Candy Cane Dark Chocolate Cake

The Christmas season is better with chocolate and peppermint, just ask any coffeeshop, with their sweetly conjured up seasonal specialties. It's also better with cake. We had a little dinner party the other night, so I set out to make a little something that everyone, including my gluten-intolerant father, could enjoy! This is one of the first times that I have successfully  actually created my own recipe of a baked good. Usually I start from a recipe and maybe add my own spices or special touches, but this time I just looked at about four different recipes, and then created my own. So fun!! And it actually tasted amazing! I feel like a proud parent.


Ingredients:
for the cake
1 3/4 c. Gluten-Free Baking Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 c. Melted Butter, cooled
1/2 c. White Sugar
3 Eggs
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 c. Milk (1% and up)
1/2 c. Melted Dark Chocolate
York Peppermint Patties

for the glaze
1 c. Confectioners Sugar
1/4 tsp Peppermint Extract
3 Tb Milk
Candy Canes, smashed into bits

The Process:

Set the oven to pre-heat at 350.

In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk to the butter-sugar bowl. After all is mixed thoroughly, gradually add in the dry ingredients. Fold in the melted chocolate. Chop up about 5-6 York into small pieces, and fold those into the batter as well.

Oil or butter-up your baking dish-- I used a bundt cake mold, because it's more festive and seems to bake more evenly, but do as you please! Place in the oven for about 55 minutes or so.

While that's baking, mix up your Peppermint Glaze. Combine the pepermint extract and milk, then slowly sift in the confectioners sugar, stirring vigorously, so as to avoid any clumps in the creamy glaze.

After your cake has been removed for the oven and had time to cool a bit, take it out of its mold, and drizzle the peppermint glaze overtop. Delicately and boldly throw lots of candy cane pieces into the glaze. Voila!

Enjoy!!