if necessary, to make a smooth and light frosting. Taste the frosting, and add a few more drops of peppermint extract if desired. The frosting can be kept at room temperature while the cake finishes baking and cooling.
• Top the cooled cake with an even layer of frosting, then use the tip of a toothpick to dot the frosting with a few small dots of gel food coloring, if using. Use a spoon or offset spatula to swirl the food coloring into the frosting to create candy cane-like stripes - just a few swipes will do the trick. If you mix it in too much, the frosting will turn pink. Top the cake with sprinkles and shaved chocolate, if desired. Store leftover cake loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.