A Fresh, Minty Take

Ahh...The holidays. The time of treats, sweets, yuletide, good cheer, and sometimes total choas.

I love it for many reasons, one of them being I get to flex my baking skills. My foray in the kitchen started with baking, and while I enjoy cooking and experimenting, it's always feels good to get back to my roots.

This time of the year can be harried. Lots of errands, shopping, get togethers, etc. So it's always good to have some simple yet elegant recipes in your arsenal, for those last-minute occasions. And this recipe definitely fits the criteria.

As soon as I saw this on Oh So Shabby's facebook page, I knew immediately I would be giving it a try this holiday season. It was easy enough to make that my sous chef could easily be of assistance, and we didn't make a mess of the kitchen.

And when it was finally time to cut into it, it didn't disappoint. It was beautiful and the aroma from the peppermint was soothing. It was enjoyed by all.

Cane Candy Cake
Recipe from Oh So Shabby blog

Ingredients:

Cake
• 1 box white cake mix
• water, oil, and egg whites, as per box instructions
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract Icing
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk or water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Decoration
• Candy canes or hard peppermint candies, crushed

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan.
2. Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour about 2 cups batter into pan. Into a small bowl, pour about 3/4 cup batter; stir in food coloring and peppermint extract. Carefully pour pink batter over white batter in pan. Carefully pour remaining white batter over pink batter.
3. Bake as directed on box or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack or heatproof serving plate; remove pan. Cook cake completely, about 1 hour.
4. In a small bowl, mix icing ingredients. If necessary, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Spread icing over cake. Sprinkle top with crushed candy. Store loosely covered.

Notes from the Country Kitchen:

• My white cake box gave instructions using either whole eggs or egg whites. I recommend using the egg white recipe. It gives the cake a very light and fluffy texture, and keeps it white for that candy cane look.
• The icing will be thick, and be careful not to thin it out too much. If you do, it will simply run off the cake.
• When icing the cake, I place it on a cooling rack with a piece of waxed paper underneath. This way the icing drips onto the paper for easy cleanup.

See how pretty it is when you slice into it?